Playboy Club Opening Pulls In Tons of Celebrities Like Martha Stewart

Tons of celebs turned out for the Playboy Club opening

This week’s return of bunny-filled Playboy Club to New York City proved to be star-studded. Celebrities such as Martha Stewart, Ice-T, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Bensimon, and HQ host Scott Rogowsky attended the opening party, where Robin Thicke performed his appropriately controversial hit “Blurred Lines.” Also notably in attendance: Major Food Group chef Mario Carbone. Still, the brand’s controversial past was apparently not lost on guests: “People seemed to really be enjoying the party and open bar, but there were murmurs about how crazy it is to have this open in the midst of the #MeToo movement,” one guest told Page Six.

Beverage company Dirty Lemon is taking bets on New Yorkers’ honesty

Dirty Lemon has opened a store in NYC where the only way to pay is by texting a number, meaning customers could walk out without paying. CEO Zak Normandin has confidence in the model, telling the Times, “I do think a majority of people would feel very guilty for continuing to steal.” The drinks are health-focused, containing ingredients such as charcoal, matcha, rose, and ginseng.

Sri Lankan restaurant San Rasa has closed, plus other openings and coming attractions

Standout Staten Island Sri Lankan restaurant San Rasa, which received three stars from Eater in 2016, has closed with no word as to why. Gay sports bar Boxers NYC opens today in Washington Heights at 3820 Broadway. On the Upper West Side, a taco restaurant called Tacos Los Verdes is going into 377 Amsterdam Ave. and Mediterranean restaurant 8th Hill has applied to take over Isabella’s at 359 Columbus Ave. In Midtown East, Neapolitan pizzeria 800 Degrees Woodfired Kitchen has opened at 1 East 33rd St., while fast-casual Mediterranean chain Cava will open on Tuesday near Bryant Park at 11 West 42nd St. Belgian frites restaurant Belle Frites is on the way at 132 Ludlow St. Finally, chic Manhattan oyster bar Sel Rrose will open in Montauk at 4 South Elmwood.

Brooklyn Persian restaurant Sofreh pulls in another favorable review

After positive reviews from the Times, New York magazine, Eater, and more, the New Yorker has also weighed in on Brooklyn Iranian restaurant Sofreh. Like the others, critic Hannah Goldfield was particularly taken with the tahdig, or crispy rice at the bottom of the pan. “Tahdig goes beautifully with most everything else on the menu, including a perfectly tender, hulking lamb shank and a bowl of sweet, smoky, tart eggplant that’s been charred and then slow-cooked with garlic, onions, and tomato until silky,” she writes.

A Hoboken bar is under investigation

Hoboken mayor Ravi Bhalla has vowed to strip Hoboken bar the Hub of its liquor license after video reportedly surfaced this week of a semi-naked woman laying on the bar as a man performed a sex act on her and champagne is poured over her body. Other videos from the evening show half-naked women being groped and penetrated with bottles. An owner says that what is seen in the videos is “not accurate.”