Trader Joe’s Expands to the LES, Katie Button Cooks at Aldea, and More Intel

— The Nomad Bar’s Sunday night Italian-American feast — dubbed Mamma Guidara’s — is already sold out through December. Steve Cuozzo is a big fan of what Daniel Humm and Will Guidara have put together: "Cacio e pepe could use more pepe. But the chicken cutlet more than made up for it. You can have it parmesan, marsala or piccata style. The parm blew away any I’ve had in a year and left little room for Humm’s tiramisu and cannoli, which are at least as good as any in what remains of Little Italy." The Post critic declares that the chicken parm is "autumn’s must-have dish."

— Trader Joe’s is opening a new store at the base of 15-story Lower East Side condo/retail complex Essex Crossing. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer says, in a statement: "We've seen too many headlines about affordable supermarkets leaving Manhattan neighborhoods, so it's wonderful news that Trader Joe's is opening a store at Essex Crossing in the Lower East Side." The new megaroject is slated to open in 2018. Trader Joe's currently operates six stores around NYC, and several more are on the way.

— On Wednesday, October 12, Aldea is hosting a special dinner to celebrate the release of Katie Button’s book CÚRATE: Authentic Spanish Food from an American Kitchen. George Mendes will make the hors d’oeuvres, and Button — the chef behind Cúrate in Asheville, NC — will prepare four courses of dishes from her book, with wine pairings. The dinner is $110, and it includes a signed copy of the book. Purchase tickets here.

— Alex Raij and Eder Montero’s Cobble Hill cafe Tekoá recently launched dinner service, with a menu that includes a fattoush salad, cornmeal gnocchi, a riff on chicken Milanese, and a version of bolito misto. It’s available Thursday through Sunday starting at 5:30 p.m.

— 56 of NYC’s top pizzerias will be serving dollar slices at tonight’s Slice out of Hunger event at St. Anthony's church on Sullivan Street. Pizzaaiolos from Roberta’s, Di Fara, Joe’s, and Emmett’s will all be in attendance. Proceeds from the pizza sales are going to City Harvest and the Food Bank of New York.

— Merica NYC, a new satirically patriotic comfort food restaurant, is gearing up to open in the old Zerza space at 320 East Sixth Street soon. Zach Neil, one of the owners of Tim Burton-themed bar Beetle House, is opening this new restaurant with Radouane Eljaouhari, who previously ran Zera. In a recent Facebook post, the owners explain the theme: "Our decor is a cross and mix up of a lot of things MERICA from the last 50 or so years; from sports to guns to pop culture and politics there's a bit of everything. This establishment is for people who like to laugh and have a good time. " The Merica NYC proprietors also say that they want to host "debates (weekly) on an array of social, political and pop culture topics." Stay tuned for more details on the opening of Merica NYC as they become available.

— The owners of the Yokoya Ramen chain applied for a beer and wine license at 201-203 Allen on the Lower East Side. According to papers filed with the CB3, they’re planning a 17-seat ramen bar that will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.

— Last night, Jimmy Fallon and Mario Batali ate beef on weck sandwiches supplied by Buffalo’s Finest on The Tonight Show.

— West Village hipster butcher shop Hudson & Charles is expanding to the Upper West Side. A new location of the store will open next month at 555 Amsterdam Avenue.

— Park Slope just got a new Starbucks on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street. Jeremiah Moss writes: "Too bad Mayor de Blasio, in his own home neighborhood, won't do anything to stop the homogenization of the city and the total destruction of the small business streetscape."

— Mission Chinese Food will be serving a feast inspired by San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib on October 30.

— And finally, here’s a look at how the Mr. Bing team makes jianbing crepes: