••• Aire Ancient Baths—the new bathhouse on Franklin Street—has begun accepting reservations.

••• According to a press release, 250 West is 70% sold.

••• Excellent news from Blaue Gans: “We will now be offering our Strawberry and Elderflower Coupe from Taste of Tribeca on the menu.” It’s soooo good.

••• From Tommy Flynn: “Mysterious tree stump shows up on the sidewalk at Sixth Ave. and Lispenard St.” I hereby decree that it is art.

AIRE ANCIENT BATHS
A bathhouse from a Spanish company. UPDATE: Now open.

AAMANNS/COPENHAGEN
Danish restaurant specializing in smørrebrød.

DEMI MONDE
The bar part (at 90 Broad) is open; the café will follow.

ASPHALT GREEN BATTERY PARK CITY
Teaching us all to exercise our patience.

JEAN
(Right) Dr. Michel Cohen of Tribeca Pediatrics is opening a lunch café/wine bar.

ALL GOOD THINGS
European-style food hall with restaurant.

SUSHI OF GARI
Popular uptown sushi mini-chain.

FIKA
Swedish café and chocolatier.

THE BUTTERFLY
A bar with food from chef Michael White’s company (Marea, Osterini Morini).

ROBIN BROUILLETTE
Tribeca designer’s shop on W. Broadway.

CITIBANK
Said to be taking over a prominent spot; now not so sure….

TRIBECA CANVAS
Masaharu Morimoto’s non-Japanese restaurant.

CHIPOTLE
(Right) Work has started on the second location in the area.

THE ELEVENS
Crowdsourced restaurant where membership gets privileges.

NEAR AND FAR FOOD COMPANY
Big restaurant and bar in eastern Tribeca. (Is this iffy too? The space has been gutted for a while.)

AMERICAN FLATBREAD
Vermont pizza chain’s first New York outpost.

LITTLE ONE
Restaurant coming to the old Columbine space.

27 DESBROSSES RESTAURANT AND BAR
Anchor Bar is opening a bar and restaurant.

THE FLEA
The theater company is moving.

SHINOLA
Steven Alan’s parent company is reinventing the shoe polish brand.

73 WARREN
(Right) Prepared food.

TETSU
Chef Masa Takayama’s teppanyaki restaurant.

BARRY’S BOOTCAMP
Group-fitness studio.

DUXIANA
Swedish beds and furniture.

SUPERSTAR GYM
In Truffles Tribeca.

MULINO A VINO
Italian wine bar and restaurant.

BENARES
(Right) Indian restaurant on Murray.

BALCONY CAFÉ
Bar and restaurant in the old Mocca space (iffy).

AQUA STUDIO
Group aquatic-fitness facility.

TEMPLE COURT HOTEL AND CONDOS
In the marvelous 5 Beekman.

MAY 23–SEPTEMBER 4
“The Clocktower Gallery presents Nervescape, a site-specific exhibition by Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir aka Shoplifter, on view to the public from May 23 to September 4, 2012. Shoplifter’s sculptures, drawings and installations explore themes of vanity, beauty, and beastly mythology, as well as notions of obsession and fetish. In the Clocktower’s Upper Gallery, Shoplifter makes use of a large existing metal structure as the skeleton for an organic, enveloping installation that is both a landscape and a beast, activating the space and engulfing the viewer in its cavernous entrails.”

THROUGH LABOR DAY
“On the heels of its successful Made in New York exhibition, the South Street Seaport Museum will open Made in New York II on May 16. Like its predecessor, the new exhibition will highlight contemporary counterparts to the productive industries that once populated the Seaport district.”

JUNE 3
“On Sunday, June 3 at 2:45 p.m., a special screening of Agnieszka Holland’s Oscar nominated Best Foreign Language Film, In Darkness (Poland, 2011, 114 min.), will take place at the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. A discussion with Krystyna Chiger Keren, the last living member of the group dramatized in the film, will follow the screening.”

JUNE 8–JULY 7
“Hionas Gallery is pleased to present Microphone Check, a multi-media exhibition comprised of new sculpture, mixed media collage, and abstract paintings by Karlos Cárcamo. For this show the artist introduces the union of seemingly disparate forms, joining hard edge painting and graffiti tagging, sculptures that mimic the gestural three-dimensional movement of spray paint, and the constructed nature of city landscapes vs. hard edge abstraction.”

JUNE 9–17
The ARChive of Contemporary Music‘s Surfin’ Summer Record & CD sale is at 54 White St. every day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

AUGUST 5–6
Cowboy Junkies play City Winery. I bought my tickets already. Last time, I sat next to a woman who insisted on talking during my favorite song—even after I told her it was my favorite song! (This is the song; the fan-made Sims video is priceless.)

AUGUST 8, 21, 29; SEPTEMBER 5
Joan Osborne plays City Winery.

AUGUST 25–26
Taj Mahal play City Winery.

••• JCP’s pop-up shop is now online.

••• Per a tweet from @TibiTaylor: “USPS moving from Peck Slip to 114 John St on June 4.” The old USPS building at Peck Slip will become a school.

••• From New Amsterdam Market: “Please join us this Sunday for our second Gathering of Fisheries, which will bring together local fishmongers, shellfish vendors, chefs, and other supporters of a revived Fulton Fish Market site for a day of celebrating our coasts and the bounty they provide. [...] In addition to the fisheries, nearly 40 regular New Amsterdam Market vendors will be present—including Flying Fox, making her season debut with fresh-picked strawberries from Maryland—so check out the full list on our website.”

••• A note in the window of Seaport restaurant SamSara says it’s reopening soon with a new chef and a new menu.

••• From local art furniture designers Cmmnwlth: “A furniture show of ours (for ICFF, with three other U.S. designers) opens at Mondo Cane tonight 6–9 p.m. The exhibit is called “No Frontier”: and it’s co-curated by Volume Gallery of Chicago. We’ll be presenting the entire Seltanica series consisting of a family of lights, a wall mounted hook and an umbrella stand.”

••• From a reader: “I’m the parent of a Spruce Street School student. Last night the school held a fundraiser on the school’s rooftop playground, which sits below the west side of the Gehry tower. Harry’s Italian donated excellent food, local wine merchants donated cases of vino, and someone renting one of the apartments above the party donated several brown eggs, which came splattering down on the parents. If the party was that noisy, wouldn’t a call to the doormen of the building to do something about it have been the easiest thing to do? Spruce Street School and the Gehry tower co-exist in the same building. I know a relationship exists between building management and school staff because they’ve had to meet and discuss the beer bottles another tenant (or the same?) previously rained down on the playground. What’s next? If recess gets too noisy should parents and school staff need to worry that someone is going to injure the kids? That behavior is disgusting. A doorman could have easily called the school to complain, or simply walked around the corner and said something to the security staff in the school lobby. People in this city are really gross.” It’s true! But they’re gross everywhere.

••• From the Department of Transportation: “The New York City Department of Transportation today announced the installation of a prototype for the agency’s first-ever outdoor art display case at TriBeCa’s Bogardus Plaza on Hudson Street between Chambers and Reade streets. The model, designed by Architecture Research Office, will be in place for one month to observe the design’s performance in an outdoor environment. Last fall, DOT issued a challenge to designers, asking them to reinvent the fixed display cases seen in museums and galleries as a moveable piece for outdoor use. ARO’s design was selected for implementation. The goal is to temporarily install display cases in pedestrian plazas and other areas within the public realm to create new opportunities for displaying art such as photos, paintings and collages.” Call me old-fashioned, but I think parks should be a respite from manmade visual stimulation.

••• From Manhattan Youth: “The Art Shack is a place where kids can get together for special art projects or to participate in the creation of  murals we are now making at Pier 25. The Mural Project is an on-going project and one day we hope to wrap the entire pier in children’s murals.” Let’s see if I can piss even more people off: I’m not sure how I feel about that last part, actually. Is kids’ art not best appreciated on the family’s fridge?

••• From a reader: “Janet Newman is opening a show of her very unique flower paintings [tonight] at the Sovereign Bank at corner of Franklin and Hudson, 5:30 to 8 p.m.”

••• Something called Delmonico’s Café wants to open at 300 Spring (between Hudson and Renwick, where Sora Lella used to be).

••• 481 Washington—just north of Canal—is being marketed as the Spice Warehouse (as if the real spice warehouse isn’t further south). No clue if this is new; I don’t walk up that part of Washington very often.

••• I’m pretty sure this is about whether to allow residential development on Pier 40: “The Hudson River Park Trust has been working with a task force comprised of elected officials, community boards, and environmental and civic organizations to discuss possible changes to the Hudson River Park Act. We have just scheduled a public meeting to update the general public about these discussions. The meeting will include time for questions and answers, and the public will be able to provide their ideas about how the Park can best meet its financial challenges. [...] The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Chapel, 209 Broadway.”

••• Remember: Taste of Tribeca is Saturday! Here’s the list of participating restaurants—love seeing new places like Lotus Blue, Tribeca Tap House, Tre Sorelle, and Super Linda on there. Also: There will be “an exciting raffle sponsored by Sean Turner of Stribling & Associates. 10 lucky winners will receive a $200 gift certificate to the Taste of Tribeca participating restaurant of their choice. Visit the Stribling booth at Taste on Saturday and show your ticket to enter.”

••• Speaking Super Linda: Its take-out taqueria (at the north end) sure looks close to opening….

••• Just a reminder that the twice-weekly email newsletter is the easiest way to keep up with everything on TribecaCitizen.com. You can sign up by entering your email in the box in the upper-right corner (and then you’ll be sent an email where you have to click a link). I promise that the list will never be handed to anyone, and unsubscribing is a breeze.

••• The Dusty Rebel tweeted this great street-art image and I thought it was worth passing along….

••• “Another food truck lot [is] spawning downtown [at] the Lent Space at 70 Varick (at Grand) next to Duarte Park, and it’s another one involving the NYC Food Truck Association’s members, like the collection at the World Financial Center five days a week. According to the association’s site, there will be four to six trucks at the lot on Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.” —Midtown Lunch

••• “The owners of the landmarked Woolworth Building signed a contract to sell the top 25 floors of the tower to an Israeli investor group for nearly $70 million, or around $700 a square foot, sources familiar with the deal said. [...] The top floors, which total roughly 100,000 square feet, are empty and have been for a while as the owners contemplated turning them into a hotel or condos. [...] The remaining 32 stories, which are the bulk of the building, are occupied by office tenants. Sources says that although the owners weren’t actively marketing the space, they starting receiving numerous offers as the hotel and high-end condo markets revived in the wake of the recession.” —Crain’s

••• The New York Times on Demi Monde: “A hostess will greet you at the little entryway in the financial district and announce your arrival”—ladies and gentlemen, please welcome I.P. Freely!—”at this below-ground cocktail lounge and restaurant. The food, by Phillip Kirschen-Clark, formerly of Vandaag, will be small plates like Negroni-flavored oysters, king crab rolls and pork fried rice [...]. These drinks are also served with Mr. Kirschen-Clark’s $130 nine-course tasting menu at a 12-seat chef’s table. This summer, the entry space will become a coffee bar by day. (The lounge is open; the chef’s table opens May 24, for dinner Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.): 90 Broad Street (Stone Street), (212) 248-7220.”

••• “9/11 Memorial Chief Emphatically Says ‘No’ to Sphere on WTC Plaza.” —Tribeca Trib

••• “A homeless man was rushed to a hospital late Tuesday night after an unknown assailant beat him with a piece of wood outside St. Peters Roman Catholic Church.” —DNAinfo

UPDATE 5/16: Well that was fast! Dos Santos just emailed to say that she’ll reopen tomorrow.

UPDATE 5/18: The sign was still in the window this morning, so who knows. I guess we’ll have to just hope it works out.

THE RUMOR:

THE RUMOR: A tipster emailed that Tetsu, the forthcoming restaurant from Masa chef Masa Takayama, will be “teppanyaki with flaming huge fire twist.” Teppanyaki means the food is cooked on an iron griddle, à la Benihana. I asked him/her where the restaurant would be, but I got no response…. Hey, here’s a thought: Do you think it could be coming to the revamped World Financial Center? (Sorry, I didn’t mean to start a rumor.)
THE INVESTIGATION: Exceedingly good. Why? Because Googling “teppanyaki” and “masa” brings up a press release about how the Shaboo restaurant within (?) Bar Masa in Las Vegas will be turned into a teppanyaki restaurant named Tetsu. Sayeth the release: “Highly skilled teppanyaki chefs will oversee the evening’s culinary entertainment—prepping, cooking and plating orders specific to each guest’s request. A produce table will serve as the room’s centerpiece, displaying the finest quality meats, seafood and vegetables, and will allow guests the opportunity to hand select the proteins of their entree, specifying the exact cut, portion size and preparation style they desire.” Reminds me of this. “The teppan grill menu allows guests to try a variety of offerings at smaller portions and reasonable prices such as the Toro Tartare with Caviar, Wagyu Beef Steak Tartare and Pacific Lobster Sashimi Ceviche in addition to Tataki selections. Tataki, meaning to ‘pound,’ is a traditional manner of preparing fish and meat so they better absorb other flavors, therefore enhancing the protein in the dish. The cuts are briefly seared over a hot pan, marinated in vinegar, sliced thin and seasoned with ginger. Tetsu’s tataki offerings will differentiate the restaurant with the finest culinary creations, such as the Wagyu Ribeye, and Filet Mignon-Soy Vinaigrette. Main course offerings include prime cuts of beef such as Center Cut Lamb Chop and Filet Mignon. Seafood and steak also will delight guests with the incredibly fresh ingredients for which Masa is renowned, such as Butterflied Scottish Langoustine, Mediterranean Turbot and decadent Fatty Tuna. Side accompaniments including Kobe Garlic Fried Rice, Yakisoba Noodles and Seafood Udon will complement the main course. Completing the meal are unexpected and refreshing desserts such as Masa’s famous Truffle Ice Cream, Grapefruit Granite and Yuzu Sorbet.”

THE RUMOR: A reader said that maybe I had the spelling wrong on the new restaurant coming to 45 Murray (left), “because Benares [not Benaras] is a good new Indian restaurant in Midtown.”
THE INVESTIGATION: Indeed! Behold benaresnyc.com! “Restaurateur Inder Singh, a former partner of Devi and Baluchi, partners with acclaimed chef Peter Beck, celebrated for his creative interpretation of his native cuisine at the helm of the Tamarind empire.”

KNOW SOMETHING? Send tips—especially about where Tetsu will be located—to tribecacitizen@gmail.com.

P.S. Her name is pronounced “Broo-yett” in the French fashion or “Broo-lett” in the American fashion.

P.P.S. The top photo is by Gabriel Everett; the others are by Matthew Dean Suroff.