Cobble Hill: Athena Mediterranean’s new location opened last night at 213 Smith Street and stays open until 4 a.m. [Cobble Hill Blog]

East Village: Benjamin Maisani of Eastern Bloc and illustrator Pablo Raimondi teamed up to create a nineteenth-century cocktail bar, Bedlam Bar and Lounge. The bar’s soft-opening will begin on September 16, followed by a grand opening on October 1. [EV Grieve]

Park Slope: Naruto Ramen is scheduled to open tomorrow. This is the first outer-borough expansion for the Upper East Side ramen shop, which serves three different noodle choices and features a $6.50 special on Mondays. [Brownstoner]

West Village: Next Sunday, September 19, P.S. 41 will host the second annual Taste the West Village, a culinary festival featuring the neighborhood’s most celebrated chefs. Participating restaurants include the Little Owl, August, and Employees Only. There are four types of ticket packages available, all of which can be purchased online: an $85 American Express Premier Package, which includes unlimited tastes and a spot at the private Choptank-hosted after-party; a $50 West Village Package, which is good for twenty tastes; a $30 Good Neighborhood package, which comes with ten tastes; and the kids-only $10 P.S. 41 Students Package, which is good for five tastes. The event lasts from noon to 4 p.m. and will be held on the school’s yard. [Grub Street]

Filed Under: neighborhood watch, naruto ramen, p.s. 41

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Another way to score free food: Be Crazy Legs Conti, beverage director of the Penthouse Club.

Earlier today a rep from Scores sent us a release that included a quote from Robert’s chef Will Savarese (an Aureole and Le Cirque alum who has obviously moved on to bigger and better things): “In the spirit of providing both the best women and best food to our customers, we believe that our steak can match up to any other in New York City.” To prove it, they’re offering free steaks to food bloggers! (What, no lap dances?) But what to do if you’re not a service journalist and you want to eat for free at strip clubs?

The Post reports that a patron of the Penthouse Executive Club (which also boasts a location of Robert’s, as you’ll recall from Bruni’s review) is being sued because he failed to pay for $46,698 worth of “alcohol, steaks and private time with the club’s stable of strippers.” Ouch — that money ain’t so funny. Maybe the Penthouse Club will call it even if he blogs about those steaks?

Strip club stiff: Penthouse claims LI man racked up $46,000 in unpaid tab [NYP]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, penthouse executive club, robert’s steakhouse, scores

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Scoring tables at Torrisi Italian Specialites and the Waverly Inn just became slightly less of a hassle: Feast reports that Torrisi will now be open on Mondays (with a four-seat bar!) starting September 20, and Zagat has it that the Waverly is now accepting public dinner reservations at 917-828-1154. [Zagat Buzz, Feast]

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Filed Under: hours of operation, reservations, the waverly inn, torrisi italian specialties

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Flushing bakery Paris Baguette has opened a store in K-town, according to Midtown Lunch, and it’s not the only Asian newcomer to midtown today. We’re told the company that provides sushi to Whole Foods has launched its first fast-casual restaurant. Mái cuisine consists of a grab-and-go “deli” up front where you can purchase sushi created by Miki Willis (a Morimoto protégé who shares some of her master’s whimsy — read: prosciutto sushi), and a restaurant in the back where Takayuki “Shira” Shirasaka (formerly of the New Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan) offers more traditional fare to sit-down diners. Up front, you can build your own bento box for under $11 (choose from antipasti-esque “sozai” such as tofu caprese and shrimp-tempura ramen, and entrées such as grilled salmon and barbecue pork), and in the back, lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. (dinner starts next month). Below, your first look at the menu and the deli.

Photo: Courtesy of mai cuisine

Mái Cuisine Menu [PDF]

Mái cuisine, 16 E. 41st St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-400-8880
Paris Baguette, 6 W. 32nd St., nr. Fifth Ave.

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Filed Under: openings, mai cuisine, midtown, paris baguette

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“We want to be considered more a D.C. restaurant with New York ties than a New York restaurant in D.C.,” says the GM of the latest P.J. Clarke’s satellite. Recently, Hill Country was also said to be among the other Gotham eateries setting up shop in Capital City. [Voices/WP]

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Filed Under: other cities, hill country, p.j. clarke’s, washington d.c.

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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 can 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: New & Buzzy.

ABC Kitchen (Menu)
212-475-5829
Two for eight? No
Best available: 10 p.m.

BLT Bar & Grill (Menu)
646-826-8666
Two for eight? Yes

Ça Va (Menu)
212-803-4545
Two for eight? Yes

Kenmare (Menu)
212-274-9898
Two for eight? No
Best available: 9 p.m.

Nuela (Menu)
212-929-1200
Two for eight? Yes

Pulino’s Bar and Pizzeria (Menu)
212-226-1966
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:30 p.m.

Recette (Menu)
212-414-3000
Two for eight? Yes

Tamarind Tribeca (Menu)
212-775-9000
Two for eight? Yes

The Lion (Menu)
212-353-8400
Two for eight? No
Best available: 8:45 p.m.

Filed Under: two for eight,

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Shaul Margulies and Motoko Watanabe, the couple that owns Zenkichi, have converted their Williamsburg izakaya’s backyard into Akariba, a 40-seat lounge specializing in what Margulies calls “the deadly combo of sake and oysters.” Once it opens next Thursday, it’ll feature a seasonally rotating ten-item menu of oysters (everything from Blue Points to Kumamotos), small bites such as grilled toro, and within the next weeks, sashimi prepared by Zenkichi’s chef Tetsuya Akikawa, who honed his sushi skills at Jewel Bako. Desserts will come form Zenkichi.

Most of the dishes (excluding the sashimi) will be priced from $5 to $10, and cocktails made from beer, wine, and sake (which will also rotate seasonally) will cost $8 to $11. We’re told Akariba translates to “the glow of a lantern in the dark,” and as you can see in our slideshow, the interior (capped by a glass ceiling) is every bit as sultry as its sister establishment. Reservations won’t be accepted — just find Zenkichi’s hidden door and Akariba’s is a little bit to your right. Listen for the jazz …

Akariba, 77 N. 6th St., nr. Wythe Ave.; 718-388-8985

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Filed Under: slideshow, akariba, japanese, motoko watanabe, nightlife, sake bars, shaul margulies, williamsburg, zenkichi

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Don’t get too excited about the rumor that Johnny Iuzzini is leaving Jean-Georges Vongerichten for Michael White. A rep tells us: “Chef Michael White states that he is not, nor are any members of The Altamarea Group, currently in talks with Iuzzini regarding a pastry position.”

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, johnny iuzzini, michael white

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As we continue to track the progress of “Fall Preview” restaurants, may we turn your attention to Project Danji? An independent blogger is chronicling the construction and opening of Danji, the 33-seat Korean small-plates restaurant that Daniel and Masa vet Hooni Kim is bringing to East 52nd Street. Team Danji had been aiming for an October opening, but the blog is chock-full of hand-wringing about construction and licensing delays.

Basically, the building Danji will be residing in has a number of rent-controlled tenants. Because of that, the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) requested the filing of anti-harassment paperwork stating that the landlord is not forcing the tenants out of their space. This required an examiner to swing by and check things out, further complicating matters and stretching the time passed before the start of demolition.

On the bright side, the restaurant did manage to snag a coveted U.S. Small Business Administration loan. Presumably things will get more interesting closer to opening. Of course, as the Launch taught us, that may be a while …

Project Danji [Official site]

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Filed Under: openings, daniel, danji, hell’s kitchen, hooni kim, korean, masa

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Speaking of Ferran Adrià, the molecular maestro taught his first class at Harvard a couple of nights ago, and Food for Thought got a photo of his famous margarita (along with the intel that Adrià will soon be selling his olive oil caviar). Meanwhile, Grub Street Chicago shares a video of Grant Achatz preparing a liquid-nitrogen painkiller he’ll serve at Aviary. [Food for Thought, Grub Street Chicago]

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Filed Under: what to drink, aviary, cocktails, ferran adria, grant achatz, molecular gastronomy

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A while back, Thomas Keller told us that he was BFFs with BMW — his second car (which he still owns) was a 1978 BMW 320i and his current ride is a Beamer station wagon. So it’s no surprise that he’s inked a partnership with the brand wherein “select customers” of the French Laundry will get access to a $102,300 ActiveHybrid 7 sedan. Turns out the No. 1 hobby of BMW drivers is fine dining, so BMW is hoping that, where advertising is concerned, “the benefits could be rich.” Hence, look for a “BMW-inspired recipe” on today’s French Laundry menu: “Four Story Hill Farm Apple Fed Pork Loin with Bratwurst.”

BMW to Provide ActiveHybrid 7 Sedan for Diners at Keller’s French Laundry [Bloomberg]

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Filed Under: marketing gimmicks, bmw, the french laundry, thomas keller

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While we’re on the subject of fast-food favorites, Smashburger (which just opened a new store in New Jersey) is continuing its westward expansion and looking in Brooklyn. The Real Deal reports that “while it’s not immediately clear how many locations the chain restaurant plans to open, Cpex [a real-estate-services firm] said it was looking for storefronts between roughly 1,500 square feet and 2,000 square feet in size.”

Smashburger Plans Brooklyn Expansion [The Real Deal]

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Filed Under: the chain gang, smashburger

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