Splashy Beijing Import DaDong Slapped With Zero Stars in New Review

Critic gives zero stars to DaDong, the Chinese Peking duck import

New York mag restaurant critic Adam Platt was not pleased with his meals at DaDong, the Bryant Park Peking duck restaurant that’s the first NYC location of a lauded Chinese chain. Options outside of the duck “combined the overwrought elements of Michelin-fueled ambition and style with the clunky, Disney­fied overtones of a random corporate restaurant chain,” he writes. Dishes like the pork ribs dusted with powdered sugar were overly sweet, and while others tasted like they sat in the fridge too long, Platt writes. The flagship duck didn’t save the meal, either. Though it had a great skin, the meat itself had “a chalky, strangely listless texture.” No stars.

Dos Toros opens new Garment District location this month — and other coming attractions

Popular Bay Area-style burrito chain Dos Toros plans to debut its 14th NYC location at the end of the month at 555 8th Avenue. Like other locations, opening day on January 30th will mean $1 entrees, but unlike the others, it will be a cash-free establishment. Over in the East Village, a new West African and Mediterranean buffet called Goloday Halal is opening soon on First Avenue, as is a place called Village Craft Beer and Smoke.

King in Soho starts serving lunch

The team behind King, the charming Soho restaurant where the menu changes daily, start serving lunch today. Chefs Clare de Boer and Jess Shadbolt, along with partner Annie Shi, are offering dishes such as the famed malfatti with sage butter and Parmesan and grilled mackerel with lemon, capers, and chickpeas for the midday meal. The restaurant opened in 2016 and has since earned two stars in the Times for de Boer and Shadbolt’s “solid vision of how to eat.”

Milk Bar launches collab with SoulCycle

Milk Bar’s newest cookie is supposed to be kind of healthy. Christina Tosi has partnered up with cult spin class SoulCycle to create a cookie that will be sold at certain New York studios and all Milk Bars starting on Wednesday, intended to be a protein-packed snack before or after a class. The $5 cookie is gluten-free and dairy-free and made with almonds, macadamia nuts, coconut, turmeric, citrus, and quinoa.

Nearly 50-year-old UWS diner Broadway closed, at least for now — and other closings

A fire earlier in the year apparently caused considerable damage to longtime diner Broadway Restaurant, and it has been closed ever since. Jeremiah Moss bemoaned the loss of its U-shaped counter and old movie star posters. Further downtown, East Village cheesesteak restaurant The Joint has closed, joining its neighbor Blue 9 Burger. Both spaces have “for rent” signs now. And after more than four years on LES, New York Sushi Ko served its last eccentric omakase over the weekend. For a look at a different, late-night omakase, check out this video: