Eater Tastings: Rusty Knot Will Rule the World, and Other Less Important News

This week's top dish from Eater, Curbed's restaurant, bar, and nightlife blog...

1) The most important restaurant in the history of the world is reportedly opening in March. It's the Rusty Knot (above, in old dress), and you already can't get in.
2) The Black Thursday horror stories are trickling in. Valentine's Day was an interesting one at Prune.
3) Briefly shuttered Williamsburg BBQ staple Pies 'n Thighs already got its new liquor license approved. Actually, every new place in the 'Burg got approved.
4) The "secret LES venue" that burned up the Internet yesterday gets revealed as musician J. Ralph's recording studio/home/party palace.

· Eater [eater.com]

Eater Tastings: Momofuku Mania Pt. III, McNally on the Prowl?

This week's top dish from Eater, Curbed's restaurant, bar, and nightlife blog...

1) Can you feel it, David Chang fans? The Ko is coming.
2) In a serious bit of Keith McNally rumormongering, Mr. BlathaMoranStis may have put in an offer for the Minetta Tavern on MacDougal Street.
3) Remember the exclusive members-only club that was set to open in the old Double Happiness space? Looks like it may take a while.
4) Which celebrichefs have been neglecting their blogging duties? Poor showing, Molto Mario.
5) The long-delayed Merkato 55 is set to bring African cuisine to the Meatpacking District, whether it wants it or not.

· Eater [eater.com]

Gentrified Greenpoint Looking for Something to Rebel Against

Writes New York Shitty: "The chap sporting this shirt was at the Greenpoint Coffeehouse last Sunday afternoon. It should be noted that a number of his fellow patrons were partaking of 'brunch'. When I asked him if I could take a picture of his shirt he gladly obliged." Eh, we've seen better Brooklyn T-shirts.
· Greenpoint Photo du Jour: Greenpoint Coffeehouse [NYShitty]

Wednesday PM Linkage: Weekly Food Edition

· Tonight's the last night for Pies & Thighs under Billyburg Bridge [Umami Mart]
· Beleagured Forty Deuce space in Nolita back in play? [Grub Street]
· Magnolia Bakery on Columbus opening this freaking Saturday [Eater]
· First word from new Bar Boulud on UWS: 'smooth and livery' [Bloomberg]
· Not looking good for Buster's Garage redux on N. Moore [MLG]
· Bruni hangs a deuce on new Blue Ribbon Sushi at 6 Columbus [NYTimes]
· Restaurant Girl 'lost at sea' at Royalton's new Brasserie 44 [NYDN]
· Shocker: is Le Cirque treating the plebes right these days? [NY Journal]
· David Chang's Momofuku empire cannot, will not be stopped [Eater]

Eater Tastings: Buster's Tries Again in Tribeca, Much More!!

This week's top dish from Eater, Curbed's restaurant, bar, and nightlife blog...

1) Tribeca: Dormant since closing in summer 2006, the legendary Buster's Garage crew is storming back! Seems they want to open an, ahem, "family restaurant" at 25 N. Moore Street (Curbed artist's rendering, above), better known from afar as the Atalanta building. Residents, however, smell a rat and vow to fight. Gonna be fun!

2) Upper West Side: Bar Boulud, chef Daniel Boulud's gift to the Lincoln Square nabe, doesn't open until next week. But an early look inside shows promise.

3) Hudson Square/Chelsea: This week in restaurant closings: nearing its 100th birthday, classic steakhouse Frank's Restaurant closes its doors. And deathwatched Dani finally succumbs.

4) Roosevelt Island: Believe in miracles: its resto scene is on the rebound!

Live at 2nd Ave. Deli Opening: It's Official

Eater's live at the opening of the reborn 2nd Avenue Deli, where moments ago the ceremonial salami cutting of 'nickel shtikel' links went down. Click through for more photos of the madness—perhaps the greatest thing ever to happen to Murray Hill.
· Live at 2nd. Ave. Deli Opening: The Links Are Cut! [Eater]
· Live at 2nd. Ave Deli Opening: The Press Frenzy [Eater]

Ridiculous Amenity Alert: Soho Mews Enslaves Centovini

Soho Mews—the Gwathmey-Siegel designed seeds and tartan grid located across the street from the Soho Grand hotel—is stepping it up when it comes to the trend of condo/restaurant partnerships. The Post's Steve Cuozzo reports that the developers have struck a deal with Centovini, an Italian wine bar and restaurant on Houston and West Broadway, to cater to Mews residents' every whim. Need a table on short notice? Done. Want Centovini's chef to come to your apartment to cook? You got it. Perhaps you'd like the restaurant's wine shopper to handle your "cellar management?" You don't have to ask twice! It's a great perk—until you grow tired of Centovini in a month. Eater also points out a little wildcard, that the shuttered restaurant space right next door to Soho Mews could open as something spectacular and distract residents from their supposed Centovini loyalties. But we doubt that the gang behind Soho Mews really cares. With the previously-announced art partnerships and now this, they're about one more deal away from becoming a NASCAR team.
· Bagels & Luxe [NYP]
· Centovini Drops Wine Retail, Turns Resto, Makes Condo Deal [Eater]
· Getting Glassed: The Standard, Soho Mews [Curbed]

Williamsburg's Definition of Gentrification: Edible?

Look up Williamsburg on Wikipedia—which we recommend you do, at least 20 times per day—and you'll find a picture nearly identical to the one above, with a caption that simply reads, "A gentrified street in Williamsburg." Ah, the Graham Avenue Fish Tank building, how you are adored! If it were up to us, the building would sit empty forever, a monument to the heady days of Williamsburg development in the early 21st Century. But, of course, it can't stay empty. An email just into the inbox:

'Today I walked by and noticed...'

Anti Anti-Gentrification Rant of the Day in WaHi

This may top the Ear Inn's earlier message on the topic. Blogger The Gay Recluse has taken some previous shots at those in Washington Heights who are fearful of gentrification, but TGR absolutely goes off on anyone who would dare speak out about the OC Bakery and Cafe. Slipping on the sarcasm hat, TGR rants:

Have you not been outraged as you approach the corner of Edgecombe Avenue and 159th Street by the sight of a rainbow-colored umbrella and outdoor tables, where you can drink a cup of coffee and enjoy a freshly baked raspberry scone while contemplating the curving line of linden trees that gently give way to the southern tiers of Highbridge Park? Have you not scoffed with disdain at the lesbian couple and their baby carriage also parked out front, chatting aggressively with a bearish man walking his poodle?

There's more, of course, but we get the point: Washington Heights, don't try to fight it, baby! Enjoy the scones!
· On The OC Bakery and Cafe [The Gay Recluse]

Magnolia Bakery Bringing the Sweet Stuff Upper, West

It looks like Andy Samberg will have far less of a commute when he decides to snack on some cupcakes before hitting up a Narnia screening on the Upper West Side. Our friends at Eater have the exclusive that the Magnolia Bakery is opening up a new outpost on 69th Street and Columbus Avenue, in the now-shuttered former Lenge space you see above. Crazy, you say? Well, Eater got the confirmation from Magnolia owner Steve Abrams, so it sounds pretty legit to us. Reports Eater:

This location will be quite a bit bigger than the Bleecker Street original, though plans are to preserve much of the small quarters feel of bakery uptown. Abrams will do a gut renovation on Lenge, before he installs Magnolia with an "updated look" from architect Mark Zeff (Red Cat, Mermaid Inn). As a special bonus to the neighborhood, the new space will have a private party room, which is guaranteed to make the Upper West Side parent set quite happy, at least until a highly localized child obesity problem sets in.

So what does this monumental news mean for the Upper West Side? Surely the hordes of tourists and college girls aiming for a frosting fix will stick to the original Magnolia, if only to retain the Sex and the City authenticity. Abrams said he's hoping the new Magnolia will be more of a neighborhood spot, but c'mon Steve, we all know that 69th and Columbus will soon be a sugar-fueled madhouse.
· Exclusive: Magnolia Bakery Opening Upper West Side Outpost [Eater]

Doing Mo Pitkin's Sideways: Did Someone Say Triplex?

Today's bombshell in Page Six that Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction is on the market sent a brief shudder down our Judeo-Cuban-loving spines. But alas, we must find the strength to continue, because what we didn't know was that the gut-renovated Avenue A restaurant, bar and performance space—the majority of which is owned by Two Boots emperor Phil Hartman—has a "duplex penthouse apartment" on top. Surely this would yield some interest floor planage, and a trip over to the Walker Malloy commercial listings page confirms that suspicion. On first glance, the cross section makes that fourth- and fifth-floor duplex look awfully tiny, but the listing for the 22' x 76' building says that the third-floor office space is zoned for residential, meaning a buyer could turn Mo's into an even more interesting live/work space. Delivered vacant with a liquor license at an asking price of $5.9 million? Sounds like an East Village steal to us.
· E. Village Club Faces Curtain [Page Six]
· Listings: Walker Molloy [walkermalloy.com]
· Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction [mopitkins.com]