Zen Palate, Stripped

The University Diner has finally found its new identity…as a European cookie shop. The details:

“Almost a year after the closure of the classic diner University Restaurant, an Austrian corporation will open a specialty food shop in its place later this month, the owner of the incoming business said Tuesday.

“Gunz Fine European Food will sell cookies, snacks and other fine foods imported from across Europe, Daniel Gunz said.

“It will be everything from Belgian chocolate to Spanish cakes to Italian olive oil,”

Not that we needed a store full of notebooks…but here it is.

Opening on May 21 at Broadway and 18th St., Minuto Bauli is the first U.S. outpost of the beloved Verona-based baking dynasty, Bauli. But this isn’t your average bakery. It’s a one-product wonderland dedicated entirely to a single, freshly baked, filled-to-order Italian treat: the Minuto Bauli.

What is a Minuto Bauli, exactly? Think of it as the pastry equivalent of a mic drop. The dough, made with Bauli’s century-old Futura mother yeast, is crafted in Italy using high-quality ingredients like flour, eggs, butter and milk, then shipped to New York City, where it rises for 12 hours before being baked and dressed up right before your eyes. Guests can customize their treat with a selection of lush Italian creams, preserves, spreads and gourmet toppings.

From the NY Post:

University Place is about to get a new, fun restaurant: the first New York outpost of Vapiano, a German-based chain of some 30 casual Italian eateries, which will open soon at 113 University at 13th Street. A Newmark Knight Frank team including Jeffrey Roseman repped the tenant and a Newmark team also repped the landlord, the Amalgamated Lithographers Union. Vapiano has locations in six other US cities. In Manhattan, it will have about 7,000 square feet on two levels in a long-vacant space. The asking rent was $200 per square foot. The chain, which calls itself a “fuel stop for grown-ups,” serves inexpensive antipasti, salads, pasta and pizza prepared on-site as customers watch. (Many dishes are priced under $10, according to Vapiano’s Web site). The new place also promises a full bar and “lively happy-hour scene.” Roseman chuckled, “It’s been described as a fast-casual cross between Mario Batali and Chipotle with uber-style.”

Have a look at Vapiano.

Well, here is what our new neighbor on the southeast corner of 5th and 13th is going to look like, and here are all the details. Not bad. At least it aint all glass.

When the New School builds its new building on the corner, one of its major uses will be to house a consolidated Parsons School of Fashion Design, which is currently scattered among many midtown buildings. That’s according to the New School student newspaper. So expect even more groovily dressed teens outside our front doors.