As you can see in the photo above, Tavern on the Green’s kitchen is all set, and chef Katy Sparks is raring to go. But after several delays there’s still no word on exactly when it will open. Photo via Tavern’s twitter page.
Gastronomie 491, the specialty foods market on Columbus between 83rd and 84th street, is holding its 2-year anniversary on Saturday, March 22 with live music, special tastings and giveaways from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Learn more here.
Hummus Kitchen, which has a location at 80th street and Amsterdam, is now being sued by employees for allegedly failing to pay them minimum wage, according to the New York Times.
The city announced Friday it will reduce fines on restaurants with health violations, and the restaurants will get more chances to appeal.
The Leopard des Artistes at 67th between Central Park West And Columbus now offers a special BYOB offer on Sunday night. It won’t charge corkage fees, no matter how expensive the bottle you bring in.
3 Star Coffee Shop on 86th and Columbus appears to still be closed, according to health department records. (correct us if we’re wrong). We wrote about the closing here.
Hunan Balcony on Broadway and 98th street will be closed until the end of March for renovations. A weak recent health inspection (31 violation points) has at least one fan worried about the restaurant’s future.
Tessa, the restaurant replacing the old Time Out Bar on Amsterdam and 77th, is about two weeks away from opening, Harriet tells us. “The restaurant will be up-scale Mediterranean, casual, with industrial decor, and with a very big wine list.” We’ll have more on it soon.
We were lucky to be invited to Tessa tonight for one of their friends and family pre- opening tastings .
First of all the decor is upscale but so cool ! They used train station accordion gates on the ceiling and as the common thread pulling the restaurant together. Lots of wood keeping w the criss cross pattern of the gates. There is a long bar with comfortable seating and hooks under the bar – a pet peeve of mine when they are not there. Communal bistro tables are set next to the bar w traditional seating towards the back. There is also an area at the far end which would be suitable for a private party. There was a selection of salami, prosciutto , cheese and hummus plus varied small plates from the menu. The cod was one of my faves. Plenty of well priced wines to choose. Tessa is the name of one of the owner’s daughters who was there tonight. She can be proud to have such a lovely spot named after her! Opening in early April. Be sure to stop by.
You’re a good friend.
Thank you for the information regarding Hummus Kitchen and the lawsuit against them for not even paying minimum wage. I will be sure to stay away and will blast email my friends to do the same. Too bad they have chosen to go that route, because I used to like to go there. Oh well, The Hummus Place, a few blocks down, just got a new customer.
Yo, Ethan!
Come back!
The NYT story said that the restaurant did agree to meet the employee demands for minimum wage. But the newly-empowered employees are now suing for back pay.
Forgive the pun and misspelling, but that should be only a PITAnce for a Hummus place!
🙂
if they were paid an illegally low wage — below the minimum, or weren’t paid for overtime, etc — then the restaurant OWES THEM the wages that they didn’t get paid. It’s called wage theft. And of course they should sue for that.
Maybe if hummus cost $11 a serving, they could afford to pay their workers minimum wage.
if you can’t pay your employees the legal minimum, then your business model is broken and you should not be in business.
Saw a mouse just sitting in the middle of the entry foyer of Hunan Balcony in bright daylight after it was closed for “repairs.” Seems like he’d had the run of the place. Disgusting; will never eat there.
Yeah, Hunan Balcony is nasty. They have been getting HUGE numbers of Department of Health Violations for a while now.