Charles Masson IN at The Lowell, Florent's TV Show, Platt Review McGarry, and More Intel

—Charles Masson, who managed the dining room and its flowers at La Grenouille for many years, has signed on to a new restaurant project in The Lowell Hotel on East 63rd St. As you may recall, Masson briefly worked at Chevalier in the Baccarat Hotel after he was ousted from La Grenouille by his mother and brother. At this new, as-yet-untitled restaurant, Masson will be joined by former Pierre Hotel GM Heiko Kuenstle and Le Cirque veteran Maria von Nicola. The restaurant will inhabit the space that housed The Post House and Quo Vadis. No word yet on the chef or the opening date.

— Showtime is developing a "half-hour dark comedy project" based on the life of Meatpacking District legend Florent Morellet and his iconic Gansevoort Street restaurant, Florent. According to Deadline, the show will explore "the craziness of a place that [became] a destination for everyone from NY’s literati to the neighborhood hookers and hustlers, the NYPD, and the burgeoning LGBT community." Alan Cumming is slated to play Florent. It's being written by Mad Men veteran Patricia Resnick, and The Good Wife's Rosemary Rodriguez is on board to direct. Morellet is offering advice to the staff, too.

— Adam Platt visits 16-year-old chef Flynn McGarry's tasting menu pop-up Eureka with his teenage daughter. She likes it a bit more than he does:

I'm impressed, too, although as the meal progresses, it feels a little like we're watching a magic show, put on by a precocious and diligent young magician who's still learning his particular bag of tricks. Because he does everything himself without the benefit of staff or a full set of kitchen equipment, the pace of the meal drags a little, and for $160 bucks, any jaded New York fresser would expect at least a nibble or two of fresh-baked bread. After all the vegetables, the grand finale is a small, round cut of 40-day-aged rib eye, which is tender enough but doesn't taste its age. It's garnished with eggplants and a few scraggly bits of grilled chicory, which Jane picks at, a little hesitantly, before diligently cleaning her plate.

Platt's daughter suggests a three star rating.

— During her stint cooking at the White House on Friday, Anita Lo got to meet the Presidential pups:

Star sighting on our way to the First Lady's garden: The First Dogs of the United States, Bo and Sunny!

A photo posted by Annisa Restaurant (@annisarestaurant) on Sep 25, 2015 at 2:29pm PDT

— Although she spends most of her time upstate now, Ruth Reichl still knows her way around the markets, delicatessens, and bakeries of downtown Manhattan. Lou Di Palo, proprietor of Di Palo's in Little Italy, tells the New Yorker: "Ruth lived in this neighborhood years ago. Except I never knew her as Ruth. I knew her as the lady who used to come in here and shop."

— Greenpoint's long-delayed floating tavern the Brooklyn Barge Bar finally made its debut over the weekend. On Facebook, the owners explain the reason for the delay: "Our future was very uncertain the last couple of months as we navigated the process for our final permit. We had no idea if we'd ever get this thing going until recently...like on Monday recently." Starting tomorrow, it will be open every day till October 31 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., weather permitting. The entrance is on 3 Milton Street, near Transmitter Park.

— It looks like the team from LES tasting menu restaurant Contra will be cooking a celebratory meal with chefs from Parisian critical darling Chateaubriand in the near future.

— Smorgasburg fried fish stand Bon Chovie is expanding to the Bay Ridge space that previously housed Zito's sandwich shop. The new restaurant will offer lobster rolls, crab mac & cheese, fish tacos, and some other items that are not currently available at Smorgasburg. It's slated to open next month.

— Here's a look at the current state of Pizza Beach's new Orchard Street location:

[Photo: Robert Siestema]

Before the Martignetti brothers moved in, this space housed Rob Shamlian's The Derby.

— Spotted at Nobu 57 last week: Mariah Carey and Hugh Jackman dining near Robert De Niro.

— And finally, here's how to make meatballs like Marco Canora: