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Try the new Taco Bell breakfast taco early
Diehard fans of Taco Bell have a chance to sample the chain’s newest breakfast offering on Thursday, a couple weeks before the rest of the country. The Naked Egg Taco has a shell made out of egg and a filling of potato, cheese, and bacon or sausage, and New Yorkers can try it on Thursday morning in Soho. Reservations can be made on OpenTable, which still shows a few availabilities. The Naked Egg Taco will debut nationwide on August 31.
A potential delay in calorie counts in NYC groceries
NYC agreed to make grocery chains like Whole Foods put calorie counts on prepared foods by next week, but a new federal suit wants to stop the city — at least for now. The FDA has set next May as the starting date, while the New York starting date is next Monday. The reasoning: Congress wants to centralize authority over requirements for restaurants and other food businesses.
After 46 years, a trailblazing Inwood bar shuts its doors
DNAinfo has the heart-tugging story of the closure of Mi Nido Taverna, one of the first Latino-owned bars to open in Inwood. Owner Johnny Caro opened it 46 years ago and is now retiring due to health issues. Neighbors have been stopping in to say goodbye before it shuts its doors at the end of the month.
A look at the Bronx charmer from Alessandro Borgognone’s family
The Times stopped in Patricia’s, the Bronx Italian restaurant from Patricia and Louie Borgognone, where diners apparently love to chat with the restaurateurs as much as they love to eat the pastas and desserts. If the name is familiar, it’s because the couple are parents to Sushi Nakazawa restaurateur Alessandro Borgognone. Louie Borgognone, a pastry chef, gets in early every day to make treats, and during service, both he and Patricia spend time chatting with regulars.
Upper West Side restaurants’ helping hand after fire
E’s Bar and Jacob’s Pickles closed temporarily earlier this year after a February fire damaged the building, but the people who lived above them were also forced to leave. Now, the restaurants and locals say they have raised some $30,000 to help displaced residents. E’s Bar reopened in May, and Jacob’s will likely reopen later this year.
Has this month been the worst ever this year for restaurants?
Post critic Steve Cuozzo is so over August, saying that it “takes the all-time, rotten cake” for savvy diners. He cites the closing of Bouley, DBGB, and Schiller’s, as well as lawsuits against the Root and Bone owners and Julian Medina. Meanwhile, gimmicks like the Cheetos restaurant are a thing. “Bring on Labor Day before we all sit home eating Cheetos in our bathing suits,” he writes.
East Village closings
Fair Folks & a Goat — a coffee shop that offered a membership model — is closing its East Village location. A Greenwich Village location remains open. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Nordic restaurant N’eat and vegetarian Indian restaurant Express Thali look permanently closed, while Heart of India has a for rent sign in the window.
Free food in Soho from George Mendes
Fast-casual restaurant Chef’s Club Counter is debuting a new menu on Thursday, and the first 100 people who stop by at noon will receive a free dish created by chef Georges Mendes, who’s behind the Michelin-starred Aldea. It’s a shiitake rice dish with corn, tomatoes, and watermelon. If that makes you crave a rice meal, check out this blue morning sticky rice from Kopitiam:
