Numerous waiters, past and present, at some upscale restaurants are accused of taking customers' credit card information, buying items, and re-selling them for cash. NBC New York's sources say, "Several suspects are from top city restaurants like Smith and Wollensky, Capital Grille and Wolfgang Steak, as well as Morton’s in Stamford and the Bicycle Club in New Jersey" and that the crime ring "targeted customers who often paid with American Express Black cards and other high-limit credit cards."
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Results tagged “restaurant”
Restaurant Workers Accused Of Credit Card ID Theft Ring
NYers Worry An Olive Garden-Type Restaurant Will Open At Tavern On The Green
What do you do with a problem like Tavern on the Green? The critically-reviled but beloved-to-tourist restaurant in Central Park, has been closed for over two years ago, and the Parks Department tried to put a restaurant there, but only managed to turn the building into a visitors center with food trucks in the courtyard. Now, the food trucks are out, and the Parks Department says they are looking for a "high quality casual restaurant and outdoor café" which has community members freaked out.
East Village Institution Life Cafe Closed Indefinitely
Life Cafe, the East Village restaurant that will be forever associated with RENT, has closed up shop after 30 years in business. No day but... yesterday, apparently.
Isa, Latest From Freemans' Owner, Open In Williamsburg With Roof Garden
One of the most fashionable new restaurant openings of late summer is Isa, the new rustic chic Williamsburg venture from Taavo Somer, owner of The Rusty Knot, Freemans restaurant and Freemans Sporting Goods. (Not to be confused with Freemans Sporting Gifs.) Freemans' decaying beauty (reclaimed wood, distressed everything, taxidermy) has been hugely influential in downtown restaurant design and in Brooklyn, so his new joint on the corner of Wythe and South 2nd Street fits right in. The restaurant, which grows some of its produce on the roof, has been "soft open" for friends and family for over a month now, and now it's popping for real. Be prepared to wait for a table, contemplatively stroking your beard.
Wasn't Beloved East Village Veggie Spot Counter Supposed to Be Closed By Now?
Stop us if you've heard this before, but the much loved East Village restaurant Counter is closing. Someday. Though the restaurant's owner Deborah Gavito first announced she was giving up the ghost back in December and the joint is still jumping, she assures us that the restaurant will be serving its last meal soon enough. After that, looks like the space is going Mexican.
Spanish Restaurant Salinas Has A Retractable Roof, Tapas
Chelsea has a new addition to its roster of tapas joints (see also: Txikito, Tia Pol and Boqueria) with the opening of Luis Bollo's Salinas, a new Spanish restaurant on 9th Ave. Bollo, a San Sebastian native late of groundbreaking Spanish restaurant Meigas, returns to New York kitchens after a stint in New Jersey with a menu of hot and cold tapas, plus larger homestyle Spanish favorites.
Check Out Eataly's Big New Rooftop Beer Restaurant, Birreria
Don't call it a beer garden! The management of Birreria insist that even though their handsome new rooftop oasis atop Eataly is producing three cask-conditioned ales right there on the 15th floor, the establishment is most certainly not a beer pub. When it comes to the menu, "we're not just throwing out some staples," the management emphatically declared at last night's media preview. The full menu is still "under construction" but we're told chef Alex Pilas will be serving "rustic Northern Italian cuisine" influenced by the country's Austrian neighbors.
Matt Dillon Doesn't Want Loud Restaurant Ruining UWS's "Vibe"
Actor (and NIMBY) Matt Dillon, now 47 years old!, headed to his local Community Board meeting last night on the Upper West Side to express his views on restaurant Calle Ocho changing locales and landing closer to his home base. Donning sunglasses and a hat, DNA Info reports that Dillon doesn't want the restaurant (now on Columbus Avenue) moving about a half block away, to 45 West 81st Street.
Inside Saint Vitus, The Big New Place To Drink, Eat, Rock Out In Greenpoint
"Finally, Greenpoint has a real fucking ROCK BAR!" declare the owners of Saint Vitus, the new 2,500 square foot bar, eatery and venue opening in Greenpoint next week. Owned by a group of guys who've been behind the bar at places like Bar Matchless, Lil Frankies and No. 7, Saint Vitus (named for a Black Sabbath song that is itself named for the nervous system disorder) was a social club, then a plumbing school in a past life. Now, as you can see from these photos, designer Matthew Maddy (Weather-Up, Anella, The Box) has transformed it into a seductive party destination.
Manager On Restaurant Burglary: "He Stole Our Spanish Music!"
When robbing a restaurant, keep in mind that you will only be able to take what you can carry. Which in most instances does not include both a cooler full of fish and a meat slicer. Alexandro Bingusla was arrested this morning and charged with, among other things, burglary and criminal mischief, after allegedly breaking into Alberto’s Ristorante in Stapleton and trying to make off with everything from meat to fish to the meat slicer to the establishment's CD selection. Thank goodness he didn't get away—we hear CDs are really worth something these days.
Chef Laurent Manrique, Millesime
New York's two top dining critics had very different impressions of Millesime, the seafood-centric brasserie in the Carlton Hotel on Madison and 29th. New York Magazine's Adam Platt said, "The haphazard, jury-rigged space at the Carlton still feels less like a grand big-city stage than like the mezzanine dining room of a randomly upscale suburban hotel." Sam Sifton at the Times countered, "But holy cats, is there a beautiful, even exciting brasserie up there." Critics: who the hell knows? Considering the high quality of Chef Laurent Manrique's ingredients, Millesime is actually reasonably priced, so perhaps it's worth paying a visit to form your own opinion.
Old Village Speakeasy Fedora Reopens Under Gabe Stulman
West Village Italian restaurant Fedora first did business as a speakeasy starting in 1917 under the ownership of Charles Dorato, who, after Prohibition ended, started serving food and called it Charlie's Garden. In 1952, Charles's son Henry and his wife Fedora—who, the Villager reports, is named not for the hat but for the opera by Umberto Giordano—took over and changed the name. At the time, it was one of just two restaurants in the neighborhood that was patronized by heterosexuals but also welcomed same-sex patrons. Popular with local regulars and a small subsection of fashionable artsy types, Fedora stayed under the Dorato family's control until last summer, when Fedora retired at the age of 90. (Her husband Henry passed away in 1997.)
East Village Vegetarian Restaurant Counter To Close
[UPDATE BELOW] East Village vegetarian haven—and organic bar!—Counter is closing. (A moment of silence please.) Last night owner Deborah Gavito sent out an email to her hungry masses which said she sold the restaurant after 8 years in business, and she would be closing up shop sometime in February. For neighborhood vegetarians, John Norris has some tips on where to fill the void: "Dirt Candy, on E 9th St., the old standby Kate's Joint, Gobo."
Inside Beauty & Essex, New Pawnstaurant Lounge on the LES
This week the crew behind Stanton Social and Tao opened the gigantic, opulent, bi-level bar-restaurant-lounge Beauty & Essex on, well, Essex Street. They serve food, they serve cocktails, they have a wall covered in horse hair, a ceiling covered by a pearl chandelier, two floors of dancing and DJs, a bartender pouring champagne in the ladies' room, and in the front, a pawn shop. To paraphrase Marge Simpson, "Now we've seen everything!" It's all housed within the century old M. Katz & Sons furniture store, which the award-winning design firm AvroKo transformed into something rather extraordinary. Or as mavericky chef Eddie Huang puts it, "This joint is made for ballin, but it's not stuffy and OD. You can wild, you can bring exotic birds, and you don't have to leave the neighborhood. Bawse."
Locavore Restaurant Bell Book & Candle Gets Food From Roof
Here's a look inside (and on top of) Bell Book & Candle, a new West Village restaurant that sources 60 percent of its ingredients about as locally as you can get—from up on the roof. The restaurant uses an elaborate, energy-efficient aeroponic growing system (none of that filthy soil!) to grow everything from Garbanzo Beans to watermelon. Six stories about the restaurant, 60 Aeroponic Towers grow approximately 70 varieties of herbs, vegetables and fruits, many of them heirloom varietals. The bounty is then lowered down to the kitchen via a (carbon neutral) pulley on the side of the building.
Goat Town, An East Village "American Bistro" (Photos, Menu)
Nick Morgenstern (formerly of the General Greene) and Chef Joel Hough (from Cookshop) have joined forces to open Goat Town in the East 5th Street space formerly occupied by Butcher Bay and Seymour Burton. The restaurant’s name is inspired by Washington Irving, who was the first to coin the term, "Gotham," which originated from the Anglo-Saxon "Goat’s Town." Chef Hough is described as "a loyal disciple of the farm to table philosophy," and so the menu will feature herbs and vegetables grown in the backyard garden. And this being 2010, he'll also be jarring, preserving, and pickling their harvests in-house.
Photos: Ai Fiori, Michael White's French Riviera-Inspired Italian
Chef Michael White, who's been on a roll with his Italian restaurants Convivio and Marea, has launched two new ventures in the space of a month. The first was Soho's Osteria Morini, which specializes in the "soulful cuisine and convivial spirit" of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Number two is Ai Fiori, which opened its doors last week on the second floor of the luxurious Setai Fifth Avenue hotel, at 37th Street. Executive Chef Chris Jaeckle (Morimoto and Eleven Madison Park) will have command of the 2,200 square foot kitchen and several top-of-class sous chefs, including acclaimed pastry chef Robert Truitt (Corton). Here's a look inside the posh new restaurant.
Fish Tag, Michael Psilakis's UWS "Seafood Parlor" (Menu)
The Upper West Side restaurant that chef Michael Psilakis once called Onera, then Kefi, then Gus & Gabriel, has been completely reconfigured for his latest venture, Fish Tag. He tore down walls to open the space up, went with exposed brick and Australian Cyprus wood, and installed a granite-topped counter in the front room that accommodates 30 and serves the full menu, which is all about nachos. Kidding, it's seafood. Specifically, Fish Tag is a "seafood parlor," emphasizing a "concise" menu of Mediterranean-inspired dishes complemented by a huge selection of wines, beers and spirits. (Ten beers on tap and fourteen by the bottle.)
Compose: Tribeca's Dainty New Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge
It's no surprise that chef tables at restaurants like Aldea, Wall & Water, and Brooklyn Fare have proven wildly successful; in the age of Top Chef, everybody wants to be close to the action. And if the seating's extremely limited, all the better: New Yorkers will fight for a reservation like stage moms at an open call for an American Girl commercial. We can now add Tribeca restaurant and cocktail bar Compose to the city's list of exclusive, intimate dining experiences. Opening tomorrow, the restaurant will serve a mere ten precious diners a night, making the 12 seats at Momofuku Ko seem like some plebeian walk-in cafeteria.
Brooklyneer: Is It Obnoxious to Open Bar Homage to Brooklyn?
A few friends who live in Carroll Gardens have opened up a new bar and small plates venture on a dead zone of West Houston called Brooklyneer. It's a win for several reasons: First, it's directly across the street from Film Forum, and finally fills a major void in pre-screening meet-up options. Second, there are a lot of Brooklyn beers on tap, including Six Point, Brooklyn Lager, and a cheap, specially-made $4 pint named after the place. Third, they serve delicious food from a wide variety of small-batch purveyors based in Brooklyn. But Eater deems the whole thing "obnoxious," because they put a map of Brooklyn on their menu. Monsters!
Half of C-Grade Restaurants Keeping Signs Secret
The Health Department currently identified about 15 restaurants that have been branded with the dreaded C grade for cleanliness, or lack thereof. But the restaurateurs aren't exactly bragging about it, and the Post has confronted some of the owners about why they haven't put up the C in the window. The tabloid also compiled a list of all the C recipients and dubbed them "The Filthy 15." The greasy envelope filled with mouse droppings, please:
Restaurant Valets Caught Parking Cars In Street Spaces
Unless you have a magical illegal parking placard, parking in this city sucks big time. It's bad enough that you're competing with thousands of other cranky drivers for metered spaces, but it turns out you may also be competing with restaurant valets in certain areas!
Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Review Roundup
East Village restaurant Vandaag is "a comfortable restaurant of vaguely Dutch inflection," writes Sam Sifton at the Times. "Large and airy, high ceilinged, uncrowded and clean, Vandaag (the name is Dutch for 'today') is the sort of dining room you could move into with a couple of tattered leather armchairs, and sit all day, bare feet on the polished concrete floor, reading novels." He loves the cocktails, finds the pork chop too "tough," but adores the chilled cucumber soup that "comes tasting of ginger, mint and gin, with hints of pickled cantaloupe and smoked eel. Sounds awful? It is the opposite." Two stars out of four.
Hamptons Restaurant Gets Rich Lady Meltdown Of The Summer
Westchester fancy lady Amy Paul resides in a 11,000-square-foot home so lavish it was featured in a fawning profile in Westchester Magazine two years ago. It's clear from reading the article that Ms. Paul likes things just so, so you can understand why she'd be a bit miffed when she arrived at The Palm restaurant in East Hampton Saturday night to find that the insolent staff did not have her table ready. Never mind that she arrived twenty-five minutes late for her 9:30 reservation, and with four extra people—is it right that a lady of her refinement should have to stand around like an idiot waiting for her table? Certainly not, and so Ms. Paul decided to teach the help an invaluable lesson in customer relations.
See Red at Nuela, the New Pan-Latin Restaurant, Ceviche Bar
After a long two years of preparation and anticipation, Nuela, a giant new South American restaurant and ceviche bar, has finally opened on West 24th Street. And now we know why it took so long; all that red doesn't just fall from the sky. As you can see, the former Sapa space has been transformed into a cushy, 200-seat eatery by world-renowned designer Angel Sanchez. The centerpiece is the 50-seat cevicheria, which, according to the press release, "showcases the beating heart of Chef Adam Schop's menu."
Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Review Roundup
This week David Chang's Má Pêche, his first foray out of the East Village, is on the receiving end of three critical appraisals. The most significant is Sam Sifton's two star review in the Times, which deems it "a very good restaurant for a Midtown business lunch, a celebratory steak dinner or a drink and some snacks after work... Má Pêche is the first Momofuku restaurant truly suitable for dining with those the Internet calls the olds. (Though like some of its forebears, it takes no reservations.) Eating there is a little like visiting your formerly bohemian artist friend, whom you haven’t seen since he signed with Deitch and bought a double loft in TriBeCa."
Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Review Roundup
This week Sam Sifton at the Times enthuses about Takashi, "a modest and wondrous strange new restaurant on Hudson Street in the West Village that specializes in raw offal and Korean-style Japanese barbecue. They are simple exciting dishes: a taste of passion best consumed with cold sake and an open mind...Two philosophies are at work within it. The first has to do with the quality of the meat, which is superior to anything you will find in a traditional Korean barbecue restaurant, at least in Manhattan. The second has to do with the diversity of the cuts of meat Mr. Inoue offers his customers. The overarching point of Takashi is to celebrate the cow in its entirety." Ha, and what better way to celebrate animals than by slaughtering them?
Wintour's Warpath Against Local Eatery
Earlier this year Vogue editrix Anna Wintour was rallying against a developer's condo plan, and now the Daily News reports that her battle cries aren't ending there, as she's now aimed her cold stare at a Jamaican eatery near her home. Yep, NIMBYs: so hot right now.
No Reservations: Infuriating New Trend Or Great Equalizer?
There's a pretty interesting article in the Times Dining section today about the increasing number of restaurants that don't take reservations, and why they insist on wasting your precious time. Did you know it costs a lot of money to take reservations? Besides having to pay someone to answer the phone and act peppy, most restaurants feel compelled to use OpenTable.com, which lets diners to make reservations 24/7 online. And that service isn't free.
Midweek Special: NYC Restaurant Review Roundup
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ABC Kitchen, an eco-friendly restaurant on the ground floor of ABC Carpet & Home, gets the Times treatment today. Like most other critics, Sifton is impressed with the food, but of course he needs to keep it punk (though not too punk) by gently mocking the swells. He tosses it two stars, and describes the atmosphere as "spiritually materialistic... The restaurant is airy and open and relaxed the way the second homes of the wealthy often are, with LED-style lighting over warm floors... You meet people like this. Only when they are spectacularly good-looking and appear to be attracted to you are they manageable.
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