••• While state assemblyman and speaker Sheldon Silver came out against Park51‘s proposed location, Mayor Bloomberg continued to show what real leaders are made of: “Speaking at a traditional dinner at Gracie Mansion as part of Ramadan, the mayor […] flanked by the center’s developer and the wife of its imam, said he understood the impulse to find a different location, in the hope of ending the controversy. ‘But it won’t,’ the mayor said. ‘The question will then become, How big should the ‘no-mosque zone’ around the World Trade Center be?’ He added: ‘There is already a mosque four blocks away. Should it, too, be moved? This is a test of our commitment to American values. We must have the courage of our convictions. We must do what is right, not what is easy.'” (The New York Times)

Photo by Glen E. Friedman (via Boing Boing)

••• Russell Simmons has posted a message of religious tolerance in the windows of his apartment facing the WTC site. (Boing Boing)

••• Ready for a little irony? Washington Street south of the WTC site, was an Arab enclave—called Little Syria—in the first half of the 20th century. (The New York Times)

••• NYT critic Sam Sifton fails Plein Sud (“the cooking at Plein Sud reveals itself to be lacking in flavor, texture, temperature or interest: room-service fare that leads to increased loneliness, raiding of the minibar, sleepless hours staring at the television in blue light, thinking about home”) and praises Wall & Water in the Andaz Wall Street (“the food is mostly first rate”).

••• Grub Street gets a better look at Theater Bar, which is sounding more and more like a really great spot for bachelorette parties.

••• Mark Bittman rhapsodizes over Grandaisy‘s pound cake (he includes a recipe): “I can almost promise that it’s richer, moister and more flavorful than any you’ve tasted.” (The New York Times)

••• Serious Eats, meanwhile, is obsessing about Grandaisy’s Colazione Francese, a breakfast sandwich of butter, spaghetti-squash jam, raisins, and walnuts.

••• Bank of America is looking into renting at 1 World Trade. (New York Post)

••• “Once known as FiDi’s king of bling and the home of partying models, Fulton Street’s District has more recently been known for the Chipotle downstairs and the buyers who used a lawsuit to back out of their condo purchases. Not exactly the kind of transformation we wanted to see from the building where amenity overdrive was born. What probably makes that transformation okay for some people, namely the buyers: large discounts on condos.” (Curbed)