32-Year-Old East Village Italian Restaurant Cucina Di Pesce Has Closed

Cucina di Pesce in the East Village has closed

East Village Italian restaurant Cucina di Pesce closed for good last night after 32 years at 87 East Fourth St. near Second Avenue. The restaurant served a fish-focused menu of pastas, cioppino, grilled whole fish, and more and was immediately recognizable from afar with its fish-shaped neon sign. Owners did not give a reason for the closure.

A legit guest chef lineup at Pasta Flyer

West Village fast food pasta restaurant Pasta Flyer is cashing in on owner Mark Ladner’s fine-dining background with a pretty stacked guest chef series. Major Food Group’s Mario Carbone, Boston’s Barbara Lynch, Contra’s Jeremiah Stone and Fabian Van Hauske and others will each take a turn in the kitchen for multi-course $125 dinners. Tickets and dates here; the menu for the first dinner with Mario Carbone is below.

Openings, closings, and coming attractions

Essex Street Market stalwart Saxelby Cheesemongers will close at the end of the month, and it will not migrate to the new market. Owner Anne Saxelby pointed to the pressures of running a small business; the Chelsea Market location will remain open. In openings, San Francisco takeaway restaurant Proper Food opens in FiDi today at 67 Wall St., and 79 Second Ave. is now home to Indian restaurant Brick Lane Curry House. On the Upper West Side, Blue Bottle Coffee opened at 279 Amsterdam Ave., Friedman’s at 130 West 72nd St., and bubble tea shop Gong Cha at 2810 Broadway. Finally, health-focused ice cream shop BIVE is now open at 95 Orchard St.

Atomix nabs three stars from New York magazine

Wearied gourmand and New York magazine critic Adam Platt was surprised to like Atomix, the Korean tasting menu restaurant from the owners of Atoboy. Dinner comes with a side of education, such as explaining “the evolution of dairy dishes as delicacies for the ancient upper classes (expressed in a melting pool of cheese curd topped with golden Osetra caviar).” Platt says he’s still thinking about some of the dishes months later, which resulted in three out of five stars.