New York Bakery to Close, Fuku’s New Off-the-Menu Sandwich, and More Intel

— New York Bakery on West 29th Street is going to close for good at some point in the near future because the building is slated to be demolished. The shop started as a Korean bakery/restaurant, but over the years the menu expanded to include tacos and other Mexican dishes. No official closing date has been announced. The owner, Harrison, tells Jeremiah Moss that his "customers will be crying" when they hear the news. He has not announced any concrete plans to move the restaurant to another space.

— In other sad shutter news, Greenpoint’s seven-year-old piano bar The Manhattan Inn is closing for good next month. In a farewell note, one of the bar’s partners promises that they’ll be opening "a new space to eat, drink, and congregate, early next year." The bar is hosting a Halloween event at the end of the month, as well as a final closing party on November 13.

— Mario Batali’s menu for the final state dinner of the Obama administration will include sweet potato agnolotti, warm butternut squash salad, and beef braciola with horseradish gremolata. The dinner at the White House tonight will honor Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.

— Less than one week after Shake Shack debuted a honey-slathered fried chicken sandwich, David Chang introduces a similar option at the original Fuku location in the East Village. This one’s an off-the-menu dish:

— While reflecting on the legacy of Tavern on the Green’s dearly departed Crystal Room, Steve Cuozzo notes that the operating cost of the Central Park restaurant could spike by 30 percent after proprietors David Salama and Jim Caiola negotiate a union contract with the staff.

— The new Nolita location of Mimi Cheng’s Dumplings is slated to open tomorrow at 380 Broome Street. The menu will include four varieties of dumplings, plus bento boxes and scallion pancakes.

— Milk Burger, a Harlem restaurant whose burgers look and taste like the ones offered at Shake Shack, is expanding to 148 Bruckner Blvd. in The Bronx. No word yet on an opening date.

— Zach Neil, the proprietor of kooky theme dining establishments Beetle House and ‘Merica NYC, wants his fellow restaurateurs to chill out a bit. He tells Grub Street: "I think people have gotten too pretentious and too snarky. Not the customers, but the people that open bars and restaurants. They’ve gotten way too serious, they take themselves way too seriously. At the end of the day, it’s food. You’re killing an animal and cooking its flesh and eating it so let’s not overcomplicate it."

— L’Asso pizzeria on Mott Street is officially dunzo. The restaurant closed for a spell at the end of the summer, but returned back to regular service two months ago. Now, the shutter is down and the signage has been covered in black paint.

— The Frankies/Prime Meats crew has two "vine to table" dinners coming up. On October 24, the Franks and chef Danny Amend will prepare a four-course meal at Frankies 457 with wines from the Abruzzo region from Stefano De Fermo (tickets available here). And on November 7, Prime Meats will serve a special four-course dinner with Muscadet from Loire Valley winemaker Frederik Niger (tickets and more info here).

— And finally, here’s a look at how Minetta Tavern’s chocolate soufflé is made: