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Trump’s $36 Burger, FryGuysNYC Announces Itself to the East Village, and More Intel

Businesses near Trump Tower feel the squeeze, plus more news and gossip from around NYC

[The bar at Boulton & Watt in the East Village]
[Daniel Krieger]

The heavy security and frequent protests outside of Donald Trump’s shiny Fifth Avenue citadel are affecting businesses on Fifth Avenue near 57th Street. Joey Allaham, the owner of The Prime Grill and Pizza da Solo, tells the Post that business has dropped by 50 percent since last week, when security started blocking off access to his building at 7:30 p.m. The restaurateur explains: "I started yelling and screaming at the police because our customers turn away when they can’t get into the building. I’m sure people have it in their minds to avoid this area." Last Saturday, David Chang’s Ma Pêche closed its dining room to everyone except for people with reservations because of the protests around the corner.

Yesterday, Trump held a meeting with Rudy Giuliani inside his chocolate diamond-colored megaplex, and the crew ordered five pizzas from Angelo’s. On his way out, Giuliani made a joke to the press that referenced that time Bill de Blasio at some soupy Staten Island pizza with a knife and fork. The former mayor pantomimed eating pizza with his hands and said: "I'd also like to make clear that I eat pizza this way, not with a knife and fork." Giuliani later hit up the Trump Bar.

Fanny Gerson, the chef/owner behind Dough and La Newyorkina, shares her thoughts on how Trump’s proposed immigration policies could affect her business: "I would say 40 percent of my staff is Mexican, and counting Hispanics, it goes up to 80 percent. The staff is panicked about whether they’re going to be sent back — they’re here legally, but parts of their family, or their friends, are not. There’s a lot of uncertainty. Even as I’m concerned about my own business, it becomes a bigger thing. I say, ‘We’re going to get through this together. I have your back, even if the government may not.’" Grub Street also talks with the owners of La Palapa, Casa Enrique, and Fonda about what the Trump election means to them.

Old Town Tavern has a rather aggressive sign in the window about tipping:

— On Monday night, the president-elect ate a well-done $36 burger at his favorite table at ‘21’ Club. As he left the restaurant, Donald Trump told diners "We’ll get your taxes down, don’t worry." The Daily News notes that Trump and his first wife Ivana had their wedding reception at the Midtown restaurant back in 1977. He has a house account at the restaurant.

A new comfort food restaurant called FryGuysNYC is coming to 150 East Second St. The owners recently hired an artist to paint a colorful, Lisa Frank-style mural with rainbows, kittens, and alien dudes riding in a psychedelic car. The menu will include fried chicken and brisket, plus many varieties of French fries and toppings. Meals will be priced under $10, and if everything goes according to plan, the restaurant will open by the end of the year.

Tribeca Citizen share his first impressions of Matt Abramcyk’s new restaurant Yves: "With the exception of the mushrooms—I’ve had it with truffle oil, so I shouldn’t have ordered the dish in the first place—everything delivered, if not especially memorably. Reading the menu, I was expecting food a Frenchified Tiny’s, but it’s a bit fussier than that."

The Doughnut Plant is now serving a creation called The Ripple, which is two small-ish doughnuts crammed inside one giant doughnut. It looks like a bullseye.

— And finally: Watch Eater’s resident carnivore Nick Solares take a trip to the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, where farmers are raising heritage breed turkeys:

21 Club

21 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, NY 10019 (212) 582-7200 Visit Website