Slice, U2 Karaoke Certified Open; Birdbath this Saturday

1) Greenwich Village: The owner sends word that the second location of organic pizza and wine bar (and plywood vet) Slice, The Perfect Food has opened on 535 Hudson, finally lightening up what seems like a restaurant graveyard. The menu includes "fresh seasonal pastas, seasonal sides from the farmer's market, appetizers, delicious fresh salads and fabulous dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free desserts! We have vegan options of course!" Status: Certified Open; 535 Hudson St., 212-929-2920.

2) East Village: EV Grieve posts the news that U2 Karaoke opened the Karaoke portion of their operation over the weekend. For those keeping score at home, we still miss Kim's video. A lot. Status: Certified Open; 6 St. Mark's Pl..

3) Downtown Brooklyn: The Robs file on The Loading Dock, the Mexican café from Choncho's Tacos' Forrest Cole. Part café, part gallery, the space has been winterized with wood-burning stoves and canvas flaps, and will be open from 8 a.m. through 3 p.m. weekdays for Mexican-style eggs, tacos made with tortillas from Corona’s Nixtamal, and Gorilla coffee. A limited morning menu is available weekends, and dinner and brunch should arrive by January. Status: Opening tomorrow for delivery; 170 Tillary St., 646-355-7518.

4) Lower East Side: Grub Street runs a post on Kinski, an Austrian coffee shop helmed by a visual artist and some of her pals. Zipora Fried "chose the name Kinski for its evocation of both the Palais Kinski in Vienna and Klaus Kinski (the actor). The menu is comprised of things she missed eating and drinking: coffee by Julius Meinl, a popular Austrian brand, and — coming soon — Viennese-style drinks like einspänner (coffee with whipped cream) and kleiner brauner (coffee with cream). The food menu features knödel, a round dumpling that can be served sweet or savory; sandwiches made on Austrian breads; traditional Austrian baked goods; and weekend brunch." Status: Certified Open; 128 Rivington St., 646-270-9733.

5) SoHo: Grubz also brings word that Maury Rubin is putting the "finishing touches" on Birdbath no. 3 in the old Vesuvio space. "In homage [to the former tenant], there will be pignoli cookies, plus new items like rice-milk muffins with red beans and ginger, cauliflower-and-broccoli-rabe tartines, and Seckel-pear tarts baked with sheep’s-milk yogurt (pictured). It’s takeout-only to start." Status: They hope to open Saturday; 160 Prince St.

6) Hell's Kitchen: In her Off The Menu column, Flo Fab writes about newcomer Red Sea 47: "Ethiopian dishes like lentil and lamb stews for the pretheater crowd." Status: Certified Open; 683 Ninth Avenue, 212-956-2841.

7) Bushwick: Via BushwickBK comes the news that Checkers, the expanding Florida burger chain, has moved into Bushwick. "Judging by the size of the line last night, it seems locals have been enjoying the chain’s signature burgers, fries, and chicken wings. But is it better than McDonald’s? 'It’s definitely better than McDonald’s,' said an anonymous city employee eating Checkers’ seasoned fries." Status: Certified Open; 1611 Broadway, 718-443-6160.

8) Cobble Hill: Info on the forthcoming Brooklyn Wine Exchange, per The Feed Blog: "This week, Patrick Watson (The Jakewalk)—along with partners Chris Modica (D’Amico Foods) and Joseph Mastriano—opens a wine store specializing in New York, New World, Old World and biodynamic wines in Cobble Hill. A 40-seat learning center in a spacious back room, meanwhile, will be the site of frequent tastings and demonstrations for those who have purchased the $100 annual membership." Status: Opening Friday; 138 Court St, (718) 855-9463.

9) Lower East Side: Per PR and NYMag, Kampuchea's expansion is almost ready: "On the pub-like menu: “numpang” sandwiches like oxtail with tamarind and honey, fried chicken with spiced fleur de sel, and catfish crêpe tacos. That frees the main restaurant to focus on its restructured menu of more refined fare, like steamed striped bass with fermented cauliflower, sweet breads, and poached chicken in chile-lime broth. More new additions: Stumptown coffee and dessert. Status: Opens Friday; 78 Rivington St., 212-529-3901.

10) FiDi: From the tipline: "I saw a menu in my lobby today for a new North & South Indian restaurant called Ruchi in FiDi. Their dosa menu caught our attention as we usually trek to Journal Square in Jersey. We have not personally found quality dosa Downtown, so we had to give it a try this afternoon. We just got back and really enjoyed our dosa." Status: Certified Open; 120 Cedar St., 212-227-8454.
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