Clo:Like uWink before it, Clo, an new automated wine bar in the Time Warner Center, has liberated customers from burdensome interaction with human servers and their constant demand for gratuities. The video above, courtesy WCBS, shows the computer-run bar in action. (Do what you need to do to tune out the shrill newscaster voice.) The Times explains that customers can simply touch on a wine name to get details on tasting notes, food pairing suggestions, maps of the wines region and other info. Then leave it to the machines to dispense 2-ounce pours of 96 wines, for $3 to $10 each. There are plates of charcuterie and cheeses, too, and one expects local teens will be eager to test the computers' ability to search and destroy underage oenophiles. Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, (212) 823-9898.
White Star: Sasha Petraske, guru of the specialty cocktail cult and mastermind behind Milk and Honey, etc., is at it again, and this time with absinthe. Lush Life got the first taste of his newest venture; like Milk and Honey it's a cozy, railroad bar on the Lower East Side that's sure to be thick with the aroma of smug self-satisfaction. (Smells like Cool Water and coconuts.) But should you successfully snag a seat at the marble-top bar, count on the cocktails to dilute the loathing. The only two options, Lush Life cautions, are absinthe and beer. Petraske tells Grub Street he's expanding into the space next door; it's unclear whether other exotic concoctions are planned for that. 21 Essex Street, 212-995-5464.
Zorzi: And the Times has the scoop on this new Italian restaurant on 35th Street. Details are scant, but we now know it's two levels, has a bar, and is named for the Zorzi family, who run a catering operation over in Treviso, Italy. Florence Fabricant says "the sleek place, in metal, stone and mosaic, has 130 seats. Chef Marco Berto, prepares specialties like scallops and fava beans with radicchio; salt cod risotto; lasagna with fish sauce; and stewed cuttlefish with polenta." 1 East 35th Street, (212) 213-9167.
