NIMBYS Wage War Against Morandi, Cosi Union Square Bites the Dust, and More a.m. Intel

— The Department of Transportation want to close a 60-foot segment of Waverly Place for traffic safety reasons, but some West Village NIMBYS are complaining that this would allow Morandi to take over the dead space with cafe seating, thus tainting a perfect patch of this city, irrevocably. One neighbor went so far as to call this a potential "quality-of-life disaster." As it stands, Morandi has no designs to move into this space, and the restaurant has an amazing track record when it comes to keeping its sidewalk seating within the established parameters. This conversation will resume at a later date, but at some point, the restaurant might have to draw a line on the sidewalk indicating where its cafe ends.

— New York's newest cheap eats list includes fancy hot dogs from Huertas, Alex Stupak's $4 tacos, shellfish pots at Lolo's Seafood Shack, and the burger from Rose's.

— Better-than-average East Fourth Street tapas restaurant Euzkadi is no more. The Grieve spotted workers removing furniture from the space overt the weekend, and a new team is planning to open a Japanese rice bowl restaurant at that address with the working name Benemon.

— Smorgasburg Queens debuted over the weekend in Long Island City. The Chonut, a cheese glazed douhgnut stuffed with pork and kimchi, was the big hit of the afternoon.

— 21st Century Fox is developing a Simpsons-inspired Duff Beer for Chile, because apparently that country already has a knock-off version.

— Moishe's Bakery got some spiffy new signage over the weekend. The shop's old, tattered sign sustained damage during the Second Avenue gas explosion in April, so owner Moishe Perl decided to swap it out.

— Club promoter Rob Fernandez died last week due to a heart-related issue. He managed the bookings at Pacha for the last decade, and he had an event company called RPM Productions.

— A new vegan restaurant called Toad Style is opening soon in Bed-Stuy, with a menu that will include an almond cheese roll and cashew ravioli.

— World Cup champion Carli Lloyd feasted on chateaubriand at Bowery Meat Co., last Thursday night.

— Lower East Side Australian restaurant Dudley's is expanding into the space next door at 87 Orchard. With this extra bit of space, the restaurant will launch a take-out window.

— And finally, pour one out for the Union Square Cosi:

[Nick Solares]

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