Carmellini Visits Vegas; Treats Truck Times TwoPlus a protest against the planned Union Square restaurant, the customers New York waiters dread, and more, in our morning roundup of news and gossip.
Danny Meyer Finds Manhattan Prohibitive, But a Shake Shack in a Sports Stadium?Considering that only banks can afford to rent ground-floor spaces in Manhattan these days, Danny Meyer has a bold suggestion: the waterfront! Discussing the future of public life withNew Yorkerarchitecture critic Paul Goldberger at a forum of the Design Trust for Public Space, Meyer noted that rent pressures had grown absurd in the island’s heart. (Starting rent for Union Square Café in 1985: $8 per square foot. Asking rent for the Zen Palate space on Park Avenue South: $300 per square foot.) His solution? “We have all these appendages to Manhattan called piers, and if the city took the opportunity to rent those spaces only to small businesses, that would be a vigorous signal,” he said. Meyer said he’d learned that restaurants must echo their surroundings, which we realize means a new Union Square operation would have to carry themes from Whole Foods and Max Brenner. “If we ever do another Shake Shack, we’d want it to look like where it is. The fascination of doing something in a sports stadium jazzes me.” Oh, yeah? Citi Field is looking better and better. —Alec AppelbaumRelated: Hark! New Shake Shack to Open at Shea Stadium
Neighborhood Watch
Hot-Chocolate Frenzy in Flatiron; Know You’re Eating Sperm in MidtownAstoria: Sunswick is having an Abitas beer promotion on Sunday with drink specials, but if you’re less concerned about game day, you could check out the renovation at Il Bambino. [Joey in Astoria] Carroll Gardens: Naturally Delicious caterers, who also did this blogger’s wedding, will deliver a V-Day menu that includes baked oysters, lobster bisque, tenderloin, a cheese plate, and a Valrhona flourless chocolate cake to those who want to stay in but aren’t able to whip up our sexy stash of recipes. [A Brooklyn Life] Flatiron: City Bakery kicks off its monthlong hot-chocolate festival tomorrow, which highlights rotating “additional flavors, from Caramel or Banana Peel to the Chili Pepper or even Beer varieties.” [Restaurant Girl] Midtown East: If you show up at Sakae Sushi and find that it’s closed for a couple of days, you can stop into nearby Yakitori East on 44th Street. Just remember: The winter specialty shirako that their menu dubs as “soft cod roe” is “rather beige globules of sperm sacs.” [Gothamist] On February 12, eliminate “menstrual and sexual health concerns” through food at D’Or; let’s hope there’s chocolate involved. [Love Your Femme via Gridskipper] Union Square: Mesa Grill impresario Bobby Flay just got back from Greece and would fly there again for all that “delicious Greek olive oil and some lemon and some potatoes and Greek salad,” but if he would just stay in New York, maybe Mesa Grill would have been able to hold on to more of its stars. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Neighborhood Watch
Abrams Brothers Have Always Loved the UWS; Gay Talese Will Eat BBQ on the UESChelsea: The owner of the Cuban restaurant that replaced Havana Chelsea says he’s not trying to copy the former tenant: “It took years of grease to get on those walls and the smell of rotten wood and mice and stale water and dirt. We gutted the entire place, not even a tooth pick was worth saving.” [Eat for Victory/VV] Clinton Hill: Greene Grape Provisions has opened with fresh fish and meats, and if you bring a receipt to their nearby wine store, the owners will take 5 percent off your purchase of their recommended pairings. [Clinton Hill Blog] Midtown East: Chocolatier Charbonnel Et Walker on the eighth floor of Saks sells a rich chocolate cupcake drenched in sticky toffee, which is well worth its $6 price tag and still “way cheaper than a pair of Chanel pumps” sold nearby. [NewYorkology] Midtown West: Brasserie Cognac is coming to 55th Street and Broadway. [Grub Street] Tribeca: Dekk seems closed indefinitely. [Grub Street] Union Square: In an unsurprising conclusion, Bruni finds that Indian and Italian restaurants are better equipped to satisfy vegetarians. Dévi is one example where even meat eaters may want to eat those vegetable-based dishes. [Diner’s Journal/NYT] Upper East Side: Barbejew Steven Levy hopes his new BBQ joint, Smokin’ Q, which opens this week at 206 East 63rd Street, will succeed where twelve restaurants have failed since 1977. Levy may have an edge against predecessors, however, since writer Gay Talese, who included the doomed space in his memoir, plans to be the writer-in-residence. [NYT] Upper West Side: The Magnolia and Mermaid Inn uptown aren’t the first companies the Abrams brothers have introduced to the nabe; cupcake guru Steve owns “a construction company, high-end residential construction,富人和名人的生活方式sort of stuff. My clients are Samuel Jackson, Annie Leibovitz, Jeff Gordon.” [NYO]
Openings
Former Home of the Whopper Now City’s First Certified Organic RestaurantWhat used to be a Burger King is now Gusto Organics, which claims to carry organic certification from the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York and the USDA. The restaurant’s business practices differ from BK’s in obvious ways: It recycles all of its trash and composts its food, the furniture is handmade, and the cleaning methods are environmentally friendly. But owner Alberto Gonzalez sees the value of the chain and wants a network of shareholders and six to ten franchisees, he says. Things are looking good so far — the place was hopping on Saturday night.
Neighborhood Watch
Sexy East Villager Open for New Year’s; Bar Blanc Opening Not ImminentEast Village: One of Gael Greene’s sexy-restaurant-picks, Strip House, made this list of New Year’s Eve dining options. [Restaurant Girl] Sakaya and its daily tastings are now just a day away. [Down by the Hipster] Fort Greene: The new trattoria Caffe e’ Vino’s menu is so standard that it’s not doing a good jobs of tempting potential diners. [Eat for Victory/VV] Union Square: The area “centered on Broadway south of Madison Square” was called Ladies Mile in the 1800s because of its concentration of retails shops. Nowadays, restaurants like Tocqueville, BLT Fish, and Bar Stuzzichini have made the locale a culinary destination. [NYT] West Village: Bar Blanc is supposed to open on Saturday, but these pics of the unfinished space might tell a different story. [Eater]
Neighborhood Watch
Fresh-Killed Turkeys Coming to Union Square; Last Chance for Dumbo PiesAstoria: A new Venezuelan spot called the Arepas Cafe has opened at 33-07 36th Avenue. [Joey in Astoria] Boerum Hill: Canteen, a new deli-café aspiring to unite cappuccino with pastrami, opens today on Fourth Avenue and Bergen Street. [Brownstoner] Chelsea: The name Potluck may conjure “the image of weird recipes like lentils with nutmeg or noodles drenched in canned soup served up in a covered dish” for some, but this new eatery on West 26th Street between Seventh and Eighth is actually an Asian restaurant with Japanese and Thai influences. [Blog Chelsea] Dumbo: Today is the deadline for ordering pies from Jacques Torres’s Almondine and Bubby’s. [Dumbo NYC] East Village: Starting this Sunday, Una Pizza Napoletana will start serving pies at noon on weekends. [Slice] Union Square: DiPaola Turkey Farms will bring extra birds to the Greenmarket Wednesday, but if you don’t want to abandon Thanksgiving’s main course to chance, you may still be able to order a size in advance. [Eat for Victory/VV]
