Old Hollywood-Themed Restaurant Now Open With Live Jazz

The Astor Room flips into George’s

The Astor Room at Kaufman Astoria Studios, which closed for renovations, reopens today with a new interior, menu, and name. Now called George’s, the restaurant is a tribute to Kaufman Astoria Studios’ former chairman George Kaufman, who died earlier this year. Several East Coast productions, like Orange Is The New Black, The Affair, and Nurse Jackie, have filmed at the studio. The transformed restaurant will honor early movie stars who frequented the space in the 1920s and ’30s. “Six-foot spaghetti” nods to Rudolph Valentino and is made with pasta noodles from Borgatti’s in the Bronx that are each six-feet-long.

JJ Johnson’s cookbook is worth the buy

In a big cookbook feature over on Eater.com, chef JJ Johnson’s takes top billing for its “dance through the African diaspora,” with recipes such as cornbread with Aleppo pepper; tofu gnocchi with black garlic and scallions; and soft-shell crab with avocado and a fuchsia hibiscus syrup. Johnson worked with former partner Alexander Smalls, who owns Minton’s. “The two men explain how they ended up in Harlem, why they collaborated so well, and Chambers highlights the countries, music, people, flavors, and places that inspired their food.”

Momofuku Nishi adds brunch

Momofuku Nishi, the recently renovated David Chang restaurant in Chelsea, has reintroduced an Italian-influenced brunch as well as several new lunch items to the menu. Helmed by executive chef Joshua Pinsky, the brunch menu features dishes like a version of the Italian baked-egg dish “eggs in purgatory” with a Sichuan peppercorn twist. Yes, there’s avocado toast, too. Brunch is available Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Bistro Petit is no more

In the wake of Brasserie Seoul’s reopening, chef Sung Park’s Bistro Petit in Williamsburg has closed. The menu there was similar to the French Korean bistro fare Park now cooks up at Brasserie Seoul.

Female food entrepreneurs to talk about their “hustle”

Culinary incubator Pilotworks is hosting its latest speaker series event tonight at Kickstarter HQ in Greenpoint with a panel of women who have founded their own food companies, including Essie Spice founder Essie Bartel, Brooklyn Delhi founder Chitra Agrawal and Akua Kelp Jerky founder Courtney Boyd-Myers. The current speaker series focuses on “hustle.” Tickets for tonight’s event, which starts at 7 p.m., are $10 and can be purchased here.