Michael Steele is just wasting RNC money on limos and private planes and, yes, private bondage-themed nightclubs with topless ladies. Update: A Republican consultant charged the trip to the RNC, and the party says Chairman Mike was not actually there.
We received a text from a tipster at 5.08am saying: "Mike's apt is on fire right now! Black eyed peas and axl!" Which, using our young-people translator, we deduce means a breakfast meeting of musical minds occurred at the hotspot.
Beatrice Inn and the Jane Hotel were closed by prissy neighbours. Downtown stalwarts like Lit and the Box face constant scrutiny from the city. So the newest hangout for celebrities (not to mention strippers and transsexuals) is a random apartment.
It was revealed with much fanfare that Paul Sevigny will be part of the team behind new space Kenmare. The B-word was used repeatedly. But the space is still not the true successor to Sevigny's much-missed Beatrice Inn.
It's looking increasingly unlikely that Amy Sacco will ever reopen Bungalow 8, which closed last fall. Although she sent out an email blast in December that promised a "GRAND RE-OPENING" in time for Fashion Week, she now admits that won't be happening. And although she now claims that she should have things ready to…
Hope all you smokers enjoyed the (temporary, unofficial) lifting of the city's smoking ban while it lasted. A couple of weeks after the front page of the Times' Sunday Styles section pointed out that the city wasn't doing much to enforce the law, and now the Health Department is taking action. It's now moving to shut…
• NYC Winter Restaurant Week begins today, in case you weren't aware. [SE]
• A roundup of restaurants opening over the next week. [NYM, Eater, TONY]
• A few theories on the recent shakeup at the Four Seasons and the ouster of acclaimed chef Fabio Trabocchi just three months into his tenure. [NYP]
• Did your waiter use…
Burger King is opening the Whopper Bar in South Beach that will serve hamburgers and American beer 24/7. We've seen the people that hang out at Burger King and we'll pass. Call us when Sonic is serving up Jell-O shots.
• Rumor has it Danny Meyer and Ian Schrager are currently in "advanced talks" to open a restaurant on the roof of the Gramercy Park Hotel. [P6]
• Will we see the classic tiki bar make a comeback in 2010? [NYT]
• Minetta Tavern introduces brunch service this weekend. [UD]
• New Tavern on the Green operator Dean Poll…
• The Tavern on the Green auction kicked off today and continues through Friday. Expect long lines if you plan on checking it out yourself. (But forget about meeting Regis Philbin if you go; he was already there today.) [Crain's]
• Four Seasons chef Fabio Trabocchi is out after only three months. [NYP]
• The critics:…
The boys at gay New York nightlife mag Next Magazine mapped out all the homosexual establishments that closed over the past ten years. This makes us feel sad and old. Click to enlarge.
• Roundups of new restaurants opening over the next week. [NYM, TONY]
• Photos: A peek at Wall & Water, which opens later this week in the Andaz Wall Street hotel; and pics of Choptank (formerly Bar Q), opening tonight.
• Rumor has it snooty UES restaurant/club Bruno Jamais has closed. [Eater]
• Beatrice Inn founders…
• Up next for Red Cat and Harrison owner Jimmy Bradley: An eatery at the forthcoming Nolitan hotel with Red Cat chef Bill McDaniel in the kitchen. [NYT]
• The team behind Dutch Kills in LIC are prepping a tiki bar on the LES. [F&W]
• Montenapo, the restaurant in the New York Times building, has closed. [GS]
• Danny…
• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times calls Casa Lever "deeply likable" and gives it two stars; Gael Greene heads to the Breslin; The New Yorker's Andrea Thompson weighs in on Joseph Leonard in the West Village; and GQ's Alan Richman recounts a couple of disastrous dinners at Sparks.
• Another day, another…
• A federal judge has yet to decide whether the city or the LeRoy family controls the "Tavern on the Green" name. In the meantime, the city's plan to use "Tavern in the Park" as a possible backup has been given the kibosh. [NYT]
• Café Gitane's Jane Hotel outpost is now serving dinner. [Gothamist]
• A roundup of a few…
The issue people take with trend pieces is that [this thing] should be [that thing]. That's not the problem with the "People are Illegally Smoking in New York Bars" pieces, because breaking laws is always trendy! The problem is...
• Closings/bankruptcies: 20-year-old Kitchen Club in Nolita will serve its last meal on New Year's Eve; after 64 years on the UES, Gino will close its doors at the end of January; and Mama Mexico's UWS location has filed Chapter 11.
• A roundup of restaurants opening in the next few weeks. [TONY]
• New York's 2010…
• Tom Colicchio is closing Craftsteak. He says he plans to reopen the space in the next few weeks with a new menu and new name, Colicchio & Sons. [GS]
• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times shows some love to La Grenouille, giving the "the last great French restaurant in New York" three stars; Ryan Sutton of…
Amy Sacco sent out an email blast on Friday announcing—once again—that she plans to reopen Bungalow 8 in the near future. ("SAVE FEB FASHION WEEK FOR THE GRAND RE-OPENING OF THE NEW BUNGALOW 8 NYC!") Anything is possible. Although if she really is planning to bring the former hotspot back, it's probably going to…
