CELEBRATE SPRING AT SORA LELLA
Our neighbors at Sora Lella (right) would like to offer Tribeca Citizen readers a complimentary bottle of wine, valued at $35. I asked one of the owners how I could be sure the wine wouldn’t be plonk. “The goal is to get people to come more often,” he explained. “Why would I give them bad wine?” Good point! Read on for the details. When you get back, I want a full report.
CALENDAR
This is out of date because the newsletter was supposed tog o out Friday but the gods of technology had their way with me This weekend in Tribeca: Bogardus Garden/Duane Park party; Ruth Reichl; Iggy and the Stooges doc at 92YTribeca; “Lost Jazz Shrines” at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center; A Uno shopping event; TriBeCaStan; and much more. Plus: the full calendar through May 31.
WANT TO LOOK BETTER?
In magazines, the rule is that you needed three of something to validate it as a trend. We’re two-thirds of the way there! The owners of two former Reade Street boutiques have launched personal-styling businesses. “We’re bringing the Italian experience to Americans,” says Monica Abbatemaggio, who runs Sorelle Firenze with her sister, Barbara (the shop was also called Sorelle Firenze). Donna Marotta (left), the erstwhile owner of Butterflies and Zebras and Moonbeams—I always loved that name—is the co-founder of The Perfect Closet, and she did the TCQ&A. Now all we need is the owner of Macki to reappear….
PLEDGE DRIVE
No, I’m not asking for money. I know it feels lame to forward this email to someone and be all “I like this and you would too!” or to suggest that your friends “like” the Tribeca Citizen Facebook page, but it is for a good cause, broadly speaking. Besides, it’s not as if I’m asking you to hire a blimp to buzz Taste of Tribeca on May 15.
MUSCLE MAKER GRILL
I went to “America’s Hottest Concept,” Muscle Maker Grill on Murray Street, for a low-carb, no-fat, zero-flavor lunch (right). It pushed me one step closer to moving to France. Kudos to the restaurant, however, for rising above and posting a civil comment.
SEEN & HEARD
••• Restaurant deals at the Palm, Marc Forgione, Bouley, Columbine, and Kori—are any of them worth your trouble (or mine)? I’m asking, not telling. P.S. I later came across this Vino Vino deal.
••• The DDC presentation on the Chambers Street construction that I wrote about here has been rescheduled for May 13.
••• Behold Tribeca Treats’ cookie of the month, the whoopie pie.
••• Deals you might have missed this week by not following Tribeca Citizen on Facebook (click “like”) or Twitter: Little Pie Co., the spa at the Andaz Wall Street hotel, and Brick.
••• The Tribeca Film Festival estimates that 300,000 people showed up for the Family Festival. What did you just say? Drop a zero and divide by two? What do you mean?
••• The River to River Festival schedule.
••• New art exhibits at the WFC.
••• Plus: Tribeca Tarot Reader gift certificates in time for Mother’s Day, Tribeca MedSpa deal, Sweet Lily Natural Nail Spa’s spring/summer special treatment, Just Scandinavian discount, SoulCycle benefit for Peace First, Moomah and the New Museum celebrate (separately), City Winery updates (Luka Bloom, Ollabelle, John Hiatt), and HRP Mamas and NYC Dads Group sponsor talks at 92YTribeca.
TASTE OF TRIBECA TIP #11
Ward III’s Michael Neff (left) says the first step to making a delicious cocktail is to shop like a foodie. Plus: blueberry margaritas!
IN THE NEWS
••• Is Danny Meyer (Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, etc.) opening a restaurant or two in the Embassy Suites at Battery Park City?
••• A mosque and Islamic cultural center is coming to Park Place.
••• The Tribeca Trib details exactly what is going on where at the WTC site.
••• Is the city stalling on renaming CaVaLa Park in honor of Albert Capsouto?
••• At the Tribeca Film Festival Family Day, “the Color Me Mine booth was robbed and much of the paperwork disappeared,” so if you made something, get in touch with them.
••• Tweed building school?
••• The Hanson boys—remember them?—were interviewed at the Odeon. They used to live on Church, it turns out.
••• A bunch of local chefs/restaurateurs weigh in on photo-snapping diners. Who would do such a thing?
••• Plus: Marc Forgione’s skeletons, Landmarc interview, Manhattan Children’s Theatre rave, Locanda Verde road trip, Tribeca Cinemas reviews, Jessica Alba’s fish-stick incident at the Smyth, Church Street School’s block party, Duane Park restaurant’s frozen-pie-on-a-stick.
WHERE IN TRIBECA…?
I have walked by this sign thousands of times, and I only noticed it two days ago. You, of course, have known about it for years. But I don’t believe you! You must prove it by posting the 411 in the comments on the page you reach by clicking here. The first person to answer correctly gets a fake $20 bill from Balloon Saloon. Update: Two people guessed correctly. I may have already posted the pulled-back shot by the time this newsletter goes out.