••• As you first read here, the building at 23-31 Park Row will indeed be tall: “The developer [L+M Development Partners] filed a permit application to build a 59-story*, 266,000-square-foot tower at 23 Park Row in the Financial District. Plans call for 108 apartments in 213,000 square feet of residential space, as well as 52,600 square feet of retail between the cellar level and the lower four floors. […] It’s unknown whether the apartments will be condominiums or rentals, and if the building will have an affordable component.” *The headline says 54 stories, while the DOB filing says 53; no matter what, this and the new 25-story building at 33-34 Park Row will really block a lot of light at the north and west sides of the Beekman hotel’s condo tower. —Real Deal

••• Khe-Yo chef “Soulayphet ‘Phet’ Schwader come into our Test Kitchen, along with his mom, Soubhan Whitson, to show us some fantastic traditional Laotian dishes (plus a good-luck blessing). […] Learn how to make sticky rice and jaew sohm—a super-spicy condiment that Khe-Yo dubs ‘Bang Bang Sauce.'” —Food & Wine

••• A Tribeca dog named Pumpkin is featured in an Animal Planet documentary. —New York Daily News

••• Prices have been dramatically reduced at the Community Center at Stuyvesant High School: “All-access memberships in the community center will now cost $199 for adults (ages 18-61), down from $525. For Battery Park City residents, the price will be $179. For seniors, youth (17 and under) and for members of the military, all-access annual membership is now $79, down from $150 for seniors and $100 for youth. […] Battery Park City residents in these categories will pay $59 annually for an all-access membership.” —Downtown Post

••• “The Parks Department is planning a $1.2 million restoration of the city’s Vietnam Memorial at 55 Water Street, which sustained significant damage from flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy.” —Downtown Express