Fuku’s First Birthday, Veselka’s New Awning, Nixtamal at Threes Brewing, and More Intel

— Veselka’s green awnings were replaced by spiffy yellow ones this week. The old awnings adorned the front of the restaurant for 20 years. Owner Tom Birchard tells EV Grieve: "It was time for a change."

— Today is the one year anniversary of a little fried chicken sandwich restaurant by the name of Fuku. To celebrate the birthday, David Chang and his crew are offering some deals at the original outpost: $1 strawberry slushies, $6 chicken sandwiches, and $3 boozy iced tea slushies.

— The team from perennial Carona favorite Tortilleria Nixtamal is running the kitchen at Threes Brewing in Gowanus from now through July 10. The menu includes six types of tacos, plus nachos, salads, and flautas.

— Yorkville Chinese/Japanese restaurant Oriental Cafe/Sunny was shuttered by the DOH this week after an inspector found that the space lacked a necessary hand-washing sink, and that the kitchen had flies and food that was not stored at the correct temperature. The restaurant received 104 violations, total.

— This week, Hungry City critic Ligaya Mishan visits Williamsburg Chino Latino restaurant Caridad China: "On the Latin American side are maduros, slanting slabs of ripe plantains gone weak on the stove, bronze with notches of black, shining with their own sweated sugars; and tostones, green plantains fried, smashed flat and fried again, snapping under the teeth and growing chewier a few bites in. Also labeled tostones on the menu are mofonguitos, plantains mashed with garlic, molded with the end of a pestle into flaring cups and fried into tiny savory pie crusts, best filled with avocado and a loose, sharply vinegary heap of tomatoes, onions and green peppers."

— A judge requested that former Hudson River Cafe restaurateur Hamlet Peralta stay incarcerated until his trial for allegedly orchestrating a $12 million ponzi scheme. Peralta was arrested earlier this year. His lawyer was trying to get him a chance at bail before the trial, but the judge deemed that he might be a flight risk.

— Brunch/LunchWire: Greenwich Village Austrian hot spot Freud is now open for lunch Monday through Friday with a menu that includes a Kasekreiner sandwich, sorrel soup, and a fancy burger. And this weekend, Lower East Side movie theater/restaurant Metrograph is going to start serving brunch, with a menu that has steak & eggs, a red rice salad, and a sardine sandwich.

— And finally, here’s how to make a steak like Marc Forgione: