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Pommes Frites' Booze Battle, Delaney Chicken Stalking, and More a.m. Intel

Everything you need to know about New York dining today, Wednesday, July 29.

The dining room at Al Di La, with a chandelier, dining tables, and curtained windows
[The dining room at Al Di La, a fine choice for dinner on this muggy Wednesday in July.]
Daniel Krieger

— The owners of Pommes Frites — the popular French fry restaurant that was destroyed in the Second Avenue explosion in March — had a hard time at the Community Board 2's SLA licensing committee meeting this week. Restaurateurs Suzanne Levinson and Omer Shorshi planned to serve beer at the restaurant's new home on MacDougal Street till 4 a.m., but the CB2 wanted them to agree to stop selling booze at midnight or 1 a.m..The Pommes Frites team flat-out rejected the board's suggestion on the spot. Shorshi explained: "We need the income to stay afloat...The rent here compared to what it is on Second Avenue is, like, triple." DNAinfo reports that the board unanimously voted to ask the SLA to deny their liquor license application. Of course, the SLA gets the final say in the matter. If everything goes according to plan, Pommes Frites 2.0 will open in the fall.

— Former Del Posto pastry chef Brooks Headley is enjoying his new life as the proprietor of an East Village veggie burger shop. In a chat with Lucky Peach, the chef reveals one crucial detail about Superiority Burger:

Somebody might say the burgers are small. But I say: If you want a second one, have a second one; no one is stopping you. I will never apologize for the size. I can take this exact same [amount of] filling and put it on a regular size potato roll and people would be like, Wow, it’s normal size now—but it’s just more bread. I like the fact that there’s less bread. I think it eats better. Also, everybody probably eats too much bread—I eat too much bread!—so eat a little less.

Headley says he's experimenting with using potato flour as a binder in his patty mixture instead of eggs, which would make those burgers vegan.

— Brisket Boss Daniel Delaney shares a picture of his new fried chicken operation inside the forthcoming Urbanspace Vanderbilt market:

all the panels up, glass in, trim on, cart done... time to turn on the fryers.

A photo posted by Daniel Delaney (@danieldelaney) on 

Looks like Delaney Chicken is just about ready to rock and roll.

— The Roberta's team is serving a menu of Tex-Mex cuisine (and pizzas) at Threes Brewing in Gowanus on Saturdays and Sundays this month.

— The Two Bros. outpost on Sixth Avenue near 17th Street is being replaced by a new restaurant doing business under the name "Taqueria Diana." Presumably, this is the team behind the Second Avenue Mexican restaurant of the same name:

[Photo: Eater reader Caroline, via the Tipline.]

Last night was the annual flashmob picnic known as Diner en Blanc. Thousands of people had dinner outside at Pier 26, all dressed in white.

A now-shuttered Midtown Indian restaurant called Shalom Bombay was fined $5,000 for placing a Craigslist ad for an "experienced Indian waiter or waitress" years ago, which violated the state's anti-discrimination laws. The Commission on Human Rights filed a complaint against the restaurant, but the owners did not appear in court, and the judge worked the fine down from $7,500. A spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights tells the Post that the organization's new leadership is "currently assessing its investigatory strategy to implement more comprehensive and strategic investigations" on issues like employment and housing.

— The Nomad Bar is now serving a $16 veggie burger.

— Lower East Side Russian restaurant Moscow 57 will close on August 1 for a revamp. In September, the space will reopen as Moscow 57 Presents Kapowski's, a restaurant/bar/cabaret with Russian and Central Asian small plates.

— Monica Lewinsky celebrated her 42nd birthday at Scarpetta in the Meatpacking District last week.

— And finally, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the Scotch eggs at Meyers of Keswick:

Superiority Burger

119 Avenue A, Manhattan, NY 10009 (646) 422-7707 Visit Website