New York Restaurants

Estela 47 East Houston Street, Nolita Phone: 212-219-7693 Web: EstelaNYC.com Status: Opens Tonight Tonight marks the debut of Estela, the new project from sommelier Thomas Carter, chef Ignacio Mattos, and Mark Connell, who owns Botanica, the bar and lounge downstairs. As previously reported, Estela is a restaurant in the tradition of places like Manfreds og Vin in Copenhagen, Cal Pep in Barcelona, and Le Verre Volé in Paris, where the atmosphere is meant to be lively and casual. Mattos, who last cooked at Isa in Williamsburg, has put together a menu consisting mostly of snacks (olives, Virginia hams, blood sausage croquettes) and small plates (burrata with radishes and lovage, kohlrabi with hazelnuts and fossa cheese, mussels escabeche on toast) meant for sharing, as well as a few larger dishes, like a steak with anchovies and cabbage gratin. Carter's list is organized by subregion and attempts to showcase wines from people who "are making wine every day [in the vineyard], coming up with a product that is linear but complex, with no oak treatment." Estela is a walk-in restaurant, with reservations only accepted for parties of eight or more. It is currently open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 6 p.m to 12 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The bar stays open every night until 1 a.m. Further Reading: NY Mag, FloFab Previous Coverage: Coming Attractions Feature, 6/10/2013. Mattos and Carter [Daniel Krieger]

It really is kind of stylish, right? This baguette bag, which seems equal parts Amélie and American Apparel, does not yet exist, but it should. It's the work of Ukraine-based designer Victoria Panyukova, who writes that "your trip home from the bakery will never be the same" once the bag is in play. This comes across like a bit of a threat, of course, but we'll take it anyhow because the baguette bag is 100 percent cotton, and not only does it have a magnetic closure for easy bread access, it also has a "special inner layer that strengthens the shell," meaning it deters crust damage. Most of all, it's stylish and will eventually be produced in four colors. Or hopefully, at least. Ms. Panyukova is looking to raise 4,000 euros (about $5,360) to put this dream into production. And unlike other fake-seeming products that may be orbiting about your social-media ionosphere, this thing isn't being used to sell you French fries or pizza. It's here to protect your bread, fair and square, and also make you stylish. Perhaps more stylish than you deserve to be. Don't you want to be able to say you were on the right side of history? Or at least be the envy of all your baguette-loving friends? There is nothing as powerful, after all, as a baguette tote whose time has come. Baguette Bag by CYAN [Wowcracy via FDL] Related: Pizza Drones and Hands-Free Whopper Holders: How Fast-Food Giants Make Big Money by Selling Fake Products Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: crusty, baguette bag, cyan, fashion, victoria panyukova

Pizzeria Uno has sued the Howard Hughes Corporation, landlords of the South Street Seaport, after Hughes kicked out the chain to redevelop Pier 17. The lawsuit says that Hughes had the option to terminate the lease early for redevelopment but that it had agreed to compensate the chain if it went that route, which it claims Hughes ignored after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the neighborhood. [NYP]

Want to experience the birthplace of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc firsthand? Now is your chance. Brancott Estate is giving two lucky wine lovers a chance to win a trip to New Zealand, including flights, accommodation for four nights, and a five-day car rental. Click here to enter and to learn more about the full portfolio of Brancott Estate wines, made from the finest winemaking regions across New Zealand.

Unlimited soup, salad, and confusion. Tom Sietsema writes in the Washington Post that his local Arlington location of expansion-happy Euro-chain La Tagliatella makes him wish there were such a thing as "hazard pay for restaurant critics." The Poland-based restaurant specializes in "strangely ham-heavy" Neapolitan pizzas, behemoth plates of pasta, and salads like the house Caesar, which seems to be made with exactly zero of the classic ingredients and comes with a "choice of six dressings, including a honey and pistachio vinaigrette that goes down like melted baklava and tastes even more out of place when Dean Martin is belting out 'Volare' in the background." Verdict? "Someone needs to put a stop to this threat to our nation." The funniest restaurant review you'll read all day is here. [WP] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: the other critics, la tagliatella, washington, washington dc restaurants

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que 604 Union St., Gowanus Phone: 347-429-7030 Web: dinosaurbarbque.com Status: Opens Tonight Here it is: Almost exactly a year and a half after the project was first announced, famed New York barbecue chain Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is opening its doors to Gowanus (or Park Slope, depending on who you ask) tonight at 5 p.m. This is the Syracuse-based chain's seventh location— its first in Brooklyn—and it joins Fort Reno BBQ on suddenly-barbecue-heavy stretch of Union Street straddling both sides of Fourth Avenue. The menu is largely the same as the other locations, featuring a globe- (or at least America-) trotting selection of smoked meats, like St. Louis ribs, apple-brined barbecue chicken, brisket, and Memphis (and other) style pulled pork sandwiches. It also features a handful of special dishes, like a brisket and poblano hash with fried egg, that join beers from Brooklyn, KelSo, and Sixpoint, pickles from Brooklyn Brine, and soda from Brooklyn Soda Works in distinguishing this location from the others. The 180-seat dining room is a fine example of the barbecue joint aesthetic, with plenty of wood, movie posters, and recycled decorations. It opens up for dinner service tonight, but moving forward it will be open for lunch and dinner daily, with takeout service available. Previous Coverage: Brooklyn's BBQ District, 1/20/2013; A Shift With, 4/6/2012; Photo Interlude, 10/30/2012; Plywood Report, 6/7/2013; ExpansionWire, 6/18/2013. Further Reading: Patch, Here's Park Slope, Gothamist, Digest NY.

Chinos or cucumbers? After twelve years in business, Pacific Green has been told to pack up its awnings and vacate its retail space at the corner of Court Street and Pacific in Cobble Hill to make room for a swanky, new two-level J.Crew shop. The greengrocer and corner store's owners have approached its landlord with an offer to pay a higher rent in exchange for an extended lease, but the landlord has so far refused, which is why local resident Carl Foner has started an online petition beseeching the clothing retailer to drop its Court Street plans. The bid to save Pacific Green has almost reached its goal of 1,000 signatures. [Change.org] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: paper or plastic, brooklyn, cobble hill, grocery stores, j. crew, new york, pacific green

Big news for W.I.P., as the Soho nightclub was victorious in its legal battle with the State Liquor Authority to keep its liquor license. W.I.P. had its license revoked following last year's bottle throwing bonanza between hip hop moguls Drake and Chris Brown over their mutual love of Rihanna, but the club challenged the ruling, saying the punishment did not fit the crime. The Court of Appeals agreed with the club's argument, and now owner Barry Mullineaux can feel secure knowing his nightmare that "New York will lose a bright night light in its entertainment crown" if W.I.P. had to close will not come true. We can already feel our stress levels dropping. Just because the club can stay open doesn't mean they are out of the woods yet. There are many other civil lawsuits remaining over the bottle brawl, including NBA star Tony Parker suing the club for $20 million and the two instigators suing each other. Sue you, sue me, sue everybody! · SoHo Club Where Chris Brown & Drake Brawled Can Keep Liquor License [NYP] · W.I.P. Coverage [~ENY~]

Coffee or chocolate? Marshmallow or pretzel? These are the important decisions Ben & Jerry's wants your expert opinion on. Along with their local partners, Liddabit Sweets, Spoonable Caramels, and Sixpoint Brewery, Ben & Jerry's is churning New York into a flavor. Think long and hard about what flavor combination embodies the spirit of New York (or tastes delicious), then get to voting. Once you've picked the flavor that represents your city, try it at a Ben & Jerry's community event at the end of the program. Click here to learn more.

In bed together. Each year, the World Food Prize Foundation awards a quarter-million dollars to someone who's improved the quality, quantity, or availability of food. It sounds like a nice, fair idea, but Mother Jones reports that the prize's "recipients have been champions of exactly the kind of industrial-scale agriculture that is the livelihood of the award's corporate backers." The U.S. government supports this not-so-democratic selection process: The State Department hosts the announcement ceremony, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Prize Foundation "consult regularly together." Here are some things to keep in mind before the recipient is announced this afternoon. 1. Like the James Beard Awards are called the "Oscars of the food world," the World Food Prize is often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of food." But the World Food Prize was actually founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug in the eighties. 2. Since the ceremony is hosted by the State Department, John Kerry will announce the winner today! But that doesn't mean it's a fair playing field: "Funders of the foundation which backs it have a vested interest in promoting industrialized farming around the world." 3. Between 2009 to 20111, combined donations to the World Prize from ADM, Cargill, Monsanto, and General Mills totaled over half a million dollars. 4. The Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation made combined donations of $1.93 million during that time, too. These big charities have their own agendas. 5. Prior winners have gone on to "blast critics of industrial agriculture" and serve on the advisory committee for DuPont, a global research- and technology-based science company. 6. It makes sense that the U.S. government supports this prize: "The Obama administration has been ramping up agricultural development as both a means of third-world poverty alleviation and a business opportunity for Americans." In other words, the government is invested in foreign agribusiness — and, thus, this award. The World Food Prize, Brought to You By Monsanto [Mother Jones] Read more posts by Sierra TishgartFiled Under: food politics, agriculture, farming, general mills, genetically modified foods, gmo, gmo crops, gmo seeds, government, monsanto, world food prize