New York Restaurants

Eater scanned through all 1,343 NYC restaurants on OpenTable with reservations for two still available for tonight. Here's the best of the bunch. Get 'em while they're hot: · Bouley (8:15) · Jungsik (7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:30) · Del Posto (8:30, 9:15) · Toqueville (7:45, 8:00, 8:15) · Aquavit (7:30, 8:45) · Gotham Bar and Grill (8:00, 8:30) · Union Square Café (7:15, 8:30) · Raoul's (8:00) · Mas (Farmhouse) (8:30) · I Sodi (8:00) · Brushstroke (7:30, 8:15) · Ai Fiori (7:30, 7:45, 8:15, 8:30) · Perry St. (7:00, 7:30, 8:30) · Mas (La Grillade) (7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30) · Kajitsu (8:15, 8:45) · Telepan (8:30) · La Mirabelle (7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30) · Tiella (7:00, 8:00, 8:30) · Aldea (7:30, 8:30) · Pig and Khao (8:45) · Burger and Barrel (7:30, 8:00, 8:30) · North End Grill (7:30, 8:15, 8:30) · db Bistro Moderne (8:45, 9:00) · Tribeca Grill (7:45, 8:15) · A Voce Madison (7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30) · Brindle Room (7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30) · Exchange Alley (7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30) · Kin Shop (7:15, 7:45, 8:15, 8:45) · Cesca (8:30) · OpenTable [Official Site] [Kin Shop by Krieger]

It's time for another edition of Adventures in Shilling, in which Eater fights shilling the best way possible, by shaming tasteless, unscrupulous shills into submission. Well, that's the plan, at least. Fight shills yourself by dropping offensive links to tips@eater.com. In this round of shill detection, we take a look at reviews for Charlemagne, Grape & Vine, Cherrywood Kitchen, and Manon. Here are some of the gems from the latest foray into the dirty world of online reviewing: First up, it's a little concerning that hot food is the major selling point in this Yelp review for Cherrywood Kitchen? The reviewer opens: There's nothing worse than getting some lukewarm food, and everything we got that was supposed to be served hot was piping hot, very fresh, and extremely delicious....But that's just the beginning. This reviewer just can't get enough of those hot, hot dishes: ...the real way to go is to order the side of Bone Marrow Clay Pot Rice ($8). As I mentioned above, everything here is served nice and hot, but I actually managed to burn myself on this dish (but that's a good thing). This was a very generous portion of piping hot sticky rice with some bits of bone marrow scattered on top. This was the perfect complement to the deliciously rich chicken and eel... And the heat continues on into dessert: We opted for the interesting sounding Crunch and Munch Crumble Pie ($10). This was a hot, gooey, very satisfying pie, with a buttery crispy crust. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough of it. Also, it could have used a nice side of ice cream to offset the heat and extreme sweetness of the pie. But still, this was an awesome dessert and I would happily get it again. If these all seem like weird selling points, the review finally does conclude with a more run-of-the-mill set of shills: The atmosphere in here is very nice too, and the service is impeccable. This place is great, and I hope they take off and get the success they deserve with such good food. I will definitely be back soon to try the ribs, which everybody else here seemed to be getting and which looked just as delicious and satisfying as everything else we ate here.Shill Probability: 78 percent. One Eater commenter seems suspiciously sure of what to get at Charlemagne, the newly opened "American brasserie" in the West Village: The menu looks good to me! Wednesday is Spaghetti Carbonara night. Perfect with a glass of Trimbach. Start off with $5 basket of gougeres, some Bone Marrow Home Frites, you are all set.Shill Probability: 88 percent. Somehow, the "oh, I just happened to be passing by" story from this Yelp review of Grape & Vine doesn't seem entirely convincing: The hotel's exterior caught my eye as I was passing by (it's inside the Jade Hotel) so I stopped to take a look. After a glance at the menu and a quick peek inside the venue, I changed my dinner reservation to Grape and Vine and checked it out with a few girlfriends. They opened just a few weeks ago and given the speed at which word gets around in NYC, I was surprised that such a beautiful and honestly, quite solid restaurant was so empty at the time (I went on a Sunday evening). Hopefully that will change soon... ...We had the cheese plate, chestnut fennel soup, foie gras torchon, wild mushroom risotto, lamb ragout papardelle, and braised lamb shank with polenta. To my surprise, everyone really enjoyed the food with no complaints whatsoever! We were especially pleased that the vegetarian among us was able to have everything she wanted without compromising, which is especially tough to do with New American cuisine.Shill Probability: 88 percent. There are a few red flag phrases in this review of The Clarkson from one Eater commenter, but it was the plea at the end that really tipped us off:Went last night and Loved Loved Loved everything, the cocktails are amazing, the service is perfection and everything on the menu is to die for. The decor is fabulous, its authentically vintage while st

It's date night, you're paying, and your significant other gives you two choices: Aldea or Marc Forgione. Which do you choose? For the sake of this conversation, assume that the Aldea chef's counter is not an option. Place your vote below, and argue your case in the comments. Our polls require javascript -- if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your javascript-enabled web browser.

It's 352 pages. Sweet peas! Officially, it's a staggering 161 days between now and the publication date of the Gramercy Tavern Cookbook on October 29, but we're nonetheless excited to get a glimpse of the long-awaited book's cover. The deal was announced two years ago this week, and since then, well, we've been waiting patiently for the 125-recipe book, which will clock in at 352 pages of wisdom and instruction from chef Michael Anthony and official Gramercy Tavern "history" penned by Danny Meyer. We also know there's a recipe for sweet peas, and we can't wait. [Amazon, Earlier, Related] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: bookshelf, danny meyer, gramercy tavern, gramercy tavern cookbook, michael anthony

Chef, author, and stylish man-about-town Marcus Samuelsson on one of his favorite neighborhood spots, Charles' Country Pan Fried Chicken: "People are there all day. I have a little bit of collard greens and a little bit of peas and then I go over and watch basketball. There's a legendary outdoor basketball court here in Harlem where basketball players like Kobe Bryant go in the summer to play with the street guys. It's one of my favorite things." [Paper]

Current and former employees of Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events filed a class action lawsuit against the company in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday for allegedly withholding tip money. The massive company has been charging a 22 percent service fee to all of its clients, which range from big-name companies like Google and Rolling Stone to venues like Irving Plaza and the Gramercy Theater. But servers and bartenders for the company apparently haven't seen a penny of that tip money, nor have they been paid for the up to 30 hours of overtime they worked per week. Worse, the Post reports that this is not the first time a member of the Puck family has been caught skimming from the tip jar. The group's sister company, Restaurant Associates, was just involved in a similar class action back in 2011 for witholding tips from employees who worked at the US Open in Queens. · Wolfgang Puck catering firm slammed for skimming tips [NY Post] · All Coverage of Lawsuits [~ENY~]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Watermark Bar at Pier 15 is set to open this week. The waterfront drinking spot was supposed to open back in November but was delayed by several months because of Hurricane Sandy, which caused $300K worth of damage. The owners are also planning a beer hall called Clinton Hall on Washington Street. [WSJ via Tribeca Citizen]

When is dinner? Matt Maloney, founder and CEO of GrubHub, promises that his company's merger with Seamless means that a bunch of "cool stuff to redefine online ordering" is coming around the bend. Once the deal moves through the regulatory appeal process, we're sure the newly formed super-company will unleash some kind of proprietary technology that makes this whole business of getting dinner much easier and faster. For now, however, the two companies will not commingle apps or websites and will not change their respective names. ABC reports the post-merger company name has not yet been released, but you can be pretty sure it won't be GrubLess-HubSeam, which clearly isn't zippy enough. [ABC] Read more posts by Hugh MerwinFiled Under: deliverance, grubhub, mergers and acquisitions, seamless

Meanwhile, in Long Island, a brawl broke out at a communion party at Rumors nightclub, stemming from an argument over whether a bathroom attendant should be tipped. According to Newsday, the assailaint wielded a camera tripod "like a baseball bat" (which apparently counts as a deadly weapon), though a police spokesperson says it's unclear whether she was for or against tipping the attendant. [Newsday via Gothamist]

A cured-fish assortment of peppered bluefish, gravlax, and white anchovy. Nialls Fallon and Gareth Maccubbin — the former general managers of Torrisi and Parm, respectively — have quietly opened an intimate 28-seat, all-day café and wine bar right by Tompkins Square Park. The name, Maiden Lane, references port cities in New York, London, San Francisco, and New England, and the menu follows the theme. The wines come predominately from island and coastal areas, and the food includes cured seafood and meat, canned shellfish, and both fresh and aged cheese. These are dishes that are equally satisfying at all hours of the day, so it's a good thing that Maiden Lane's open from noon to midnight every day of the week. Take a look at the food, the space, and the menus, straight ahead. Ria de Arosa canned mussels in escabeche sauce.Photo: Melissa Hom Calkins Creamery farmers cheese with Salvatore olive oil, thyme, and cracked black pepper.Photo: Melissa Hom Loukaniko salami and Marcona almonds with Riesling Trocken, 2010.Photo: Melissa Hom Radishes with ramp butter.Photo: Melissa Hom The space.Photo: Melissa Hom Pretty!Photo: Melissa Hom Food [PDF] Beer and Wine [PDF] Maiden Lane, 162 Ave. B (on corner of E. 10th St.), (646) 755-8911 Read more posts by Sierra TishgartFiled Under: openings, east village, first look, maiden lane, what to eat