Hudson Yards Gains a Fine Dining Restaurant Called Zodiac Room

Williamsburg pizzeria shutters

Pizza restaurant Fornino closed its Williamsburg location after 15 years in the neighborhood. It originally opened on Bedford Ave. but relocated to Kent Ave. in 2017. Locations remain in Greenpoint and seasonally at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6.

More Hudson Yards developments

The Neiman Marcus store planned for the Hudson Yards development project will also contain a fine dining restaurant called the Zodiac Room. It is slated to open March 15. Below the restaurant, there will be a bar called Bar Stanley, and on the fifth floor, there will be a coffee bar with prepared foods called Cook & Merchants, which will also have a cooking class kitchen.

Another Instagram food stunt is coming to the city

Tickets for the sixth annual Dessert Goals — a ridiculous dessert festival that of course promises many “Instagrammable” moments — go on sale at noon today. The festival takes place on March 23 and 24, and $17 general admission tickets come with access to a free candy bar at the event, as well as some beverages. More than 20 dessert vendors this year include Oddfellows Ice Cream and 10Below Ice Cream, though those desserts must still be purchased. And there will be an “Instagram garden” for maximum selfie potential, with a “Party Animal” theme.

Other openings and coming attractions

Chef Hong Thaimee opened a new location for her Thai concept Thaimee Magic at Urbanspace at 570 Lex. It serves traditional dishes like pad thai, tom kha soup, and curry. Mexican bowl spot Oxido is plotting a new location for Bryant Park at 1450 Broadway. When it opens on February 19, it will offer $1 burritos and bowls. And in the East Village, signage has arrived for the previously announced Harry Potter-themed coffeeshop.

Rocco DiSpirito’s restaurant comeback is now critic-approved

After a lengthy break from NYC restaurants, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito took over the kitchen at the Standard Grill earlier this year, and critic Steve Cuozzo writes that under his leadership, the restaurant “is serving the Meatpacking District’s best American dishes.” He approves the takes on poached black sea bass, beef short rib, dry-aged steak, and the vegetables, too.

An NYC chef speaks out on the city’s CBD crackdown

Ron Silver, chef and owner of American comfort food restaurant Bubby’s, penned an op-ed calling out the Department of Health’s recent crackdown on cannabidiol, or CBD, the additive that cafes and restaurants have been lacing treats and drinks with increasingly over the past year. Silver writes that CBD “reduces stress, alleviates pain, prevents seizures, helps with migraines and is a known antidote for opioid users.” He argues that the policy is especially “senseless” since marijuana legalization seems to be on-track in NYC.