New York Restaurants

[Melibea by Krieger] · Making Pizza With Mario Batali and Sons [NYT] · A Chat With Suenos Chef Sue Torres [SENY] · Restaurant Receipt Calls Out 'Fuckin Needy Kids' [~EN~] · Building that Houses De Robertis Is for Sale [EV Grieve] · How Fast-Food Giants Make Money by Selling Fake Products [GS/NYM] · A Visit to Mexican Diner Grand Morelos in East Williamsburg [FitR] · Jay-Z and Beyonce Appear at 40/40 Club Birthday Bash [NYP] · Somm Director Jason Wise on the Master Sommelier Exam [~EN~]

WILLIAMSBURG — Here's a cool update out of the Ivan Ramen camp: Anybody who purchases tickets to Ivan Orkin's six-course tasting at Brooklyn Kitchen this weekend will also get a special invite to a private pre-opening event at Ivan Ramen. (Also do check out the art they've made for this event, at right.) In addition, Orkin's signed on to cook noodles at the Vans summer shows in Greenpoint this summer. [EaterWire] SOUTH STREET SEAPORT — The folks at See/Change, the South Street Seaport program that helped bring SmorgasBar to the neighborhood, are giving away a free happy hour at the SmorgasBurg import. To enter, tweet or Instagram a funny picture of GIF with the hash tag #SEECHANGEHH. Two winners each week will get a gift card for booze at SmorgasBar. [EaterWire] CRONUT MANIA — The cronut imposters just keep on piling up. Eater National rounds up the eight latest knock-offs of Dominique Ansel's smash-hit pastry, like the Zonut from Sydney Australia or the Frissant from Vancouver, B.C. [Eater National] CARROLL GARDENS — New South Brooklyn restaurant Old School Brooklyn is launching brunch this weekend. The menu has a number of sandwiches like barbecue chicken and Maryland crab cake, and entrées like a frittata and a waffle, all running between $10 and $12. There's also a brunch prix fixe for $25, which includes any entré and unlimited brunch cocktails for up to two hours. [EaterWire]

· Where Can You Go With 16 Teenagers in the East Village? [CH] · Should We Get Excited for Umami Burger or Put it on Deathwatch? [MF] · Should We Join the Rest of the Non-Tipping World? [Yelp] · Is ABC Cocina More Than Just a Taco Joint? [MF] · Are There Other Mains as Worthy as the Chicken at The NoMad? [CH] · Which Is Better, EMP or Blanca? [CH]

• Black Tree on the LES is launching a summer "Slip and Slide-r" happy hour from 4 to 8 p.m. A slider-size sandwich board ($9) offers three sandwiches with daily changing fillings like ale-braised short rib. Chase your sliders with local craft beers on tap ($4) or a glass of wine. [Grub Street] • Momofuku restaurateur David Chang, Andy Ricker of Pok Pok, Carlo Mirachi of Roberta's and Blanca and the Del Posto crew are among the all-star lineup of chefs who'll join Christopher Kostow's Twelve Days of Christmas dining series in December at Restaurant at Meadowood. Tickets range between $395 and $750, and the restaurant donates a significant portion of all sales to nonprofit organizations. Email reservations@therestaurantatmeadowood.com for more information or to secure your spot. • To celebrate its new cookbook, Greenmarket to Gotham, the venerable Gotham Bar and Grill is offering a special vegetarian lunch this Saturday. A $75 ticket includes a three-course meal featuring recipes from the book, wine pairings from New Zealand Fine Wines, and a copy signed by chef Alfred Portale. Tickets can be acquired online or by phone. Seatings will be from noon till 2 p.m. [Grub Street] • Jason Dady, the up-and-coming San Antonio chef, will cook a City Grit dinner this Friday. Expect dishes like blue-crab bahn mi and roasted papusa with duck carnitas. Tickets are $75. [Grub Street] • The Center is kicking off Pride Week this Monday on Hudson River Park's Pier 84 with food from Acme and the Standard Grill, along with many others. [Grub Street] • Ditch Plains is offering a $40 crab boil this Thursday, June 20, at the UWS location. Don't worry if you miss it: Subsequent shellfish bonanzas are scheduled for July 18 and August 15. [Grub Street] • This Saturday, Brushstroke is having a "Summer Kaiseki & Cocktails" dinner. Only eight seats are available, but chef Yamada is planning on making this a monthly event at the restaurant. [Grub Street] • Tocqueville's new Greenmarket menu will be available for the rest of the summer season, featuring an array of local fruit and produce. It's $39 for lunch, $55 for dinner. [Grub Street] Filed Under: leftovers, black tree, brushstroke, crit grit, ditch plains, gay pride, gotham bar and grill, jason dady, tocqueville

Eater scanned through all 649 NYC restaurants on OpenTable with reservations for two still available for tonight. Tonight there are plenty of top tickets to be had, from Neta to Lupa. Here's the best of the bunch. Get 'em while they're hot: · Bouley (8:30) · Jungsik (8:00) · Gramercy Tavern (9:30) · Craft (9:00) · Annisa (9:30) · Marc Forgione (9:30) · Scarpetta (8:30) · Union Square Café (8:00) · Raoul's (8:30, 9:00) · Rubirosa (9:00) · Mas (farmhouse) (8:30) · Perilla (7:15, 8:45) · Market Table (9:15) · Wallsé (7:30, 9:00) · Perry St (8:00) · Neta (9:45) · Brushstroke (8:45) · 15 East (8:45) · Corton (8:00) · Morimoto (8:00) · Aldea (8:00) · Hearth (9:00) · Feast(8:45) · wd-50 (9:00) · Lupa (8:15) · Bacaro (8:00) · Balaboosta (9:15) · OpenTable [Official Site] [ABC Kitchen by Krieger]

This week New York Times critic Pete Wells files a very positive two-star review of the new location of Kajitsu, the Japanese restaurant specializing in shojin ryori cooking. Writes Wells: "Each time I go to Kajitsu, which recently moved from the East Village to a tranquil and luminous new home in Murray Hill, I am still surprised by the variety of flavors that [chef Ryota] Ueshima coaxes out of meals that Westerners would call vegan." [NYT]

It doesn't look like much now, but soon this space will be Han Dynasty, the first New York restaurant from Han Chiang. The chef has six restaurants in Philadelphia, all of which serve peppery Sichuan fare. In interviews, he's made it clear that he has no interest in dumbing down Sichuan food for the masses. For what it's worth, Anthony Bourdain hung out with him on last year's Philly episode of The Layover. EV Grieve notes that Han Dynasty scored a beer and wine license last month. · All Coverage of Han Dynasty [~ENY~]

It's on again. The restaurateur behind the 5 Napkin Burger chain and many other French-Mediterranean spots has been given the green light to open his planned 200-seat, full-service restaurant called Chef Driven Market on the north side of Union Square, the Post reports. Earlier, a nonprofit called NYC Park Advocates had been successful in its bid to stop the restaurant from opening, along with its "eye-popping brunch prices of up to $19.95 a plate." In January, a judge denounced the Bloomberg-backed plan, along with a Union Square-set holiday market, but today the five-judge Appellate Division reversed the ruling. The advocacy group may still appeal the decision. [NYP, Earlier, Earlier] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: lawsuits, chef driven market, new york, new york restaurants, simon oren, union square

The world was shocked to learn yesterday that Dressler, the seven-year-old South Williamsburg stalwart, had suddenly closed its doors after a final weekend of service. A goodbye notice posted to the restaurant's website referenced an inability to come to terms with the landlord on a new lease, although many commenters referenced an abundance of empty tables during their recent visits which may have factored in to the move. Either way, it's still a big loss for the neighborhood. Eater stopped by yesterday to check out the carnage. · South 'Burg Shocker: Dressler Suddenly Closes For Good [~ENY~] · Dressler Coverage [~ENY~]

Eric Ripert tells Dana Cowin that he didn't necessarily want to be the executive chef at Le Bernardin when tragedy forced him to take the helm. "I was working as a chef under Gilbert Le Coze and he died of a heart attack. I was 26 at the time and I was happy doing what I was doing, but I had to take over. The New York Times critic Ruth Reichl was not so sure about me and she came in 12 times before we got our review." Of course, when that review finally did come out, it was a solid four stars, and the rest is history. [NRN]