Queens Deli Ben’s Best Will Close After 73 Years

Ben’s Best closes at end of month

Rego Park deli Ben’s Best, open for 73 years, will be closing at the end of the month due to a decline in business. Owner Jay Parker, whose father Benjamin opened the deli in 1945, says that people aren’t coming in anymore, blaming new bike lanes that nixed about 200 parking spaces. He’s open to selling it — but he can’t keep it running anymore, he says. The deli is one of the city’s best, known for a dark and rich pastrami, as well as a kreplach soup and rolled beef.

Shonda Rhimes is making a show out of that scamming socialite

Anna Delvey — that young grifter in Rikers for scamming people of thousands — will soon get the Shonda Rhimes treatment on Netflix. The behemoth behind shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal has obtained rights to make a show inspired by the New York article written by Jessica Pressler. A Vanity Fair piece about Delvey is also apparently making the studio rounds, with people like Jennifer Lawrence and Margot Robbie reportedly in the running. Delvey pretended to be a German heiress, scamming her way through NYC’s top social circles, restaurants, and hotels — including places like Le Coucou and Sadelle’s.

Photo via Golda

Bed-Stuy cafe Golda officially becomes all-day with new dinner service

Bright Brooklyn cafe Golda starts serving dinner tonight, offering dishes that similarly pull from Middle Eastern cuisines. Options from owner Danny Nusbaum and chef Ryan Whyte-Buck include a grilled endive fattoush with cocoa-puffed quinoa, cucumber, and pomegranate; a half chicken with garum and cola glaze and beet tahini; and a pickled herring and avocado dish with sprouted rye crouton, za’atar broth, and alfalfa sprouts. The small, less than 30-seat cafe doesn’t have a liquor license yet, but until then, manager Alex Petry has concocted non-boozy drinks like an elderflower tonic with nile lotus petal. Natural wines will come later. See the full menu below.

Two events tonight in Williamsburg: Osteria del Circo night and Bushwick taste

Williamsburg pasta charmer Barano is hosting Mauro Maccioni of Le Cirque on Tuesday night for a collaboration. Barano’s chef Al Di Meglio worked as executive chef at Circo and as a sous chef at Le Cirque for many years. For tonight’s five-course tasting meal ($70), dishes call back to that time in Meglio’s career — like a squid ink ravioli, a wood-roasted duck breast, and a lemon torta with a pine nut tar.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Brooklyn Steel will be home to the Taste of Bushwick fest tonight, with $60 tickets at the door including all food and drink at the event. The festival’s 40 vendors include Faro, Archie’s Pizza, Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen, Foster Sundry, and Braven Brewing.