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Ninth Avenue Papaya Dog Closes, Faun Opening Soon in 606 Space, and More Intel

Adam Platt falls in love with a restaurant called Mimi, plus more news and gossip from around NYC

[The East Village outpost of Milk Bar on East 13th Street]
[Daniel Krieger]

New York just lost one of its four Papaya Dog restaurants. Jeremiah Moss notes that the outpost of the mini-chain on the corner of 42nd Street and Ninth Avenue is now closed. It was at the base of an old flophouse that got sold to a developer a few years ago. In other Papaya news, a location of Papaya King (no affiliation with Papaya Dog), opened in Downtown Brooklyn last week.

311 received nearly 5,000 noise complaints about the East Village over the last year and a half. According to apartment rental site RentHop, it's both the noisiest and the dirtiest neighborhood in Manhattan right now.

Adam Platt is pleasantly surprised by Mimi, the new Village bistro from chef Liz Johnson: "When we called for an order of pork rillettes, they appeared with all the trimmings (gherkins, sliced bread, a pot of mustard) in a cannonball-size jar and caulked on top with a comforting layer of pig fat. In addition to the boudin noir, the fusillade of appetizers included sweetbreads dressed in an impressively executed scallop blanquette, towers of escargot (in puff pastry), and fresh-made gnocchi layered with uni and little nickels of white asparagus." Plattypants gives the restaurant three stars out of five.

— Say hello to Faun, a new restaurant coming to the old 606 R & D space on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights:

[Helen Rosner]

The liquor license application lists two members of the Studio Liebeskind architectural firm — David Stockwell and Carla Swickerath — as the proprietors. No word yet on what type of food it will serve. If you spot any new restaurants opening in your neighborhood, please send any and all intel and photos to the tipline.

— The children of Arthur Mondella — the deceased owner of Dell's Maraschino Cherries, who was secretly growing huge amounts of marijuana at his Red Hook factory — recently filed a $50 million federal case against the Brooklyn DA over allegations that law enforcement overstepped its bounds during the raid on the Dell's plant. Mondella killed himself during the drug bust last year, and his children believe that he might still be alive if the authorities had handled the situation differently. The lawsuit notes: "The NYPD came heavy – with enough firepower that it would appear to the casual observer that they were there to take out Pablo Escobar, El Chapo and Osama Bin Laden – ALL AT ONCE." A Law Department spokesperson tells the Post: "The city and the NYPD will review the complaint which we have not seen yet."

New York is in the middle of a hot sauce renaissance. Right now, there are a dozen independent hot sauce companies based in the NYC area (two dozen if you count Long Island and the Hudson Valley), making products that are getting picked up by stores like Whole Foods and Dean & Deluca. Unlike the ketchup market, which is dominated by big brands, independent companies make up around two thirds of all hot sauce sales in the country each year.

Coffeed and Wafels & Dinges will operate a seasonal restaurant this summer at Pier 40, plus mobile carts serving food and beverages at Piers 40, 51, and 46.

Bangal Curry at 111 Church Street closed recently, because of a rent increase. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, a new Indian restaurant called Aahar Indian Cuisine is opening soon at 10 Murray Street.

— At Quality Meats in Midtown tomorrow, chef Antonio Mora will be serving a special collaborative meal with Chris Fischer of James Beard Award-winner Beetlebung Farm in Chillmark, MA.  The dinner will include dishes like Beetlebung Farm rabbit ragu, frutti di mare, "lambchetta," a spring vegetable salad, and rhubarb tart. The meal is $175, and it includes wine pairings plus a copy of The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook. Call 212-371-7777 to make a reservation.

— And finally, here's Ilan Hall making dumplings from Donald Trump's cookbook: