Fans of Great N.Y. Noodletown can rejoice: after a months-long closure for renovations, the Chinatown stalwart reopened this week. Bowery Boogie reports that the Cantonese favorite now sports an updated interior, but the rock-solid menu of wonton soups, roast duck, and noodles remains (thankfully!) unchanged. Great N.Y. Noodletown first opened in 1981, and the addition of "great" came later on. It gained more notoriety in New York after appearing on a 2011 episode of the Layover, hosted by Anthony Bourdain.
Le Jardinier, one of the last holdouts of restaurants that have remained closed since March 2020, is returning. The one-Michelin-starred spot from chef Alain Verzeroli returns today with a "vegetable forward menu," according to a representative. Operator the Bastion Collection reopened the Miami location of Le Jardinier in October 2020; meanwhile, it has expanded elsewhere with outposts at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in Texas and Woodward Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. Both debuted in 2021.
Tonight, Lower East Side movie theater Metrograph is showing Blind Ambition, a new documentary about "four Zimbabwean men form[ing] their country's first Wine Tasting Olympics." The screening also includes a wine tasting from top NYC wine names, including Miguel de Leon, wine director of Soho Pan-Asian restaurant Pinch Chinese, Zwann Grays of Harlem fine dining spot Reverence, and Kilolo Strobert, who runs the Fermented Grapes wine shop in Prospect Heights. Tickets can be purchased online.
The Coney Island Blog reports that Michael Quinn, the owner of local hot dog brand Feltman's of Coney Island, is organizing what's known as a "cash mob" at Papaya King, on Saturday, September 17 at noon. Earlier this summer, it was reported that hot dog royalty Papaya King was in danger of being demolished. Cash mobs encourage fans to flood a business at the same day and time, in the hopes of saving it. Hopefully, the rush of customers doesn't negatively impact employees working a potentially overwhelming shift next weekend.