Rosé-Sparkler Tastings in Clinton Hill; Eat Cake, Not Dinner forChelsea: The former Daniele’s Piadina space on 22nd Street east of Sixth Avenue sat empty for two years, but it will reopen as a sandwich shop called Ashby’s on Monday. [Eat for Victory/VV] Clinton Hill: Gnarly Vines is hosting a rosé-sparkler tasting tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday evening from 6 to 9 p.m., and bottles of those sample selections are 10 percent off. [Clinton Hill Blog] Dumbo: The ‘D’ Space Restaurant at Jay and Front streets serves Indian buffet, but will it raise the bar on local delivery options? [Dumbo NYC] Flatiron: Shaffer City Oyster Bar & Grill will close February 23 and reopen in March as Flatiron Joe’s with cheaper American fare and a jukebox. [Zagat] Fort Greene: In her list of last-minute Valentine’s Day options, Danyelle Freeman recommends Cake Man Raven if you want to “just forget dinner and grab a few whopping slices of the decadent red velvet cake that made this bakery famous.” [Restaurant Girl] Soho: In honor of this romantic week, it’s only right that bananas (and resulting desserts around town) are celebrated for being “not only insanely phallic but also brimming with potassium and B vitamins, which are necessary for keeping your sex drive going.” But you don’t have to tell your date that after deciding to share Blue Ribbon Brasserie’s top-rated banana split. [Gridskipper] West Village: Pig’s-feet and collagen temple Hakata TonTon has been closed by the Department of Health. [Eater]
Neighborhood Watch
Thor Loses Third Chef; Tribeca Can Thank Girl Scouts for the Completion of Ago切尔西:旧的明亮Food Shop space will be replaced by Tommy’s Mexican Grill, seemingly from the owners of Tello’s, Mare, and Casa Havana, the latter of which is set to replace Havana Chelsea. [Blog Chelsea] Clinton Hill: Gnarly Vines boutique wine store has opened and is offering a promotional discount of 15 percent off full and mixed cases. [Clinton Hill Blog] Lower East Side: Thor’s third executive chef (after Kurt Gutenbrunner and Kevin Pomplun), Mark Spangenthal, has now abandoned the restaurant after realizing “that this marriage wasn’t going to work.” [Eater] Tribeca: One conjecture on De Niro’s source for the thousands of corks that protrude from Ago’s ceiling: They were acquired “from a branch of the Canadian girls scouts that collected and sold them for charity.” [Down by the Hipster] Upper East Side: The French Institute will host a Beaujolais Nouveau tasting party on November 15 in their new skyroom at 22 East 60th Street. [Zagat] The Pierre hotel will close at the end of December for an entire year during a $100 million renovation that includes revamping Cafe Pierre and its bar. [NewYorkology]
