CHELSEA—If you were planning on visiting the abomination that is the 80's comedy-flick-inspired fratbar Porky's, well, too bad. It, along with nearby nightspot Snitch, is (temporarily) closed. A tipster writes, "Snith [ed. note: believe this is supposed to read Snitch] and Porky's, bars on 21st btw. 5th and 6th, are closed with large bright signs on their doors. The difference between these and the umpteen recent closings in the city is that they've been closed by the NYC Police Department for illegally selling liquor to minors.UPDATE:both bars are open, disregard this intel. "Also, Mundial, which has been closed every time I've walked by it for the past month or so is closed for 45 days and has had it's liquor license suspended for 45 days, per the SLA." Said tipster also has good news for Alphabet City residents, "Le Souk's license was suspended for 10 days and they were subjected to a $12,000 penalty, although they should probably just shut them down by now. They don't actually have a current liquor license, rather they're operating under a SAPA. The SLA is looking to ammend the Administrative Procedures Act to allow them to close places like Le Souk, which are a public nuisance. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out." [EaterWire Inbox]
FIDI—Though the VV's restaurant critic Robert Sietsema raved about the place in his review this week, business is slow at newish pizza parlor Il Brigante. A reader has an early report, "the place was pretty empty today so the sietsema effect (if one exists!) has yet to kick in. tried the margherita and was a little non-plussed. i'm ashamed to say i've never tried una pizza napoletana but so far i'd take lucallie's or difara over il brigante." [EaterWire Inbox]
