Ditmas Park: Ox Cart Tavern opens Friday on the corner of Newkirk and Argyle; the restaurant’s menu focuses on beer-friendly fare. [Ditmas Park Blog]

Fort Greene: The Greene Hill Food Co-Op will at last sign a lease for their storefront at 18–24 Putnam Street. [Local/NYT]

Gowanus: The Bell House hosts a Salsa Slam on Sunday, September 12, in which twenty salsas will be judged by a variety of food bloggers and a mariachi band will provide entertainment. To enter your salsa for competition — the winners get cash prizes — e-mail organizer Lee. [Brokelyn]

Inwood: Noemi Juice Bar was denied a liquor license by Community Board 12. [DNA Info]

The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar hosts a five-course harvest dinner on Tuesday, September 14. Proceeds from the $125 dinner — which features purveyor-inspired dishes like Hudson Valley Golden Corn Soup with Crème Fraiche and Hickory House Smoked Salmon, and Hudson Valley Magret Duck Steak with Tokyo Turnips and Green Gage Plums and Orange Confiture — go to benefit the New York Restoration Project. Call 212-568-5323 for reservations. [Grub Street]

Midtown West: April Bloomfield and the staff of the Breslin will operate a food truck on 29th Street and Broadway on Friday, September 10, as part of Fashion’s Night Out. [Grub Street]

Park Slope: La Taqueria has been temporarily closed by the Health Department. [Brownstoner]

Upper East Side: David Burke at Bloomingdale’s celebrates Fashion’s Night Out on September 10 with a VIP lounge from 9 p.m. on, featuring sweet-tea-vodka cocktails and complimentary hors d’ oeuvres, like lobster summer rolls and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. [Grub Street]

Upper West Side: Late-night cookie-delivery service Insomnia Cookies is opening a storefront on Amsterdam and 78th, and Grand Sichuan will launch an outpost in the former Shark Bar space at 307 Amsterdam Avenue. [My Upper West]

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, new leaf cafe, the breslin

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“Fall Preview” restaurants are coming into focus, but here’s an upcoming project that’s a bit of a mystery. According to a Craigslist ad, a “Manhattan group with a diverse portfolio of restaurants and top chefs” is seeking an executive chef for a 15,000-square-foot space in midtown west consisting of a “125 seat Casual Fine Dining Restaurant, Private dining for 12–300 and an 800 square foot Retail Space to service the formidable office tower above the restaurant.” Pizza, of course, will be served, along with bread and desserts baked in house. If you answer the ad, let us know who’s behind this one.

Executive Chef (Midtown West) [Craigslist]

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Filed Under: openings, fall preview, midtown west

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Some of the restaurants featured in our “Fall Preview” are making waves today. According to “Page Six,” the Darby hosted Beyoncé’s birthday party on Saturday night, luring Alicia Keys, Serena Williams, Kanye West, and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Guest of a Guest shows us a photo of Lavo’s exterior and notes that the invitation for Tuesday’s opening came affixed on a marble tile. Eater noticed that the plywood has come down over at Jeffrey’s Grocery, the retail store and raw bar Gabriel Stulman is expected to open later this month. And Feast gets some photos from inside the new John Dory, which may host crab broils in its private dining room when it opens in mid-October. Meanwhile, the Times drops a “Fall Preview” revealing the names of the new projects from Michael Psilakis (Fish Tag in the old Gus and Gabriel space), Sam Talbot (Imperial No. 9 in the Mondrian), and Rob Shamlian (Spitzenhaus in Williamsburg).

What’s Opening This Season [NYT]
John Dory Re-Do Readies, Dresses Down, Gets Brand Name Cocktail Program [Feast]
Plywood Finally Unpeeled on Jeffrey’s, Gabe Stulman’s Newest [Eater NY]
Hot Lavo: Meet The Latest Entry In The Tao/Marquee/Avenue Empire [Guest of a Guest]
Jay-Z throws Beyonce big b-day bash [Page Six/NYP]

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Filed Under: openings, beyonce, fall preview, fish tag, gabriel stulman, imperial no. 9, jeffrey’s grocery, john dory oyster bar, lavo, michael psilakis, rob shamlian, sam talbot, spitzenhaus, spitzer’s corner, the darby

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After the Times ran a slideshow from inside Lincoln’s kitchen, GQ does the same, but even better than the slideshow is a video in which Benno teaches Alan Richman how to make spaghetti al pomodoro and eggplant alla parmigiana. For a food critic, Richman is amusingly wide-eyed: “Can I stop a moment? Why the hell do people put bay leaf in food? What does it do?” [GQ]

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Filed Under: openings, alan richman, jonathan benno, lincoln

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Today, art-world influential Michael Nevin tells the Insider that Greenpoint’s Five Leaves has “the best pancakes ever.” If you’re inclined to agree, you’ll want to know that according to Eater, the owners are planning to build out a casual restaurant in the curious triangular space across from the restaurant. Of course, Five Leaves designer John McCormick is very comfortable with triangles — he also did Moto. [Insider, Eater NY]

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Filed Under: openings, five leaves, greenpoint

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It’s 4 p.m., and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they could squeeze a couple in for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Splurge.

Adour Alain Ducasse (Menu)
212-710-2277
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Corton (Menu)
212-219-2777
Two for eight? Yes

Daniel (Menu)
212-288-0033
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

Jean Georges (Menu)
212-299-3900
Two for eight? Yes

Le Bernardin (Menu)
212-554-1515
Two for eight? No
Best available:10 p.m.

Eleven Madison Park (Menu)
212-889-0905
Two for eight? No
Best available: Fully booked

Oceana (Menu)
212-759-5941
Two for eight? Yes

Per Se (Menu)
212-823-9335
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9:45 p.m.

Marea (Menu)
212-585-5100
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

SHO Shaun Hergatt (Menu)
212-809-3993
Two for eight? No
Best available: Closed for Rosh Hashanah, reopening for dinner September 10

Filed Under: Two for Eight

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The oven at the original South Brooklyn Pizza.

A couple of pizza favorites are planning new locations. First, South Brooklyn Pizza (which recently opened a Manhattan outpost) is settling on Fourth Avenue near Bergen Street, according to Brownstoner and FiPS. And another Brooklyn parlor that moved to Manhattan, Motorino, is also expanding further. Mathieu Palombino tells Feast he’s looking for something bigger and more simple, where customers won’t have to wait for an hour. Feast also learns that Salumeria Rosi is looking at spaces in the West Village and Upper East Side.

Salumeria Rosi Looks to Expand [Feast]
Mathieu Palombino Expands With Simpler Vision for Motorino [Feast]
South Brooklyn Pizza for 4th Avenue [Brownstoner]

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Filed Under: empire building, motorino, south brooklyn pizza

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A couple of start-ups we were the first to tell you about have now come out of the gate. First, you may have heard that the aforementioned Dinevore is now out of beta and, à la Feast, assigning scores to local restaurants. And as of yesterday, Harlem Delivers is now delivering food from about a dozen local restaurants to a select area uptown (from about 145th to 150th Streets around Bradhurst Avenue). Expect waits from 45 to 75 minutes. [Dinevore, Harlem Delivers]

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Filed Under: other sites, dinevore, harlem, harlem delivers, now delivering

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“At the end of the day, the customer is going to end up paying for it … We’ll have to pay higher wages, more taxes and then we will have to charge more.” —An anonymous restaurateur explains what would happen if restaurants changed their hiring practices to comply with immigration and labor laws. Say hello to jacked-up delivery fees! [Diner's Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: foodienomics, labor woes, quote of the day

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Not just a dessert guy.

On September 26, Aldea chef George Mendes throws the latest in his series of guest-chef dinners, and it’s a doozy. The multi-chef dinner features four top-tier pastry guys — but they won’t be making dessert. Instead, wd~50’s Alex Stupak, Jean Georges‘ Johnny Iuzzini, Del Posto’s Brooks Headley, and Le Bernardin’s Michael Laiskonis will each take on one of the four savory courses, while Mendes — himself more of an appetizers-and-entrées guy — tries his hand at the sweet stuff. The $150 prix fixe includes wine pairings — plus a pre-dinner cocktail hour in which you can bug Iuzzini for Top Chef: Just Desserts spoilers. Call 212-675-7223 for reservations.

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Filed Under: foodievents, aldea, alex stupak, brooks headley, del posto, george mendes, jean-georges, johnny iuzzini, le bernardin, michael laiskonis, wd~50

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Luke Holden is the owner and mastermind behind this lobster goodness. He grew up in Maine; his father was a…

Luke’s Lobster

93 E. 7th Street, New York

(212) 387-8487

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Like sands through the hourglass, so change the decor and menu at Park Avenue Café. As of today, the restaurant is now Park Avenue Autumn, complete with a harvest-inspired menu full of apples, squash, and mushrooms — never mind that the equinox isn’t until September 22, and it’s still 85 degrees and muggy as hell.

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Filed Under: changeovers, park avenue fall, park avenue summer

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