More bad news for the LeRoy family: Per Diner’s Journal, a Southern District Court judge has ruled that Warner LeRoy “made deliberate misstatements and omissions” when he fraudulently acquired the Tavern of the Green trademark (valued at $19 million) in 1981. The restaurant had been known as Tavern on the Green for 40 years before LeRoy came onboard, something he neglected to mention to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As a result, the city gets to keep the name if and when the restaurant reopens under Dean Poll.

Judge Rules the City Owns the Name Tavern on the Green [Diner’s Journal/NYT]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, dean poll, tavern on the green, warner leroy

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Kyochon, the double-fried-chicken pioneer that has grown to over 1,000 stores in Korea since being founded in 1991, finally unveiled its Manhattan flagship last night (lunch starts Friday). The opening is a year overdue, and a look inside explains the delays. The bi-level 4,600-square-foot space offers plenty to balk over (and why shouldn’t it — we’re talking about a company that in 2006 claimed assets in the $19 million range). There’s a first-floor takeout area with counter seating for 10 and a second floor with table seating for 50.

In addition to the light, extra-crispy fried chicken that you know and love from the Flushing location, there’s Korean beer as well as soju cocktails, from 11 a.m. till 2 a.m. And oh yes — there’s delivery. To heat and sweeten things up a bit, Eater notices signs indicating that rival Bonchon plans to open down the block at 325 Fifth Avenue. Before we start counting the days till that, check out Kyochon’s menu.

Kyochon Original Chicken
Choice of Sauce: Soy Garlic or
Hot & Sweet

Signature Wings
S (5pcs) $5.99
M (10pcs) $9.99
L (20pcs) $17.99

Grilled Wings
S (5pcs) $5.99
M (10pcs) $9.99
L (20pcs) $17.99

Drumsticks
S (2pcs) $4.99
M (4pcs) $8.99
L (6pcs) $13.99

Honey Wings
(Honey Sauce Only)
S (4pcs) $5.99
M (8pcs) $9.99
L (16pcs) $17.99

Kyochon Original Chicken
Choice of Sauce: Soy Garlic or Hot & Sweet
Signature Wings
R $17.99
L $24.99

Grilled Wings
R $17.99
L $24.99

Drumsticks
R $12.99
L $18.99

Honey Wings (Honey Sauce Only)
R $17.99
L $24.99

Dinner Plate

Chicken Steak
(Add: $1 Rice)
Choice of Rice Ball, Pickled Radish $13.99

Rice Ball “DUO”
(Choice of Green Tea, Broccoli Salad, Bul-gogi/Spicy Bul-gogi/Bi-Bim-Bap)
Side of Sal Sal Strip $9.99

Kyochon Fresh Baked Sandwich
(Choice of Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Pickle, Mozzarella OR American Cheese, Bacon)
Choice of Sauce: Garlic, Mango Mayo, Creamy Onion, Jambalaya, Apple
Sandwich served until 9PM
W/ Potato Wedges $11.99

Kyochon Samplers
Sampler #1 – $11.99
2 Soy Garlic Wings
2 Hot & Sweet Wings
2 Honey Wings
2 Croquettes

Sampler #2 – $11.99
1 Soy Garlic Drumstick
1 Hot & Sweet Drumstick
2 Original Sal Sal Strips
2 Croquettes

Sampler #3 – $11.99
2 Soy Garlic Grilled Wings
2 Hot & Sweet Grilled Wings
1 Chicken Steak
2 Croquettes

Sampler #4 – $26.99
2 Soy Garlic Wings
2 Hot & Sweet Wings
2 Honey Wings
1 Soy Garlic Drumstick
1 Hot & Sweet Drumstick
2 Original Sal Sal Strips
2 Soy Garlic Grilled Wings
2 Hot & Sweet Grilled Wings
1 Chicken Steak
2 Croquettes

Kyochon Special Dishes
Original Sal Sal Strips (6pcs) – $12.99
With Side Salad
Served with sauce trio (Garlic/Jambalaya/Honey Dijon)

Soy Sal Sal – $12.99
Chicken Steak – $12.99
Fruit Sal Sal – $12.99

Side Orders
Cole Slaw $3.99
Chilled Broccoli Salad $4.99
Pickled Radish $2.49
Potato Wedges $4.99
Mixed Green Salad $3.99
Chicken Croquette $4.99
White Rice $1.00

Kyochon, 319 Fifth Ave., nr. 32nd St.; 212-725-9292

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Filed Under: slideshow, bonchon, flushing, korean, korean fried chicken, kyochon, midtown, openings

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Pulino’s has opened its reservation line at 212-226-1966 for breakfast and lunch starting next Monday. Our first question, once we got past the constant busy signal: What sort of silliness (à la “Schiller’s is not now, nor has it ever been, a massage parlor”; Pastis’s “for directions in French, please take lessons at the Alliance Français”; and Minetta’s “for problems with your marriage, please call me at home”) would be on the outgoing message?

And the answer: “For lost and found and gift cards and other office nonsexual matters, please press four.” Okay. Our next question, after nine minutes on hold: Is there a table for two available at 1 p.m. on Monday? Answer: No, but there were still 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. tables. Dinner service starts March 26; it’s uncertain when those reservations will start being accepted.

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Filed Under: openings, 2 for 8, minetta tavern, pastis, pulino’s, reservations, schiller’s

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Anyone who said Mayor Bloomberg’s voluntary sodium reduction initiatives were a slippery slope should feel pretty vindicated (and terrified) by this: New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has introduced a bill that would outright ban the use of any salt in the preparation of restaurant food. “In this way,” Ortiz babbles maniacally to Nation’s Restaurant News, “consumers have more control over the amount of sodium they intake, and are given the option to exercise healthier diets and healthier lifestyles.”

Right — and maybe chefs shouldn’t even bother cooking and we should just have microwaves at every table, along with electronic ordering systems. Check out the text of the bill below; it proposes a minimum $1,000 fine for “each use of salt,” though it’s not clear what exactly a “use” is — $1,000 for each pinch of salt that goes onto your otherwise perfectly healthy pork belly? Stossel, go!

10129
I N A S S E M B L Y

March 5, 2010

Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, MARKEY — Multi-Sponsored by — M. of A. PERRY — read once and referred to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the use of salt in the preparation of food by restaurants

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399-bbb to read as follows:

S 399-BBB. PROHIBITION ON SALT; RESTAURANTS. 1. NO OWNER OR OPERATOR
OF A RESTAURANT IN THIS STATE SHALL USE SALT IN ANY FORM IN THE PREPARATION OF ANY FOOD FOR CONSUMPTION BY CUSTOMERS OF SUCH RESTAURANT, INCLUDING FOOD PREPARED TO BE CONSUMED ON THE PREMISES OF SUCH RESTAURANT OR OFF OF SUCH PREMISES.

2. WHENEVER THERE SHALL BE A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION AN APPLICATION MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION BY A SPECIAL PROCEEDING TO ISSUE AN INJUNCTION, AND UPON NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN THE CONTINUANCE OF SUCH VIOLATIONS; AND IF IT SHALL APPEAR TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE COURT OR JUSTICE THAT THE DEFENDANT HAS, IN FACT, VIOLATED THIS SECTION, AN INJUNCTION MAY BE ISSUED BY THE COURT OR JUSTICE, ENJOINING AND RESTRAINING ANY FURTHER VIOLATIONS, WITHOUT REQUIRING PROOF THAT ANY PERSON HAS, IN FACT, BEEN INJURED OR DAMAGED THEREBY. IN ANY SUCH PROCEEDING, THE COURT MAY MAKE ALLOWANCES TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH SIX OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF SECTION EIGHTY-THREE HUNDRED THREE OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES, AND DIRECT RESTITUTION. WHENEVER THE COURT SHALL DETERMINE THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION HAS OCCURRED, THE COURT MAY IMPOSE A CIVIL PENALTY OF NOT MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH VIOLATION. EACH USE OF SALT IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION SHALL CONSTITUTE A SEPARATE VIOLATION. IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUCH PROPOSED APPLICATION, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS AUTHORIZED TO TAKE PROOF AND MAKE A DETERMINATION OF THE RELEVANT FACTS AND TO ISSUE SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.

S 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.

EXPLANATION–Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted.

N.Y. lawmaker seeks to ban salt in restaurants [NRN]
A10129 Summary [New York State Assembly]

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Filed Under: health concerns, bills, felix ortiz, salts, sodium reduction, state assembly

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De Santos

Things not to do if you want your lounge to be the new Beatrice: tell the Observer that your lounge is the new Beatrice. Nevertheless, the owner of De Santos points out that his basement is “a very similar place, and now that [Beatrice] closed, this is a perfect place to come and hang out because it’s the same music and people who used to go to Bea.” Plus it has a lady name: Janis! Just like Chloe! And the Jane!

But Paul Sevigny isn’t impressed: “I don’t know why anyone would bother comparing themselves to anything else or setting themselves up for failure.” Clearly Jesse Malin, owner of Cabin Down Below, understands that. When Niteside tells him people are calling him the new Paul Sevigny, he says, “I don’t know who Paul Sevigny is. I thought I was the new Paul Stanley. I don’t usually talk too much about the clubs. They carry themselves.”

Take Another Little Piece of My Bar, Now Baby! Janis Channels Beatrice’s Vibe [NYO]
NiteTalk: Cabin Down Below’s Jesse Malin Talks Shop [Niteside]

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Filed Under: openings, chloe, janis, jesse malin, nightlife, the beatrice, the cabin down below, the jane

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Katy Sparks tells us she’s not the person behind rumors that Bussaco is in financial trouble, which owner Scott Carney accused her of being yesterday. “I haven’t spoken to the press at all about anything having to do with Bussaco,” says Sparks. “That I was waging some kind of campaign against it makes no sense because I was given 10 percent of the business upon joining the company and I only wish the restaurant survives.” Sparks declined to comment on how Bussaco is doing, and won’t say anything about why she left except that, “We really didn’t see eye to eye and didn’t have a meeting of the minds, and sometimes you can only find that out by working with each other.” Still, she wishes Carney well. Sparks will now continue focusing on her consulting business, though she says she wouldn’t rule out returning to full-time work with another restaurant.

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, beef, bussaco, katy sparks, scott carney

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The Post is really milking this breast-cheese story. Its follow-up today doesn’t really add much, though Liz Thorpe, vice-president of Murray’s Cheese shops, offers a critique, just for the record: “It was slippery, slightly crunchy and tasted like pickles … I give it a thumbs down.” And Gael Greene also chimes in with a review: “It’s not the flavor that shocks me — indeed, it is quite bland, slightly sweet, the mild taste overwhelmed by the accompanying apricot preserves and a sprinkle of paprika. It’s the unexpected texture that’s so off-putting. Strangely soft, bouncy, like panna cotta.”

‘Human cheese’ ma: Don’t have a cow! [NYP]
Breast Milk Cheese [Daily Beast]

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Filed Under: other critics, daniel angerer, klee brasserie

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The restaurant Cobi Levy of Charles plans to bring to the old Beatrice Inn space this summer will be a “modestly priced Spanish tapas restaurant with 110 to 120 seats and one bar,” reports Eater after attending last night’s Community Board 2 licensing meeting. The CB hasn’t yet come to an agreement with Levy on closing hours. [Eater NY]

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Filed Under: openings, beatrice inn, cobi levy, community board 2, west village

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Bussaco owner Scott Carney was quite vocal when he parted ways with opening chef Matthew Schaefer, and now that his relationship with more recent chef Katy Sparks has gone sour, he’s really opening his mouth. Last week Eater floated an anonymous rumor that Bussaco is in trouble (plummeting sales, bouncing checks), and today Carney tells the Brooklyn Paper that his business, which is doing quite well thank you very much, is being “endangered with gossip and lies.” Sparks, he tells the paper, “is exploiting your medium [print media] in a malicious and libelous manner to destroy my family’s business.” That said, he wishes her well!

‘Sparks’ fly at Bussaco! Owner responds: We’re being defamed! [Brooklyn Paper]

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Filed Under: chef shuffle, bussaco, katy sparks, matthew schaefer, park slope, scott carney

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Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis had better head to whatever aisle the aspirin is in, because he has a new headache on his hands. A gender-discrimination complaint that was initiated in 2006 has finally been certified as a class-action suit. Three plaintiffs (Susan Duling, Margaret Anderson, and Lakeya Sewer) are alleging that the store violates the civil rights of its female employees by considering them only for dead-end cashier and bookkeeping jobs, while men get clerk positions that lead to promotions. (Anderson claims that when she asked about stock-clerk positions during a job interview, a male manager told her he needed “big guys.”) The lawsuit also alleges that the supermarket chain’s “tap on the shoulder” method of promoting employees gives an undue amount of discretion to its mostly male managers. Read the complaint below, which estimates that class member claims exceed $5 million.

Hill et. al. vs. Gristedes et. al. [PDF]

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Filed Under: lawsuits, gender discrimination, gristedes, john catsimatidis

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UrbanDaddy pulls the curtain off the relaunch of One Little West 12, and it looks like the One Group has done something similar to Steve Hanson turning nearby Level V into 675 Bar. Designer iCrave (who also did sister venue STK) has ditched the previous venue’s dated lounge décor and, by the looks of the interior shot, replaced it with something totally wacky: “There’s art made out of slot machines, mechanical sculptures tacked to the ceiling, lighting that looks like robotic jellyfish and chairs made out of old street signs and streetlights (art imitating traffic).” The multiculti menu, meanwhile, also seems to take a cue from 675 Bar and runs the gamut from short-rib stroganoff to chicken and waffles to disco fries — there’s even a nod to the tater-tot trend! The Collective, as this little adventure in down-marketing is called, opens Monday.

The Collective, 1 Little West 12th St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 212-255-9717

Meatpacking’s New Crazy Zone [UrbanDaddy]

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Filed Under: openings, meatpacking district, one group, one little west 12, the collective

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Laurent Tourondel may be out at BLT Burger, but Tabasco has tapped him for his slider recipe. Tourondel has designed the menu for a so-called “Tabasco Hangover Headquarters” food truck, and on March 18, the day after St. Patty’s, the rig (but not Tourondel, it seems) will serve hangover grub like a bacon pizetta, sirloin sliders, and a corned-beef-hash with sunny-side-up-egg sandwich, plus virgin Bloodys. And it’ll all be free! So if waiting in an epic line is precisely what you want to do while you’re in the grips of hangover hell, try your luck between 7 and 9:30 a.m. at 48th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, or at 26 Broadway near Bowling Green from noon till 2 p.m.

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Filed Under: marketing gimmicks, laurent tourondel, st. patricks day, tabasco

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