Lalo in Chinatown Becomes Lalito — and More Intel

— Joya Carlton, previously of Butcher's Daughter and Buvette has partnered with Sara and Erica Kubersky —owners of MooShoos and Modern Love Brooklyn — to open Orchard Grocer (78 Orchard St.), a vegan deli counter and grocer specializing in vegan ingredients and sundry items, as well as sandwiches like the Edith, a nod to bagel and lox with cashew cream cheese and carrot lox, with capers and chives on an Orwasher’s bagel. Also look for soft-serve sundaes.

— Jonathan Benno is leaving Lincoln Ristorante, “in a month or so,” says FloFab, a move that’s been on the agenda for a long time as he plans to open his own restaurant downtown. Having been at Lincoln since it opened six years ago, Benno will be replaced by Shea Gallante, who’d been the head chef at the Baccarat Hotel, Cru, and Ciano.

— Did Chinatown’s Lalo become Lalito overnight? Apparently so, with the website switch as well as Instagram, which reads “Lalonewyork now available @lalito_nyc.” Maybe it’s a more charming name. Maybe it’s easier to find on Google. Stay tuned as we follow up with the why. (It could be that an Upper West Side place that bills itself as “the most famous cafe in NYC,” is also called Cafe Lalo, Robert Sietsema suggests.) Update: A rep for the Bayard Street restaurant notes “The team decided to update the name of the restaurant to avoid confusion with similarly named restaurants.”

Chef owner Gerardo Gonzalez is no stranger to change-ups. When he introduced meat to Lalo — a departure from the vegetarian menu when he was at El Rey — Sietsema wrote, “This may disappoint some vegetarian devotees, but it has only served to sharpen the chef’s technique and sense of whimsy.”

— Majorelle at the Lowell Hotel opens today on the Upper East Side. “Taking a look at the elegant dining room designed by Michael S. Smith, and its château-worthy architectural details like engaged columns and egg-and-dart moldings,” writes FloFab, “it’s easy to understand why it took so long.” But it’s hardly the build-out that caused delay. Here’s the backstory that led to the opening.

— What debuted last September as Crow Bar in Crown Heights is now Franklin 820, reports Gothamist, a switch following criticism that the bar’s original name was racist. Zaheer Ali, an oral historian at the Brooklyn Historical Society, said, "Most historians suggest that the name originated as a derogatory term in reference to the earliest black residents of the settlement, which would become Crown Heights.”

— Beginning Wednesday, March 15, the folks from Farm To People will open a pop-up at Turn-Style underground market under Columbus Circle, from 57th Street and 8th Avenue. It will feature hot sauces (Jojo’s Sriracha Chili Sauce), jams (Eat this Yum), nut butters (Big Spoon Roasters), cocktail mixers and bitters (Morris Kitchen, The Hudson Standard), and chocolates (Hu Kitchen). They’ll also offer farm delivery boxes — Omnivore, Vegetarian, Paleo, and Vegan — as well as sign-ups for a weekly subscription.

— This Sunday, the Chefs' Consortium will join Jimmy Carbone at Jimmy's No. 43 (43 E. 7th St.) for a brunch event, cooking scrambled eggs with cheddar and herbs; chicken and waffles; creamy local polenta with Hudson Valley duck hearts; roasted potatoes with scape pesto. Tickets are only $25 (food only, buy here) and the brunch runs from noon until 4 p.m.

— Unintimidated by the weather, Luke’s Lobster will reopen its seasonal outpost at 11 Water St. in Brooklyn Bridge Park today, March 15. No, you will not have to eat outside if you’re not into it. Since the shop is taking over the Smokestack Building this season, there’s now indoor seating. Also new: beer and wine as well as daily lobster specials.

— And last, a bowl of ramen on this cold winter day: