No-frills chicken and waffles at Tampa Luv. by Brian Ries Step into the Tampa Luv Chicken & Waffles and it’s clear what you’ll be getting. The building had been — at some point in its past — a fast casual joint of a different sort, maybe Chinese, by the look of it.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Celebrity cooking demonstrations, truck fiesta, food festivals, tastings and more! by Juliette Cassistre Wednesday, January 4: J.F. KicksGive your brain a workout and enjoy a brew at JF Kicks’ Pub Trivia event. Play alone or as a team.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Drake: free drinks rule. With 2012 already off to a fantastic start — mainly thanks to a beautiful baby named Blue Ivy — this week continued the end of year’s celebratory feel as we all continue to write 2011 rather than 2012. Vince Young bought drinks for Drake and J. Cole at La Pomme, Katie Couric splashed back into the dating world at Lure Fishbar, and Kelly Clarkson laughed with Miranda Lambert over spicy tuna at Koi. All this, and [...]

Chinatown: Inspired by our Reasons to Love New York package, Chinatown Restaurant Week announced a contest celebrating Reasons to Love NYC’s Chinatown. All you have to do is leave a comment, and you might win! [Grub Street] Chelsea: Chelsea Market announced that tickets are now available for NYChilifest 2012, the city’s annual celebration of chili, beer, and too much eating. Find tickets here for $45 (chili only) and $55 (chili and beer). [Grub Street] East Village: After King Gyro closed [...]

Eat marrow, add booze, drink, repeat. Here’s something new: People are reportedly using lengths of marrow bone to create “bone luges” for booze. Tasting Table has the goods on this supposed trend, which has shown up at Prime Meats and L.A.’s Bar and Kitchen. All you do is eat the marrow out of a bone split lengthwise, then use the bone to shoot the drink — Amontillado sherry is reportedly a good choice. Extra points to the first bar that [...]

Smiles all around! We often report on the frustration that many bar and restaurant owners feel when they face their various community boards, but at the Community Board 2′s SLA committee meeting last night, the Smile‘s co-owner Matthew Kliegman sailed through the process with his bid to upgrade the shop’s beer and wine license into a full liquor license. Even Zella Jones, the noted Noho activist who frowns on most liquor-license apps (including this one at one time!) gave a [...]

They’ve got new nabes. It’s pretty much impossible to hang out at Fairway Red Hook without saying to yourself, “If you don’t think this is the coolest area in Brooklyn, then we probably can’t be friends.” Luckily, a few like-minded people, who also happen to own Alma, have assumed the lease at Brooklyn Crab, the big, promising shack across the street from the Fairway mecca, and plan to open something seafood-centric and mini-golf-minded, with two decks overlooking the Harbor, by [...]

It’s 4 p.m, and that means it’s time to play Two for Eight. We just asked ten restaurants the best time they can squeeze in a couple for dinner; you need only make your chosen reservation. (As always, we make the calls but don’t guarantee the results.) Today: Notable Italian. A Voce Columbus (Menu) 212-823-2523 Two for eight? No Best available: 8:30 p.m. Babbo (Menu) 212-777-0303 Two for eight? No Best available: Fully booked Ciano (Menu) 212-982-8422 Two for eight? [...]

The “Jay-Z Room.” On Monday, we told you Jay-Z would be unveiling his new-look 40/40 Club with a private party on January 18 — it opens to the public on January 19 — and today we get our first look inside. The crew is still finishing with the remodel — including some last-minute modifications to the glass walls that surround the club’s above-bar stadium seating. We still got a glimpse at the bar (stocked with tons of HOV-approved Armand de [...]

She’s all about it. Socialite and Sofia Vergara lover Nick Loeb is having a great deal of success with his Loeb’s Onion Crunch, which is made in Manhattan and sold in thousands of stores. Loeb likes to think of LOC as a condiment as crucial as ketchup and mayo; he also says that the onion breath aftermath isn’t that bad. Apparently, Vergara can’t get enough. Hey, it’s Friday. [WSJ] Read more posts by Alyssa Shelasky Filed Under: say ahh, onion [...]