Sqirl’s Jessica Koslow Graces NYC With That Sunny LA Ethos Next Week

LA’s Sqirl chef takes NY

Perhaps the most quintessential Los Angeles restaurant is making its way to New York City. Sqirl owner Jessica Koslow starts her residency at the Seaport’s Food Lab next week, bringing bites like quail shwarma and smoked fried Jerusalem artichokes from August 19 through September 2. Will she show NYC how avocado toast is done?

A robbery at gunpoint at Meatball Shop

Two men stole $2,000 in cash from The Meatball Shop on Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue on Wednesday, using a gun to force an employee to hand over the money. It’s all caught on video, here:

The Tippler owner looks to open a Meatpacking music bar

If Tippler owner Michael Ginsberg has his way, a music bar called Folk City will soon open at 409 West 15th Street. It’s named after storied Greenwich Village club Gerde’s Folk City, where Bob Dylan once made his NYC debut, AMNY reports. It’ll be a pretty big basement space with room for 249 people, open daily with music from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. Food could include salads, kebabs, and French bread pizzas.

A Food Network chef tries for a Chelsea restaurant

Looks like Food Network chef Kristin Sollenne has abandoned plans to open up in Chelsea’s former party-forward Il Bastardo space. Instead, the celebrity chef is now aiming for a Mediterranean restaurant at 544 West 27th Street, which is now in the Community Board’s hands.

An opening and a closure

Prospect-Lefferts Gardens has a new Vietnamese restaurant in Quynh at 2122 Beekman Place. Chef-owner Fred Hua is serving street food like summer rolls and rice noodles daily from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Meanwhile, Chinatown’s Sun Bakery at 83 Essex Street has shuttered for unknown reasons.

Weekend lunch at Le Coucou

It’s lunch, not brunch, at throwback French hit Le Coucou, which starts the meal service this Saturday, August 12. From here on out, the Soho restaurant will serve a two-course $52 lunch with a selection of dishes like a beef cheek and foie gras terrine or caviar omelet. It may sound expensive, but $52 per person is way less than what flies at dinner. The full menu is below, available weekends from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A three-Michelin-star croque monsieur

Le Bernardin may not serve brunch, but chef-owner Eric Ripert shares how he would make a croque monsieur if he did: