1) Lower East Side: A special Eater correspondent sends along the above pictures from Hell Square, with this note: "Random plywood on the Lower East Side. Looks like it'll be a restaurant. Mid-block on Ludlow between Delancey and Rivington Streets, across from the boutique Plum." Who knows more? [PLYWOOD]
2) Lower East Side: Fresh from the Eater comments on a previous Plywood post, more hot news on another LES newcomer: "The guys from pheasant on Elizabeth are open a venetian place on division between ludlow and orchard. It has a marble and mahogany bar upstairs and downstairs will be a bunch of small rooms for eating—somewhat similar to la esquina." [PLYWOOD]
3) East Village: JapanToday reports, "Chikaranomoto Company Co, which runs the popular Ippudo chain of Hakata ramen restaurants across Japan, plans to open its New York branch later this year, company officials said. The company, which has secured a ground floor retail space totaling about 260 square meters in Manhattan's East Village, plans to offer the classic tonkotsu (pork stock) and other ramen menu items almost identical to those served in Japan." [PRE-PLYWOOD?]
4) Upper East Side/Harlem BBQ BONUS: On Second Avenue (between 76th and 77th), ZagatBuzz steals a plywood peek at Justin Timberlake's much-delayed Southern Hospitality. Sources say mid-July. And somewhere up in Harlem, Uptown Flavor espies a new joint called Oklahoma Smoke, which boasts this enigmatic website. Your guess is as good as ours. [PLYWOOD x2]
