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Nate Appleman shares ramen with son Oliver at Ippudo.

Further evidence of a red-sauce migration sweeping east: No fewer than six members of Nate Appleman’s crew at Pulino’s abandoned A16 or SPQR in San Francisco to join their former colleague. “I compare it to, like, a baseball player wanting to play for the Yankees. Every chef wants a shot at cooking in New York,” explains Appleman, who moved here last July as a free agent before being drafted by Keith McNally. Less than a year later, Appleman is poised to debut an extensive menu — relying on two wood-burning ovens — featuring antipasti, Balthazar-influenced pizza, and lots of meat. “Beef, pork, lamb — we’re going to be bringing in whole cows and butchering them. I built a butcher room,” he says. In anticipation of a March 9 opening (when just breakfast and lunch will launch), Appleman spends his New York Diet of taste-tasting mozzarella and previewing desserts by pastry chef Jane Tseng, an A16 alum.

Friday, February 5
I had a Lärabar. It’s like a date and nut bar. I also had a graham cracker with peanut butter and black coffee. I always make breakfast at home, because I always run in the mornings and I need energy. Five miles is my standard run almost every day. That morning I was running late to go to New Jersey and do a mozzarella tasting.

I went and had four different mozzarella at Lioni. I’m going to use their mozzarella on the pizzas. Some of them were fresh, some of them were semi-dried; different ages and different salt content. I chose a fresh/semi-dried hybrid. That time we just did a tasting plain, but to really figure out which one I wanted I had to cook pizza and put it on the pizza.

I came back to New York and had a passatelli in brodo from Balthazar Bakery, and then after lunch I made mozzarella, because I got curd from the factory. I really enjoyed it. It may be something we do at the restaurant, but it’s not 100 percent. You’ve got to treat it very gently. That’s the trick — you can’t squeeze it.

After that, I went and had a dessert tasting with my pastry chef, Jane Tseng. She made a farro budino with goat-milk yogurt and it was so delicious. She also made a lard and rosemary tigella, which is like an Italian English muffin that’s going to be on our brunch menu. We’re going to start it on the side of a couple of the egg dishes.

Then I had a chili tasting, as in hot pepper. That was at Balthazar Bakery too. I found an Italian variety that’s really tasty. It’s not too spicy. They called it Italian peppers. I followed that up with coffee because I had too much sugar.

For dinner, I went to Dos Toros. It’s this San Francisco–style Mexican place, and had a chicken quesadilla. I read about it in the New York Times and I wanted to check it out. It was really tasty.

That was it. If you can’t tell, I eat a lot.

Saturday, February 6
Saturday morning, in the middle of my run, I had an everything bagel with white fish, salad, cucumber, and red onion at Zucker’s.

I didn’t have lunch that day, but I had a snack of pretzels and peanut butter mid-afternoon. Then, I went back to Balthazar Bakery to do another tasting with my pastry chef, and she made a chocolate semifreddo with crispy rice, caramelized milk, and lemon. I loved it. It’s going to be on the menu. She also made an affogato with anisette gelato and orange biscotti. She also made a chestnut crostata with rosemary and a pinenut-brittle gelato. She nailed them. They were amazing.

After that, I had coffee.

For dinner I went to Matsugen. I had the Yuba sushi, chicken meatballs, oshinko — the pickles. I had the Barachirashi, a rice and fish dish, and their signature cold soba, the Matsugen soba. It was actually my first time there. I’d been wanting to go because I live kind of close, and decided to finally do it. The Barachirashi was my favorite dish.

Sunday, February 7
I had oatmeal with banana, yogurt, and almond butter, and coffee.

Sunday I didn’t run. Sunday is my off day and I cooked with my son, Oliver, all day.

We made the oatmeal for breakfast and then we started dinner; I put everything in the oven before we left for lunch. I made pork-rib adobo — pork spare ribs with crispy garlic rice and salt-baked sweet potatoes. He eats everything. He’s two and a half now, almost three. He grabs the tongs, he tries to turn the meat. It’s hilarious.

We went out for lunch. We had pizza at Famous Ray’s in the West Village.

We ate dinner about 6:30 and then I went to a Super Bowl party after that. One of my sous-chefs lives in midtown. It was like a potluck, and a couple of my other sous-chefs were there and they made some chili and an eighteen-layer bean dip. It was in a huge Dutch oven.

Monday, February 8
I had a mixed bowl of cereal: shredded wheat, honey, and oat-nut crunch, and Trader Joe’s Honey Os. And then I mixed banana and yogurt into that and had coffee. That was after my run. I have to eat immediately afterwards or I’m just tired the rest of the day.

For lunch, I had French onion soup and a ham-and-butter baguette from Balthazar Bakery. After lunch, I had a bite of a chocolate birthday cake from Dean & Deluca for somebody in the office. I’m working out of the corporate office right now in Soho, near Balthazar.

One of our purveyors dropped off some goat cheese, and I had some goat cheese with a slice of bread, and then I had coffee.

For dinner, I took the leftovers from the night before and made eggs with leftover pork and roasted peppers and pineapple that I just diced up and stir-fried into the whole mess. For dessert, the leftover pineapple.

Tuesday, February 9
Tuesday, I had the same breakfast that I had on Monday after my run.

Before lunch I had a cheese tasting at Saxelby Cheese and tasted ten different cheeses. There’s one called Grayson, it’s very similar to a Taleggio. That really stood out. I’m just looking for pizzas, actually.

For lunch, I went to my new favorite restaurant called Torrisi Italian Specialties. I had handmade mozzarella, braised broccoli rabe, beans and bacon, potatoes and pepperoni, spicy egg sandwich with roasted peppers and provolone, and lasagna. I love that place. I had water and coffee.

After lunch I had a chocolate-hazelnut croissant that we’re working on for the breakfast menu. That was a combination between my pastry chef and one of my sous-chefs who’s heading up the pizza program, Beth Ann Simpkins.

I tried a new pizza place called Numero 28 and I had half what they call diavola pizza and then half a five-cheese pizza. I thought it was good, you know; I’m not going to rush back. Honestly, it was a little expensive for what it was, and that’s the whole reason I probably won’t rush back.

Then I had a scoop of ice cream with Oliver: maple-banana walnut at Sundaes and Cones.

Wednesday, February 10
For breakfast, I had an English muffin with egg, cheddar, and avocado. I did not run because of the snow. I had that with an espresso.

For lunch I went to Ippudo. I had the chicken tori ramen and the Mentaiko rice. Oliver had the rice, and he also had some ramen. He loves cod roe, the Mentaiko, he just loves it. He has a little bit of a heart condition. He’s on a special diet where he can’t have a lot of vitamin K. That’s the only thing he can’t have. But he loves all food. It’s very sad, but [Vitamin K is in] everything that’s green: avocadoes, mangoes, chickpeas, lentils — all good food. He’s okay. It’s something that he’s going to have to deal with for his entire life. He was in the hospital for like a month when we first moved here, but he’s getting better.

Then someone had dropped off samples of buttermilk, hazelnuts, and raw honey at the office from a local farm. Actually, the hazelnuts are from Oregon. Really good.

For dinner, I went to Faustina. We had pretty much the entire menu, and I thought everything was great. You know, for only being open a week, they’re doing a great job. There were six of us, a couple of my sous-chefs, a couple friends. I especially liked the cannelloni with tomatoes. It was just really simple, but super tasty and the presentation was really nice. They did it tableside. And all the desserts — all the desserts were amazing.

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Filed Under: the new york diet, a16, dos toros, matsugen, nate appleman, pulino’s


East Village: Mama’s Food Shop now serves brunch weekends from noon to 5 p.m. An entrée, side, and coffee or juice is $13. [Grub Street]
Harlem: Best Yet Market just opened to high praise for fresh produce, an eager staff, and pizza. [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown West: The Duane Reade on 51st near Sixth Avenue now sells sushi in a new food section. [Midtown Lunch]
Park Slope: The openings of Mack’s Bar and Grill — the follow-up to Johnny Mack’s pub — on Seventh Avenue near Carroll Street, is imminent. [Brownstoner]

Soho: The Hampton Inn Soho opened a bar called Artifakt to the public on Super Bowl Sunday. [Hotel Chatter/Hampton_Inn_SoHo_Has_a_New_Bar_With_an_Old_Name]
Tribeca: New York Vintners hosts a Tuscan wine dinner with Canalicchio di Sopra winemaker Francesco Ripaccioli on February 19 at 7 p.m. [Grub Street]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, east village, mama’s food shop, new york vintner’s, soho


Hell’s Kitchen: All drinks — cocktails, sake, wine, and beer — are 50 percent off at Kyotofu from now until closing tonight at 12:30 a.m. [Grub Street]

Midtown East: Little Italy Pizza just opened a second location on 33rd Street near Seventh Avenue. [Midtown Lunch]

Williamsburg: Egg is selling playful handmade Valentine’s Day cards (pigs humping!) that come with a cookie and support a high-school garden project in Brooklyn for $10. [Grub Street]

West Village: Cabrito is running an all-night happy hour today to lure drinkers out of the snow. [Grub Street]

Kingswood closed today owing to smoke damage from a fire in the same building, but plans to reopen this weekend. [Eater NY]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, cabrito, hell’s kitchen, kingswood, kyotofu, little italy pizza, midtown east, west village


Cobble Hill: A new Mediterranean spot called Palmyra opened at 316 Court Street and serves this mezze-heavy menu daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. [Grub Street]

East Village: The owners of the recently shuttered Butcher Bay are said to be planning a bistro next to their other spot, Black Iron Burger Shop. [Grub Street]

Gowanus: A café and cultural center is under construction on Fourth Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets. [Brownstoner]

Midtown West: On March 7 at 6:30 p.m., Rachael Ray and Ruth Reichl join Kim Severson for a Times Talks event about her new book, Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life. [Times Talks]

Nolita: Torrisi Italian Specialties chose Piginahat.com as the URL for its website. [Grub Street]

Tribeca: RBC hosts Brazilian champion barista Sylvia Magalhaes on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. to share recipes and latte art. [Grub Street]

Williamsburg: A scrawled note on the wall at El Beit reveals there’s a heartbreaker in the hood: “”I’m on vaca with my boyfriend but I’m going to break up with him when we get home.” [Free Williamsburg]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, el beit, palmyra, rachael ray, ruth reichl, sylvia magalhaes, times talks, torrisi italian specialities


While the opening date of Má Pêche is closely guarded, David Chang and chef Tien Ho debuted new dishes at a kickoff party with Alice Waters for Edible Schoolyard New York last night. Supporters of P.S. 216 in Brooklyn paid $350 to fund the $1.6 million greenhouse and garden project. In exchange, guests tried hors d’oeuvres like oxtail rillette with chanterelles and pine nuts, beef cheek and onion tartlets, beef tartar with charred scallions scooped onto tiny shrimp chips, short ribs with hoisin, and fried cauliflower with fresh mint and fish sauce. The beverage of choice was a Pear Collins: pear cider, apple brandy, and maple syrup.

Chang is a longtime supporter of the Edible Schoolyard project, which took over a decade to come to New York. “There are a lot of lots that are vacant, and I thought, why can’t we grow herbs or build a temporary greenhouse?” Chang told us. “I did so poorly in school, but I remember everything we did as a kid that involved cooking — we made butter in elementary school. Maybe it’s my way of giving back.” If you don’t have the pocket change to schmooze, P.S. 216 principal Celia Kaplinsky said supporters can e-mail info@esyny.org to volunteer after the ground breaking this summer.

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Filed Under: foodievents, alice waters, chambers hotel, david chang, edible schoolyard, ma peche


In the magazine this week, Adam Platt reviews two newcomers serving southern food and small plates, respectively. Tipsy Parson “is clearly designed as a decorous, tea-social alternative to the usual barbecue joints and fry houses that pass for southern restaurants in this Yankee town,” he writes. But he misses some staples like fried chicken: “Since this popular, consistently crowded restaurant opened, several of the more traditionalist southern-style appetizers and entrées appear to have been excised from the menu.” Further downtown, “the Denton brothers’ latest dining outlet, Corsino … seems to have been designed with durability, and a high turnover rate, in mind,” complains Platt. “None of the pastas or entrées cost over $20, and most are competent in a serviceable, professional way, but not outstanding.”

Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld forage this week for the best baked goods in town, including a new line of sweets introduced at Bklyn Larder that boasts buttermilk cake, pistachio loaf cake, and “perfectly textured, crispy-chewy cookies.” Rob and Robin preview the opening of Bistro Vendôme, where former Jubilee chef-partner Pascal Petiteau “revives many of his signature Gallic classics,” as well as the Meatball Shop. Also in comfort food: Black radishes are in season, and “chef Neil Ferguson, formerly of Allen & Delancey and now at Soho House, tempers the root’s characteristic bite in a rich, creamy gratin.” Finally, our real-estate section asks a newcomer and an old-timer to list their favorite stops in Hell’s Kitchen; the young guy digs Xie Xie, while a fellow clearly predating the carbophobe generation recommends H&H Bagels, Little Pie Company, and Amy’s Bread.

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Filed Under: in the magazine, bistro vendome, corsino, in season, meatball shop, openings, recipes, tipsy parson


Astoria: Gleason’s and its honey-mustard wings top a list of the neighborhood’s best bar food. [Joey in Astoria]
Clinton Hill: Today marks the debut of FAB Friday, when local businesses offer specials like wine tastings and free dessert with dinner. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Midtown East: Burger spot Black Shack now serves beer. [Midtown Lunch]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, astoria, black shack, midtown east, the mark, upper east side



Model Adam Senn at Film Center Café.

After a stint as a party boy on The City, model and Il Bastardo partner Adam Senn rapidly expanded his résumé. He just returned from Milan Fashion Week to rep Dolce & Gabbana, announced his investment in Film Center Café, and is working on the acting portion of his triple threat. Senn plays a video director and love interest of Meagan Goode in Video Girl, which awaits a distributor. “I ran probably about five miles a day every morning just to release a lot of tension, and did a lot of yoga exercises,” said Senn about his preparation for the role. A self-described “gym rat,” Senn’s New York Diet was consumed with little concern for forthcoming Fashion Week casting calls.

Saturday, January 30
I was in L.A. screening the movie. I’m back and forth and split a house with a friend of mine. For breakfast, I had French toast stuffed with strawberry jelly and cream cheese with maple syrup at Doughboys. And I had an iced latte with skim milk. I usually work out on the weekdays, Monday through Friday.

Before lunch I went to In-N-Out Burger. That’s so bad. I had a double, animal-style. Every time I go to L.A. I eat there at least once. I’ve been to Shake Shack. Actually, for my restaurant, we get our meat from the same people they get their meat from, LaFrieda. Shake Shack is good, but I don’t know, there’s something about In-N-Out. The sauce, for one, whatever they put on it. I like how the fries are just regular cut fries.

Then I went and ate lunch with a friend of mine, [the director] Ty Hodges. I had ravioli stuffed with blue crab. I can’t think of the restaurant. It was off of Sunset. It was great.

Dinner was at the Spanish Kitchen. It was a friend of mine’s birthday, Seth Miller, and I had chicken fajitas and iced tea. I haven’t drank alcohol in probably about eight months. Actually, you go so long with drinking alcohol, even if it’s just once a week for a year or so, for five years, why can’t you go five years without? I just get weird like that; I’m always looking online at diets. I get bored with one workout, one diet, just change it up a little bit, and look at other people’s habits. It’s not hard at all. I’ve gone a year without drinking before, just one time. Now I really just don’t have any intention. It’s just not appetizing to me. I didn’t have anything for dessert.

Later, we went to Voyeur, I think it’s called. I wouldn’t call myself a huge dancer. But it was a pretty big night — Saturday night before Grammy night. And it was my best friend’s birthday, so …

Sunday, January 31
Sunday morning, I woke up around 9 a.m. and, this sounds stupid, but I had a homemade, from scratch, cupcake from my buddy’s birthday. They were amazing with, like, a coffee-type icing on top of it as well. Just ridiculous.

I skipped lunch all day because I flew out, and didn’t eat again until midnight after my flight got in. Well, I had a Baby Ruth and a bottle of water at the airport, but I was rushing.

I went to Mercy Deli over here, a Chelsea deli, and had a turkey, lettuce, tomato, and American cheese sandwich, a bag of chips, a Smart Water, and a Crunchie bar. It’s from the U.K. originally. It’s awesome. It’s honeycomb dipped in chocolate. Like I said, I go through different phases. I feel like you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, pretty much, as long as you exercise. I’m a pretty strong believer in that.

Monday, February 1
Monday morning, I had another iced coffee across the street from where I live. I was working. The shoot was for Macy’s, so I went there and had an everything bagel with cream cheese from the shoot.

It was a decent lunch. I had a chicken-salad wrap, also from the shoot. And water.

Dinner Monday, I ate downstairs at my restaurant Il Bastardo: tortellini with chicken breast. I’ve always been around good southern food, and then I came here to New York and met one of my best friends, Bobby Malta, who owns something like sixteen different restaurants. I met him and he kind of took me under his wing. Since I’ve been here and I made a decent amount of cash, I ended up coming up with a concept and investing in Il Bastardo and Bar Baresco.

I’m definitely involved in a lot of different aspects. I have a hands-on approach to making sure the staff is dressed right, making sure the food is presented correctly, tastes right. I came up with the concept of having the wine bar next door. We have 40 different wines by the glass.

Tuesday, February 2
I didn’t wake up till the afternoon. I went to Film Center Café with a friend of mine, Tiiu Kuik, the supermodel chick. I had a cheeseburger and an iced tea, and she had macaroni and cheese with truffles.

After lunch, I ended up going to the gym. I go to the gym on weekdays around 8 p.m. to 9:30 or 10. Monday’s kind of like a light day. I’ll run three miles starting to warm up, and then, it was a chest day so I do — I always do four sets of everything, some people do three, it’s kinda like an extra kick in the ass with four — flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, flies, then triceps … you really want to know all this? Tuesday would be biceps, shoulders, abs, and forearms, I guess, I don’t know — this sounds lame. And then Wednesday is legs. And every day, I run three miles before the workout.

Tuesday night, I had Mercy Deli again. I had a salad with chicken on it.

Wednesday, February 3
I had cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and then for lunch I had Subway: a tuna sandwich, two bags of Sun Chips, and a bottle of water. And for dinner from Il Bastardo: red snapper and steamed broccoli and an iced tea.

Thursday, February 4
Nothing yet. Toothpaste.

For Fashion Week, I’ll probably just stick to mostly proteins and greens, and will cut down on carbs. They have castings going on right now. I’ve been around for a while, so I’ll go to maybe a casting or two and you’ll see what happens.

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Filed Under: the new york diet, adam senn, doughboys, film center cafe, il bastardo, the spanish kitchen


“I have doubts about the physical demands of the kitchen,” Dan Barber confessed last night at the 92nd Street Y. “I am a part of the service and I find my stamina decreasing.” The chef joined Tom Colicchio, and French expats André Soltner and Jacques Torres on a panel with FCI founder Dorothy Hamilton to discuss her new book,
Love What You Do. Loving it, it seems, doesn’t make it easy. Keep reading, aspiring chefs. It’s time to be scared straight.

Dan Barber is tired. “At Stone Barns, for example, there are no menus. You come to the restaurant, you sit at the table, and the ticket comes in as an interview with the captain: What are your likes, dislikes, allergies, things you’re very interested in. There’s notes: They range from “this person has been dying to come to the restaurant for the last year or two,” to “this person is totally uninterested in what we’re doing, and would rather be someplace else.” The menus tend to be different between tables, and very different from night to night, and that requires a commitment and a flexibility and devotion that I hadn’t really anticipated. The best way to inspire a tired, physically and mentally rundown chef is to be there, with him or her, doing the same thing, which is really hard to do. So I wonder about this philosophy.”

Tom Colicchio is … the Apprentice “We don’t have an apprenticeship system here, but you can put yourself through one if you try. All you have to do is work in one restaurant for a year, and then you move to another restaurant. I grew up in New Jersey, and I worked at some pretty bad restaurants until I found myself at a pretty good restaurant.”

Jacques Torres, Food Orthopedist “If you look at the medical profession, the chef is in the emergency room. You see the chefs really reacting to the service and dealing with what’s going on at the moment. The pastry chef would be the knee guy or something. You cannot bake a cake by the time a customer sits. You can assemble desserts, put whipped cream and berries together, but it takes a lot more planning … At Le Cirque, we were twelve pastry cooks in one restaurant; that’s pretty unbelievable. Once the manager came and said, ‘Can you do a tanker in chocolate?’ And we said, ‘Yes, how long?’ And he said, ‘Oh, you have time, the customer just sat.’ Sirio was on top of his game when I started and it was unbelievable. He was magic and it was a magic place.”

André Soltner Gets Poached “I was working in Paris as a sous-chef, and one of my pastry chefs emigrated here. The person he was working for had an idea that he wanted to open a restaurant — Henri Soulé. He came to Paris, ate at the restaurant, and after his dinner he said to the maitre d’, ‘I bring greetings to the chef from Robert, the pastry chef, can I see the chef?’ The maitre d’ told me; I went to see him; and he said, ‘I bring greetings from Robert and, well, the real reason is I would like to talk to you outside.’ We had a meeting the next day, and that’s the way you steal chefs.”

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Filed Under: back of the house, andre soltner, dan barber, dorothy hamilton, foodievents, jaques torres, tom colicchio


East Village: Christina Tosi is working on a Milk Bar cookbook. [NYO via Eater NY]
Gowanus: Tomorrow night at 6 p.m., there’s a Soup and Bread Cookbook Party at the Bell House to benefit the New York City Coalition Against Hunger. [Brooklyn Based]
Midtown East: Frozen custard shop Spoon City now sells “Custard Hot Chocolate.” [Midtown Lunch]
Upper East Side: Daniel Boulud will host his annual Burgundy, Blue Jeans, and Blues fund-raiser for Citymeals-on-Wheels at Daniel on Sunday, April 18. Individual tickets are $1,000, and $25,000 gets you a “gourmand” table for ten. E-mail Heather Gere for more information. [Grub Street]
Staten Island: Chris Cheung is now cooking at Fushimi. [SI Live]
Williamsburg: Zenkichi is serving a special winter prix fixe: four courses and a carafe of warm sake for $35. [Grub Street]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, christina tosi, daniel boulud, east village, foodievents, gowanus, milk bar, milk bar cookbook, upper east side, williamsburg, zenkichi

Valentine’s Day, boon to florists, bars, and enterprising restaurants, offers dessert lovers a holiday of their own. Bakeries are not shy about cashing in on the cupcake craze, and Valentine&#8217s Day brings a whole slew of options. Pick up a box of edible roses from Kumquat Cupcakery’s pop-up in Greenpoint, or send a love letter baked by Magnolia (ask for them at the new Dubai location!). Like flowers, desserts won’t last forever, but they will endure a gym workout.

Related: The Valentine’s Playbook 2010

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Filed Under: user’s guide, cupcakes, cupmudgeonism, slideshows, sweet news, valentine’s day


Flatiron: Joe Bastianich’s Eataly posted a sign to announce its opening this summer. [Fork in the Road/VV]
Hell’s Kitchen: Just like April Bloomfield’s restaurants, the new Print features a designated forager. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Lower East Side: 88 Orchard unveils evening table service and a new small-plates menu tomorrow night with dishes like chickpea-and-butternut-squash salad and lamb sloppy joes, plus dumplings from Vanessa’s Dumpling House and Saxelby cheeses. [Grub Street]
Upper East Side: Cascabel Taqueria introduces a new tequila menu Thursday with a tasting tray of eight shots for $60, margaritas, and a house marg combining fresh grapefruit juice and chili. [Grub Street]

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Filed Under: neighborhood watch, 88 orchard, cascabel, hell’s kitchen, le bernardin, lower east side, midtown west, print, upper east side


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