East Village Staple Neptune Closes, New Plans for Super Linda Space, and More Intel

— Inexpensive East Village diner Neptune served its last customers yesterday. The greasy spoon, which rocked one of the neighborhood’s best low key garden spaces, had been in business since around 2001, but EV Grieve notes that this address was also home to other Polish-American establishments, including the KK Diner, before Neptune made its debut. The building at 194 First Avenue and the space next door at 192 First Avenue hit the market last year, and in July, a property management company purchased the pair for $13 million.

— Meanwhile, on the other side of Manhattan, a restaurant of a very different sort also decided to throw in the towel. Lavish Sixth Avenue Russian restaurant Onegin — which peddled beef stroganoff and caviar with blini in a dining room outfitted with chandeliers and 19th century-style portraits — closed earlier this month:

[Robert Sietsema]

If you spy any restaurants that recently opened or closed in your neighborhood, please send any intel or photos to the tipline.

— Donald Trump’s reservation at Jean-Georges last week was made under the name "Suzie Mills." The president-elect dined with Reince Priebus and Mitt Romney at his favorite seat in the house — table 21. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten tells the Hollywood Reporter: "He usually dines here around twice a month, but we haven’t seen him in about two years, since he started the campaign."

— The long-vacant Super Linda space on the corner of Broadway and Reade in Tribeca may soon be getting a new restaurant from neighborhood hitmaker Matt Abramcyk (Yves, Tiny’s, Smith + Mill). The restaurateur, who was one of the partners at Super Linda, has applied for a liquor license at this address. Abramcyk tells Tribeca Citizen, via a text message: "Two different menus upstairs and down....Upstairs lighter [and] fish-centric. Downstairs great cocktails and smoked meats."

— Page Six thinks that disgraced former congressman/mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner is sniffing out the possibilities of a second career in the hospitality industry, perhaps in some back-of-the-house capacity. Weiner was recently spotted at Midtown steakhouse Hunt & Fish Club taking a meeting, where a spy overheard him talking about "looking for whatever’s next." His brother, Jason Weiner, is one of the owners of Bridgehampton hot spot Almond, so maybe there could be some employment opportunities there.

— Di Fara's famed pizzaiolo/proprietor Dom DeMarco turned 80 last week. He can still be found snipping basil and pulling pies out of the oven of his Midwood pizzeria several days a week.

— The most popular restaurant in America on Instagram, based on location tags, is Meatpacking District tourist trap Sugar Factory. Tao Downtown, Black Tap, and Katz’s are also on the list.

— Vikram Chatwal, the party boy owner of the Dream Midtown and other nightlife-heavy hotels, is due in court this week to face a felony charge related to an incident wherein he allegedly tried to torch two dogs belonging to gallerist Sean Kelly. The art world player tells the Post: "He cornered my dog walker and he repeatedly tried to attack her and set the dogs on fire using this improvised flamethrower." Chatwal has a long history of erratic behavior in public. Page Six floats the rumor that he was even banned from The Electric Room in his Chelsea property, the Dream Downtown, because of his antics.

— Tables for Two’s Becky Cooper visits Carroll Gardens Welsh gastropub Sunken Hundred: "The pub atmosphere and the barrage of My Bloody Valentine and the Clash are incongruous with how quietly thoughtful the food is. The Gwaun Valley trout is served with the restrained minimalism of a Japanese delicacy: four translucent rectangles of mushroom-cured fish, interspersed with parsnip medallions and finished with fried rosemary. "

— And finally, here’s a look at how the short rib agnolotti is made at Scarpetta on West 14th Street: