Restaurant Workers Can Expect New Year’s Raises, Carnegie Deli Sees Final Days and More Intel

— New York Restaurant Workers Are Getting a New Year’s Pay Raise: As President Obama’s plan to expand overtime eligibility for millions remains blocked by the courts, and as his efforts to raise the federal minimum wage remain stymied by Congress, New York Is successfully pushing forward on both fronts. The Empire State’s draft proposal to raise the salaries for overtime exempt employees has been adopted, Eater has learned, and will take effect as of Saturday. Bottom line: Salaried restaurant workers could see an extra thousand or so in their pockets come 2017, with more overtime-related increased to follow in the years to come. Check out Ryan Sutton’s comprehensive report for more details. - RS

— The Minimum Wage Is Going Up Too! Here’s a friendly reminder that on December 31st, NYC’s minimum wage will jump from $9 to $11 for restaurants and other businesses with 11 or more workers, the first step towards a full $15 minimum by the end of 2018. Restaurants with 10 or fewer employees, by contrast, will earn no less than $10.50. The tipped minimum will remain frozen at $7.50 until next December. Expect culinary establishments to raise their prices to cope with both the higher minimums and the overtime regulations. - RS

— Friday is the last night to order The Woody Allen sandwich at the Midtown location of the Carnegie Deli that’s been in operation since 1937. Marian Harper — daughter of Milton Parker, who bought the deli in 1976 from the original owners — told the Post that a temporary closure due to utility problems, a staff wage lawsuit and a divorce pushed her to the decision. Carnegie satellites will remain open at Madison Square Garden and at casinos in Las Vegas and Bethlehem, Pa. Nostalgic about the city’s best delis? Here’s our NYC Jewish Delicatessen: The Ultimate Guide.

— Speaking of the Post, Steve Cuozzo serves up twelve reason he hates eating out in New York listing “waiters inane way with words,” “shrinking seafood,”— that’s portions, not supply— epic treks to the bathrooms at hotel restaurants and age discrimination among them. Over on Grub Street, Adam Platt of New York Magazine points to “absurdist cocktail names,” “newfangled beef tartare,” and calls sea urchin on pasta, “the fettuccine Alfredo of our postmillennial dining age.”

— David Chang alert in The Washington Post. In an article laboriously headlined, “A ‘pan-Asian’ restaurant may seem dated. In fact, the trend is hotter than ever,” writer Tim Carman asks:

This apparent conflict between old- and new-school Asian restaurants can raise some uncomfortable questions, such as: Who’s qualified to present a region’s cuisine to American diners? And is it okay for outsiders to alter a region’s food because they think it’s too funky for the stereotypical American palate?

“I always look at pan-Asian as sort of being racist,” says Chang. “If I open a barbecue restaurant and I said, ‘This is pan-barbecue, and we’re going to serve barbecue from around the world,’ I would get laughed out of town. No one would take me seriously. But if someone was doing it as Asian food, no one would laugh. No one would think it’s weird.” His issue is with the term rather than practice. Former Times reporter, Jennifer 8. Lee, author of “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles” (Twelve 2008) and Wolfgang Puck make appearances. See also: “Who is this restaurant for?” from The Sporkful; “When chefs become famous for cooking other cultures’ foods,” on NPR; and “Cuisines Mastered as Acquired Tastes,” by Francis Lam a couple years ago in the Times.

— Cabalito Pupuseria is closing, Bowery Boogie reports. Look for Factory Tamal to take its place in the coming weeks. Also closing: Stay Classy, the Will Ferrell tribute bar, also on the Lower East Side.

— Today is the soft-opening for JoJu Bowl in Elmhurst, an expansion of JoJu, serving fusion banh mi with a menu that includes Korean and Japanese spin-offs.

— Our sendoff for the morning is this meaty video detailing cuts: