Well, there goes the neighborhood! What was once an unassuming neighborhood joint called Relish has been taken over by the flashy scenesters behind the subterranean Manhattan lounge La Esquina. As soon as this place opens, you can bet Williamsburg's going to be overrun with trendy fashionistas and B&T tools in search of the next exclusive hot spot. Next thing you know they'll build a bunch of giant condos, and Duane Reade and Starbucks will drive out all the Mom and Pops. Maybe moving to Ridgewood makes sense after all. more ›

Merrie Harris, global business director at ad agency JWT, was chatting with her cigarette-smoking friend outside La Esquina the other night when a beggar approached, asking for money to buy a bottle of Vitaminwater. According to an "Exclusive" report in the NY Post, Harris told the man, "I don't [have cash]—I only have my credit card." To which he replied, "Would it be OK if I borrow it?" As you know from reading the headline, Harris said yes and handed over her American Express card. Why not? more ›

After the Buildings Department shut down semi-secret subterranean restaurant/tequila lounge La Esquina for "conditions imminently perilous to life," the trendy hotspot has been mysteriously permitted to reopen permanently. The big question now is how Barnard professor and NIMBY nightlife scold Georgette Fleischer will react. She's the one whose 311 calls got the DOB to investigate, and one of her students tells Page Six she's a real loose cannon: "She would have ridiculous mood swings before and after class... She'd constantly create issues for students to get them in trouble. She was like a narc." Another source reveals what may be her Achilles heel: "She once yelled at me in class because I said I had a good relationship with my dad but not with my mom. But she loved cats." more ›

A Barnard professor whose apartment is located maddeningly close to Nolita "hotspot" La Esquina has predicted that the exclusive subterranean lounge will one day claim the lives of trendy scenesters and flashy celebs. But don't get too excited—the Buildings Department is trying to save them. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Two very different bars with two very different clienteles have unexpectedly closed today. The worst news first: Blue and Gold Tavern, the venerable East Village dive with the pool table and the booths and the underage drinking, is no more. Fork in the Road reports that it's been completely gutted from floor to ceiling, and workers doing the renovations were not sure if Blue and Gold would re-open. And if even if it does, "it'll certainly be a different animal." more ›

La Esquina has yet another secret. The restaurant on the corner of Cleveland and Kenmare—that famously requires customers to go through a series of doors, stairs, and even its kitchen in order to get to a hidden dining room—was the scene of one of the most slightly scary horror movie sequences of all time. In a sequence toward the end of C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers), the camera starts with a lower Manhattan view at dusk, World Trade Center and all, drifting and finally settling over an all-night corner diner. more ›

Move over Jimmy Buffet, Sammy Hagar was in town at La Esquina last night and he brought mucho Cabo Wabo tequila, and his flowing golden curly locks, with him. more ›

Cordell Lochin is a bit of an enigma. The well-connected scenester, subject of an indulgent profile in the Observer last spring, presented himself as a partner in the obnoxiously affected nightspots La Esquina and The Box. Now the other entitled owners are distancing themselves from Lochin and the enigma will soon be wrapped inside a prison cell; Guest of a Guest has news that Lochin’s gotten sent up on a 3-year bid for involvement in a cross-border marijuana smuggling ring. more ›

It could be argued that all pizza is by definition "ethnic," but we think some pizzeria fare is especially deserving of this designation. Ethnic Pizza Patrol strives to find unique cultural interpretations of this classic New York City food. Expect piping hot tips about New York City pizzerias that feature an ethnic twist on pizza as we know it; combine a pizzeria with another concept, i.e. a taco joint; or manage to do all of... more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian was fatally struck on East 4th and Bowery in Manhattan, a child was shot on Blake Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting/homicide on Fish Ave and East Gunhill Rd. in the Bronx.
• The oldest living inmate in New York State is a Long Island surgeon convicted in 1978 of killing his wife. He'll turn 89 this week and concedes that divorce might have been a better choice.
• Thousands of participants retraced the steps of fireman Stephen Stiller in the Tunnel to Towers run today. Stiller died on 9/11 after running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to fight the WTC fire.
• The Head of the Harlem Regatta was held Saturday, and crew teams raced from Yankee Stadium to Swindler's Cove on the Harlem River.
• The Broadway stagehands union and show producers have agreed to extend negotiations through this week, keeping the lights on along the Great White Way.
• We wonder if Beyonce Knowles feels that Nolita in Manhattan is getting more dangerous lately. She was sporting brass knuckles on her boots while dining at La Esquina last night.
• Seven people were injured when a car slammed into the front of a Staten Island city bus
• The French company that contracted with the MTA to produce 400 new subway cars is five months behind schedule on its deliveries without incurring any penalties, and even won a $700 million contract extension.

Celebrate the extension of the vendors' permit through the end of their season in October and add on extra festivities for Mexican and Central American Independence Day. Caesar Fuentes, the organizing force behind the vendors, promises that "the food vendors committee will host a livelier than usual weekend event - more soccer games, pinatas, music, and a 2 day art exhibit featuring photographs taken by the food vendors." Sounds good to us. more ›

The petite woman that sat in front of the imposing steel door glanced up from her clipboard to ask us if we had a reservation. We were warned that reservations at La Esquina were necessary, so we called earlier that day. She checked our name off the list and pushed the door open just enough for us to squeeze through to the other side. We heard that you had to journey down a dingy staircase through a steamy, bustling kitchen to get to the dinning room and it was no exaggeration. But for a list of tequilas like the one at La Esquina, we would have gone a lot farther. more ›

Last night, just after 7pm, inside of a giant bubble in midtown, the Paper Nightlife Awards took place. In the world of fake awards ceremonies, this one takes the cake. Sadly, we didn't keep notes on who won what, so we cannot tell you who took home the "Best Designer with an Influence on the Nightlife Scene" award. We do recall La Esquina winning for "Restaurant with the Best Nightlife Scene." The white dude accepting the award snidely thanked "all the Mexicans" in his acceptance speech. Cultural exploitation is so fucking chic. more ›

Everyone loves a secret bar, but what happens when the bouncers might be too...bouncery? Someone who tried to take a picture of the secret bar La Esquina claims he and his girlfriend were assaulted and threatened by the bouncers. One bouncer even yelled, "I will take you around the corner and rape you!"

He said this right before coming out and slapping me several times on the sidewalk and knocking the camera from my hands that I was using to document what had just happened. He also threatened that "in the old days you would be dead!" I can only assume he meant the good old days before a bouncer at The Falls murdered someone and the city passed the Bouncer Control Act* this August. more ›

- Expect to see Chinatown Brasserie cozy up for its Frankie Close-up Wednesday. While we are not in practice setting the line on things like this, seems like a two star job. Just a question on which way it may lean. more ›

Looks like Senor Swanky's is trying to fool some tourists into checking out their restaurant. If you search for La Esquina on Citysearch (the taco bar on Lafayette with the secret basement room frequented by Scarlett Johansson and Josh Harnett), Senor Swanky's ad comes up on the bottom of the page. Swanky's is known for many things (drunken frat boys propositioning ladies on Laguardia Street, for instance), but celebrity sightings definitely isn't one of them. more ›

Police believe that Imette St. Guillen, the John Jay College graduate student who was murdered last Saturday, was probably targeted by a stranger. After confirming that St. Guillen was last at The Falls, a restaurant and bar on Lafayette Street just south of Spring (near the Andre Balazs Kenmare Square development, across the street from La Esquina) where she headed after the Pioneer Bar, witnesses say she left the restaurant alone. The current theory: A fake livery driver picked up St. Guillen around 4AM - especially considering how easy it seems to be to pose as a livery driver (just a few weeks ago a woman was assaulted by someone she thought was a livery driver). People in SoHo were surprised, with one resident told WABC: "It's surprising that this is something that happened in this part. Down Bowery and down Canal it gets sketchy." Well, unfortunately anything goes - just because a neighborhood is gentrified doesn't mean there isn't crime. Criminologists and experts have been weighing on all media outfits on the grisliness of the murder - and what it means about the killer - here's one look. more ›

you into drinking. Superhero style.

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August 5: Taco Chulo Opens more ›

In case you missed it yesterday, be sure to check out New York Magazine's Cheap Eats issue. It's right up our alley; we're always looking for ways to save money so that we can, you guessed it, eat more food. Their Cheap List includes Gothamist favorites Bellavitae, Tia Pol, and the Waverly at IFC, plus places that are high on our list of newcomers, like La Esquina and Vintage New York's Wine Bar. We may not agree with their take on Black Pearl's lobster roll, but we hope that next time they do a panel on barbecue or cheesesteaks, they count us in. more ›