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— Last night, President Obama attended a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at the Gramercy home of NYC’s favorite restaurateur, Danny Meyer. 65 people were at the event. Most guests paid $25,000 to attend, while the chairmen donated $250,000. No word yet on what the food spread was like at the fundraiser. Two and a half years ago, President Obama had a meal with Michelle and some of their friends at Meyer’s Italian restaurant, Maialino. President Obama is staying in NYC today and tomorrow to participate in meetings and events at the United Nations.
— Many of the businesses near the site of the Chelsea bomb explosion that injured 29 people have been closed since Saturday night. The Times notes that police barricades are up on West 23rd Street between Fifth and Seventh avenues. The West 23rd Street outpost of Domino’s Pizza opened for business as usual yesterday, and the restaurant was slammed. The store’s assistant manager, Masum Chowdhurry, tells DNAinfo: "People are mad because we're not doing delivery on time because it's too busy, and because of the barricade it's taking longer....You can't really satisfy everyone." Employees from a nearby Starbucks handed out coffee and pastries to the first responders.
— As promised, Bill Murray worked the bar on the first two nights of service at his son Homer’s new restaurant 21 Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Although hundreds of people showed up to see Murray pour, Gothamist reports that only four people who weren’t on the guest list got into the bar on Friday night. The Groundhog Day star did pop out of the restaurant at one point to greet his adoring fans outside. Murray returned the following evening for another round. Some fans parked a facsimile of the Ghostbusters car outside the restaurant on Saturday. Homer Murray tells the Post: "He didn’t do this because I asked him to. He didn’t do this because he thought it would drum up business. He did this because he wanted to. That’s the beauty of it." 21 Greenpoint — a revamp of Murray's restaurant River Styx — will officially open to the public on Wednesday night.
— Joshua David Stein’s profile of Kardashian BFF/aspiring food media personality Jonathan Cheban is full of amusing lines about NYC’s clubstaurants and expense account dining establishments. Here’s Cheban’s take on rock shrimp: "Anyone I go to Nobu with who gets rock shrimp, I freak out on them. Every novice is like, Can I have the rock shrimp? Then I’m always like, Don’t order rock shrimp with me. It’s such a bad look on the table. It cheapens me. I’m embarrassed about it. That’s the stuff I ordered for the first 10 years eating at Nobu." Cheban also notes: "I definitely want to be like a Guy Fieri or Anthony Bourdain for the young and hot."
— Kids ate for free at Thomas Keller’s Per Se on Sunday:
Keller also gave one special tyke this thing:
Our excitement is building! One first-time diner @PerSeNY will walk away from lunch with this golden dinner ticket. pic.twitter.com/qu0XTs8D84
— Thomas Keller (@Chef_Keller) September 18, 2016
— At the Vendys on Saturday, Tacos el Ranchero won the Vendy Cup, Mr. Bing took home the Rookie of the Year award, and Cachapas on Wheels got the People’s Taste honor.
— A new American restaurant called Jackson’s is moving into the space at 10-37 Jackson Avenue that previously housed Station LIC.
— LES slice parlor Goodfellas at 144 Orchard Street is now closed and a pizza pocket shop called Trapizzino is moving in.
— The Robs point out that three new restaurants are serving Brazilian tapioca crepes right now.
— Leonardo DiCaprio and girlfriend Nina Agdal went to Gotham Bar and Grill for dinner last week.
— Starting September 25, John McDonald’s Soho Italian restaurant Sessanta will begin offering a special "red sauce Sunday" dinner inspired by chef Paul DiBari’s upbringing in New Jersey. The menu includes meatballs, braciole, steak pizzaiola, and baked maccheroni, all offered a la carte. Sessanta will also be offering a special half-priced wine list on Sundays. Check out the specials here.
— And finally, here’s a look at how the crepes are made at Mr. Bing’s: