The trendy and chic Asian Eatery Qi (31 West 14th Street, 212 929-9917) combines environmentally conscience design and hip ambiance with an adventurous menu of options, including seasonal and macrobiotic selections that help detox and cleanse the body to reset energy flow. Dishes include Lemongrass Tuna Tartar and Ginseng Duck with Five Spices. Lunch specials start at just $6.90, everyday from 11 AM – 3:30 PM, including a free appetizer and rice.
Open House New York, the annual architecture tour, is offering tours of the new Zero Irving at 124 E 14th St on Friday, October 21st.
Reserve at https://ohny.org/
Every Thursday at 9AM from June 18 until August 13 you can join Brooklyn Bridge Boot Camp at the south end of Union Square for a free cardio workout. Feel the burn.
NYU is slowly but steadily revealing more of its ultimate expansion plans for completion by 2031. They’re epic in scope, and while most of the activity remains below 8th Street, there’s always the chance that their desire to grow will have them heading our way, as if we didn’t already have enough of that going on. Here’s the plan.
Curbed reports: The curvy low-rise building at 61 Fifth Avenue, devastated by fire in 2006, has been marked for death ever since the structure—a former Scrafft’s luncheonette (see photo at top left circa 1940)—was sold to a developer in early 2008. An architect was quickly enlisted to draw up plans for a 10-story building with apartments and ground-floor retail, and it was made clear that the current 61 Fifth Avenue was too far gone to be preserved in any manner. Has the economy put a pause on those plans? Perhaps, but broker-blogger Andrew Fine reports that demolition permit was issued for the property in December, so the wrecking ball could come calling any day now.
Gotham Bar & Grill, the longest-running high-end dining establishment in the neighborhood, is done.
According to Eater.com…
After 36 years — and one major, recent chef change — fine dining trailblazer Gotham Bar & Grill is closing. Saturday, March 14 will be its last night of service, according to an email sent to customers.
Restaurants across the city are closing temporarily as new measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak have led to declines in sales, but Gotham will not be reopening.
The closure follows a brief tenure from its new chef Victoria Blamey, who started leading the kitchen only last year — and was a significant change for the longtime regulars of the storied American fine dining restaurant. The previous chef, Alfred Portale, ran the kitchen for more than three decades and through its many accolades, including Michelin stars and James Beard Awards. He left to open his first solo restaurant, Portale, in Chelsea.
Blamey did not come into an easy situation. Much of the staff and the clientele were intensely loyal to Portale, who created dishes that became icons, like a riff on tuna tartare. He’d also been there for most of the restaurant’s tenure. Gotham opened in Greenwich Village in 1984, and he took over the large, white tablecloth establishment a year later.
Moreover, Gotham is a fine dining legend; its menu shaped what American fine dining looks like in New York. The pressure was on for Blamey, who was expected to bring a younger crowd to the restaurant. And under her, Gotham retained its three stars in the New York Times, with Pete Wells delighting in her additions to the menu.
The suburbanization of Union Square continues with the arrival of the Panera Bread chain on Union Square East between 14th and 15th Streets.