JoonBlog New York

Venue Review: Bowery Electric - Bar (NYC - New York City)

The owners of Hi-Fi (home of ELDJ, the best (only?) home-made MP3 jukebox in New York City recently opened a new rock bar, Bowery Electric (which we told you about a few weeks ago). The bar takes over the space that used to house Remote Lounge (the bar where you could spy on your neighbors via camera). Grub Street has the details:

Horsehair-type stools at a long bar in the front room (eight beers on tap) and some tables in the boxy back room, where of course Remote Louge’s surveillance stations used to be.

Down By The Hipster reported on the soft opening:

The bar, which is owned by Mike Stuto of HiFi and Jesse Malin and Johnny T of Niagara and Black and White, broke out a velvet rope and clipboard mafia to keep the public out, a sign of what the Bowery has become. Sigh. Anywhoo, first reports have the space sparsely decorated, with a simple black and white motif inside. There are a few table spaces with wrap around banquet type seating arrangements, but judging from their other joints, this will definitely be a place to come and drink. What else would you want?

Bowery Electric
327 Bowery
New York, NY 10003
(212) 228-0228

Venue Review: The Rusty Knot - Bar (NYC - New York City)

Now that The Rusty Knot has been open for a couple of weeks in the far-West Village, we'll weigh in on the nautical themed 'dive bar' from restaurateurs Ken Friedman (Spotted Pig) and Taavo Somer (Freemans). So the question that everyone has been asking is, "Is the Rusty Knot a real dive bar." The answer is yes, and no. Plastic baskets of fried food and super cheap beer aside, the Rusty Knot is only a dive in a thematic sense:

The Rusty Knot is the Manhattan interpretation of [a dive bar] - like Disney World Pittsburgh - with more of a nautical them and appealing to the upwardly mobile. (ACL)

Eater has some details on the mural:

Commissioned for the bar and painted by biker/artist Robert Garey, it features two babes, a  battleship, a harbor, and some ominous clouds—just the scene you want to gaze upon while ordering a Dark and Stormy or a can of Dale's.

Down By The Hipster has the scoop on the food:

The Knot isn't only a place to drink and stare at Jersey City. They also got some kick ass bar food. Oysters, peel and eat shrimp, classic shepard's pie, razor clams, giant pigs in a blanket. Bar food to the extreme. The best we had? How about a Chicken Liver, Bacon and Avocado sandwich that scream luxury even as you are sucking down a smooth drinking tap Busch. Aww yeah.

And what's this we hear of frozen drinks?

The new nautical-themed Rusty Knot (I know, how many editors can blog about it in a week?) is supposedly serving frozen mint daiquiris.

The Rusty Knot
425 West St. (at 11th St.)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 645-5668

Around Town: Name A Glatt Kosher Restaurant

Food & Nightlife News From Around The New York City Blogosphere:

• Sandwiches Of Famous Chefs (Zagat)
• Name A Glatt Kosher Falafel Restaurant (Grub St)
• Antik On The Bowery Is Now Open (DBTH)
• A Conversation With Nur Khan Of Rose Bar (GNML)

Venue Preview: Highbar - Rooftop Bar (New York City - NYC)

Looking for a new summer rooftop spot in Midtown this summer? Well, look no further. As per the PR:

Drink al fresco this summer at Highbar, a new ultra-modern rooftop lounge from Greg Brier (Aspen, Amalia, D'or) located in Hells Kitchen. This exclusive iCrave-designed indoor and outdoor venue features spectacular views of the Hudson and offers guests an outdoor experience with all the amenities found indoors—air conditioned areas, dedicated service professionals, and an urban-chic ambiance. Highbar can accommodate 200 guests outdoors and 75 in the adjacent lounge, which is equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system, DJ booth, and visual elements capable of supporting logos, videos, or even camp-classic films. In addition to award-winning cocktails, Highbar will offer a menu of classics from the grill - all your favorites from a relaxing backyard barbecue. For private events, a separate party menu of passed hors doeuvres and/or buffet stations is available.

Highbar
NW Corner of 48th Street @ 8th Avenue

JoonBug On The Scene: The Media Camped Out @ Ashley Alexandra Dupre's Apartment

If you haven't already seen One Degree of Separation, today's post @ Good Night Mr Lewis, check that our for some details you might not have already heard about ex-Governor Spitzer's young lady-friend from New Jersey:

It's 3 am, I'm in a club and a friend of mine is having a text message marathon with none other than Ashley Alexandra Dupre' our ex-Governor's special friend. "You know her, " I was told a couple dozen times, but I really can't remember.
...
A shortish, always tanned girl with a killer body, she was always rolling with ballers and always talking about her career in music. Indeed one doorman said the last couple times he had seen her she was rolling with P Diddy's crew. Friends who had "been" there said it all makes sense now, that apartment at the Landmark on 6th Ave., the trip to St. Tropez this summer, the vacations by private jet...

In related news, we sent our investigative team over to the Landmark Chelsea to see what the media are up to. As you'll see below, this story is clearly the most important thing ever.

Of course there were numerous reporters interviewing building residents.

The cameramen were all waiting for Ms. Dupre to emerge from the lobby (obviously whoever gets this shot is going to win a Pulitzer).

ABC was there:

As was NBC, with an HD crew no less (clearly this story warrants a full 1080 lines of resolution):

Venue Review: Broadway East - Vegetarian Restaurant (NYC - New York City)

All of the usual suspects have been covering the recently opened (mostly) vegetarian restaurant Broadway East, which located on East Broadway, down in Chinatown. DailyCandy has the scoop on the food:

Let’s talk food. Lots of Japanese ingredients, smoked shallot and hijiki puree, mushroom paté, and a veggie burger so good the construction guys asked for seconds. A touch of chicken and fish on the menu makes everyone feel welcome, but the focus is low-food-chain sustainability.

Thrillist checks in with some details on the design:

From a former chef of Napa's Domaine Chandon, BE's a veg-centric LES spot that makes itself approachably familiar to the everyman -- starting by eschewing the typical Krishna decor in favor of LES-chic trappings like exposed wood beams and a bar made from a reclaimed NYC water tower (so that's what those are good for).

Broadway East 
171 East Broadway, between Jefferson and Rutgers Streets
New York, NY 10002
(212) 228-3100

GQ's South By Southwest Guide For Beginners

GQ has put together an excellent set of rules for maximizing your trip to SXSW. Some of them are no-brainers, but there are some real gems mixed in:

4. Better yet, rent a house.“
I rented in 2007,” says Nils Bernstein of Matador Records. “It was cheaper than a hotel and bigger. And it avoids one of the worst things about SXSW: chatting with distant acquaintances when you’re trying to wake up or stumble home.” Go to austin.craigslist.org and search “SXSW.”.

Head over to the GQ blog to read the entire list.

Around Town: Soaring Pizza Prices

Food & Nightlife News From Around The New York City Blogosphere:

• Mmm … Pizza! (A Slice, but at What Price?) (NY Times City Room)
• Momofuku Ko will rely on an online reservation system (Eater)
• Baird Jones's Memorial Party to Be Held at Club He Secretly Tried to Close (Grub St)
• Signs of Life At Gin Lane (Imbible)

Venue Review: Terroir - Wine Bar (NYC - New York City)

We've been waiting to weigh on on Terroir, the new wine bar next door to Hearth, on 1st Ave on the East Village. Well, now it's time:

Is the third opening date the charm for Paul Grieco at Terroir? After two false starts, Daily Candy, Thrillist, and the Times report that the new Upper East Village wine bar is set to open tonight, and a spot check last night revealed the statements to be within the realm of possibility. (Eater)

So just what is all the buzz about?

Marco Canora and Paul Grieco, partners at Hearth and Insieme, expand their domain this week with Terroir, a 24-seat wine bar down the street from Hearth. For the occasion, Canora is reviving some of the Italian snacks he concocted at Craftbar, like his sausage-stuffed sage leaves and a signature panino of duck ham with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and taleggio. He also promises veal-ricotta meatballs; turkey wings agrodolce; braised rabbit leg with tomato, black olive, and polenta; and white anchovies with pickled onions (pictured). As for the wine list, grape nut Grieco has selected international bottles that best express their terroir—that ineffable quality that connotes the juncture of place, culture, climate, soil, and any other factor that contributes to a wine’s distinctive essence. (NY Mag)

Also, check the Dr. Vino blog for an interview with Mr. Grieco (highlighted below):

Dr Vino: How will the wine program at Terroir be different than the other restaurants?

Paul Grieco: At Terroir we will push the envelope even further on…how we differentiate between wines. There will be a greater focus on a sense of place. That’s what will drive that program: sense of place. In summer time, there will only be Mosel Rieslings on that list. Not only do we want lighter, more acid driven, lighter alcohol wines but we want to focus on particular terroirs in the Mosel, so we’ll only have wines from the towns of Wehlen a
nd Bernkastel and for two months we’re going to run with that. And that’s all you’re going to get.

Terroir
413 E. 12th St
New York, NY 10009
(646) 602-1300
http://wineisterroir.com/

Best Of NY Food For 2008 Is Out

New York Magazine released their Best of NY Food listings this week:

A world-class cook, a passionate Greek, one crackerjack kitchen, and a sandwich genius earn the favor of our critics.

Head over to NYMag.com for the full list.