Per Se and Locanda Verde Alums Team Up; More Mirage Kitchens Coming Soon

Midtown East: Popular taco spot Dos Toros is getting closer to opening at 465 Lexington Avenue. Plywood is down and the team says to expect an opening soon. [PLYWOOD]

Alphabet City: Reed Adelson, who was the assistant GM at Locanda Verde, and Christian Ramos, a former Per Se sous chef, are opening Virginia's at 647 East 11th Street later this spring. Details are scant, but stay tuned. [PLYWOOD]

Long Island City: Doughnut Plant's production facility and shop at the Falchi Building are both nearly ready to make their debut. Expect the frying to commence sometime later this month. [DNAinfo]

East Village: Hou Yi Hot Pot is expanding to 97 Second Avenue. Serious Eats describes the restaurant's Chinatown outlet as "comfortable and friendly." The new location is pretty empty, so the pots likely won't be boiling for a at least a couple more months. [EV Grieve]

Columbus Circle and Greenwich Village: Fast casual Middle Eastern spot Mirage Kitchen is expanding this year with two new locations, though there are no specific addresses quite yet. Last year, Robert Sietsema visited the West Village outpost and found good chickpea fries and falafel. The team hopes to reach 40 units in five years. [PLYWOOD]

Park Slope: Construction is still going on, but some signage is up for Perfect Potato, whose motto is "French fries for everyone!" The team describes its business on Facebook as "Gourmet Belgian fries with a wide range of unique sauces, delicious varieties of poutine, baked potatoes, all natural ice cream shakes, and sodas." [Here's Park Slope]

Columbus Circle and Greenwich Village: The owners of vegan fast-casual concept Blossom Du Jour Express are planning an outpost at Turn-Style (that underground mall that's in the works near the Time Warner Center) and at 15 East 13th Street. Expect seitan Philly cheese steaks, juices, and vegan baked goods. [PLYWOOD]

East Village: A red sign is hanging up at 36 Saint Mark's Place for "Fasta...Pasta Your Way." There's a placeholder web page, but no more info on the place, beside the fact that it will clearly be some sort of fast-casual pasta place. [EV Grieve]

Midtown West: District Tap House, which serves 50 beers on tap, is opening a second location just a block away at 252 west 37th Street. The new bar should be pouring pints by October 1. [Commercial Observer]

Around Town: Fast food burger chain Checkers just opened a location in Far Rockaway, and has 12 more NYC-area locations in the works for 2015. [PLYWOOD]