MORNING BULLETIN: ZABAR’S STORY IGNITES A FIRESTORM, ALEC BALDWIN FIGHTS BACK AGAINST CLAIMS OF ELITISM

August 12, 2011 Weather: Sunny, High of 85 Degrees.

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News:
The story you read here first about Zabar’s passing off crayfish salad as lobster salad has become something of a media sensation. The news made it to the front page of the New York Times today, and it is one of the most e-mailed stories on the website. As Times’ writer James Barron’s wrote: “By Wednesday, bloggers so close to Zabar’s that they could smell the Jamaican Blue Mountain Style coffee were on the case. “Zabar’s Committing Lobster Salad Fraud?” West Side Rag, which focuses on the Upper West Side, asked.” Co-owner Saul Zabar has now been spending his days fielding calls from reporters and the story has appeared in the Times, the Post, Gothamist, DNAinfo, CBS News, and a Washington DC radio station WTOP. Most have referenced the West Side Rag as the originator of the story — DNAinfo and the Times most generously — to which we say “thanks.” To the others, we can only thumb our noses weakly. In the meantime, Zabar’s has changed the name of its faux Lobster Salad to “Seafare Salad”. Of course, the main ingredient is freshwater crayfish, which ain’t exactly from the sea, is it? Just saying…

Alec Baldwin is pushing back against critics (us included) who laughed at his claim that the Upper West Side — and more specifically his fancy home in the Eldorado — are “middle class.” “The Eldorado, covering any entire CPW block, is “tailpiped” along the north side of 90th Street and the south side of 91st, by public housing. The Upper West Side, particularly above 86th Street, has a lot of public housing.” If I was him, I would stop while I’m behind. (Huffington Post)

The Manhattan Chirldren’s Museum just got a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to put on an exhibition called “Muslim Worlds“. Brace for the backlash. (WNYC)

The landlord of the P&G Bar took possession of the famed watering hole a few days earlier than we had reported the bar was slated to close.

Some tutu-loving thieves stole $16,800 worth of ballet outfits from the Manhattan Youth Ballet on 60th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, pilfering them from a closet to which numerous people have access. (DNAinfo)