Don’t let a robbery at a high-class lounge or a fire at a popular and buzzy Indian restaurant in New York keep you from staying in this week. After all, there are some exciting food offerings at the U.S. Open, plus some new sandwiches debuting around town just for the month of August.
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The 411
Get yourself to Elcielo this week for a good cause, plus a New York-born ramen chef is about to get the Bourdain treatment and we say goodbye to a couple of West Village eateries.
Fine Dine for a Fine Cause
If you’ve had a hankering for elevated and creative Colombian cuisine lately and need a good excuse for the splurge, we’ve got one for you: Elcielo New York, located in NoMad. The restaurant is partnering with Michelin-starred Mita D.C. for one night on August 19th to support the victims of the recent earthquake in Colombia.
Twenty percent of all proceeds will be donated to the AMAI Foundation, supporting women and children who were affected by the earthquake on August 10. Make a reservation for the three-hour, mulit-course, family-style dinner on OpenTable.
Chef Ivan Orkin’s Hollywood Turn
The Hollywood trade press reported this week that there’s a TV show in the works about the life of Ivan Orkin, the New York-born chef who moved to Tokyo and became a ramen master chef. That’s all before he returned to the Big Apple to open his own restaurant, Ivan Ramen, on the Lower East Side. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is producing Gaijin and will play Ivan Orkin on the show.
Not So Obvio
The New York Post recently reported that there was an armed robbery in buzzy cocktail bar and restaurant Obvio on East 28th Street. The three pistol-pointing robbers tied up employees in the bathroom while leaving with an estimated $30,000 in cash, alcohol, and DJ equipment.
Fire at Ambassadors Clubhouse
Ambassadors Clubhouse, the super-buzzy and impossible-to-get-a reservation Indian restaurant in NoMad, is now even more difficult to get a reservation. That’s because last week there was a fire at the restaurant, rendering it temporarily closed. The restaurant was only shut a few days and, as of August 18, is back open again. There happens to be a large handful of exciting Indian eateries that will help you get your curry fix.
Rafele Says Arrivederci to the West Village
Rafele, an Italian restaurant on Seventh Ave. S. in the West Village, has permanently closed after serving up pasta dishes for 14 years.
Taïm is Not On Our Side
All the locations of fast-casual mini-chain, Taïm, including its first location in the West Village, have shuttered. It appears the company that runs the chain, Craveworthy Brands, owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes
On the Menu
Settle into the bar at Gramercy Tavern to try this month’s soup-and-sammie combo or get two-for-one soup dumplings at a new dim sum spot in Chinatown.
You Say “Tomato,” We Say “Tavern”
Every month the Tavern Room in Gramercy Tavern unveils a sandwich and soup combo. For August, it’s a very summery treat featuring a BLT and a bowl of tomato soup laced with fennel, basil, and burrata.
Double the Soup Dumplings, Double the Pleasure
JoyFu is a new dim sum restaurant in Chinatown and it’s offering a hard-to-resist deal until the end of August: buy one order of xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, and a second order is on the house.
Here’s the Beef
West Village and Williamsburg sandwich shop Edith’s is continuing its Summer of Sandwiches series. Next up is a fun collaboration with south Florida’s own Buccan Sandwich Shop. The colab sandwich, available starting August 26 until fully sold out, features beef carpaccio with Parmesan, arugula, crispy balsamic-flavored onion, and mayo on a crusty baguette.
Feeling Randy for the U.S. Open
Doughnuts and tennis go together like… well, never mind. But they might be love-love when you know that Randy’s Donuts, the famed doughnut shop from LA that recently landed in New York, is going to be serving tennis-themed doughnuts from August 21 to September 13.
Stop by the West Village location to ace a Classic Raised Donut topped with lemon-infused icing or get the Deuce 3-Pak: a donut with raspberry and lemon-filled rounds with a lemon-infused icing.
COQODAQ Heads to Flushing
For the third year in a row, COQODAQ and CQDQ, two restaurants that are part of Gracious Hospitality Management, are setting up shop at the U.S. Open. Attendees can now tuck into COQODAQ’S iconic fried chicken, as well as mac ‘n’ cheese while watching a match at Arthur Ashe stadium.
In the Food Village, CQDQ will be serving up chicken sandwiches, fries, and caviar nuggets. Finally, in the South Plaza, KIMBOP will be offering a variety of gimbaps, including beef and vegetarian varieties. In past years, we’ve seen celebrities such as Usher, Lindsay Lohan, Martha Stewart, and Laverne Cox digging into the chicken while watching tennis. Here is the rest of the food line-up at this year’s Grand Slam event.
Don’t Miss This Week
Need some dining out recommendations? Try these three hot spots, and make sure to check out the week’s events.
Wednesday: I’m joining a club. How could I not when two of my favorite restaurants, Pasquale Jones and Charlie Bird, are collaborating to cook-up a monthly Pasta Club, where you get freshly-made pasta delivered to your door. You can also add on a pizza kit and signature cocktails.
Thursday: Hidden away in a private backroom at KEI in Chelsea, TSUKI is now offering a six-course Izakaya-style menu for $95, which fits in the the affordable omakase trend hitting New York right now. The dimly lit, 16-seat spot is only open for dinner on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I’ll be there on Thursday eating my way through the menu.
Saturday: After Eden, a new Vietnamese cocktail lounge and restaurant on the Lower East Side, starts serving their over-stuffed banh mi sandwiches at noon on Saturdays and Sundays. They run out quickly, so I’ll be in line early on Saturday morning.
