Beloved Bookstore McNally Jackson Will Add a Bar to Upcoming Seaport Location

McNally Jackson is approved to enter Seaport with drinks

Popular independent bookstore McNally Jackson’s expansion to the Seaport District was approved by the community board this week. It will open along the waterfront at 4 Fulton St. in a 7,500-square-feet space that will also include a cafe with beer and wine. The space formerly housed an Ann Taylor. The original McNally Jackson lives on Prince Street in Nolita, and a smaller second shop opened in Williamsburg last year. While the original has a coffee cafe, this will be the first location to serve alcohol.

City council will discuss a ban on foie gras today

A proposed bill that would make it illegal for restaurants in New York City to serve foie gras is on the docket for a city council hearing on Tuesday. Proponents of the bill purport that the process for procuring foie gras is inhumane to the ducks and geese that have to be force-fed to enlarge their livers for the delicacy. But opponents suggest that it would be harmful to farming business and refute the allegations of cruel treatment. The legislation was introduced in January, and the Post reports that 23 of the 51 city council members have agreed to support it. The council will hear testimony from both sides today.

Murray’s Mac & Cheese debuts new menu

Murray’s Mac & Cheese — the mac-based spinoff of iconic Greenwich Village cheese shop Murray’s Cheese — has a new menu starting today that features gluten-free pasta as well as the option to sub pasta altogether for a roasted broccoli and cauliflower base. Other summery dishes have been added to the menu, like salads and burrata with a toasted baguette. The new seasonal mac and cheese offerings include a caprese made with mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, basil pesto, and cherry tomatoes, as well as a lobster mac made with mascarpone. In celebration of the new menu, the shop is offering a free classic “snack mac” with the purchase of any mac. The offer is available through the end of July.

A dinner to support refugees and a refugee coffee training program

World Refugee Day is on Thursday, June 20, and restaurants are honoring it in various ways. Il Buco is hosting a dinner that day in collaboration with the Refugee Food Festival. The festival began in 2016 in France and is now celebrated around the world with a dinner series cooked by refugees. Il Buco’s executive chef Roger Martinez will team up with EatOffbeat chef Nasrin, an Iranian refugee based in Queens. They will collaborate on a three-course dinner influenced by her Persian roots, running for $75 a person. The dishes — including lamb shank, eggplant caviar, and date rolls — will also be available a la carte. Reservations can be made here.

Mini coffee chain Everyman Espresso is running a new training program in partnership with Refoodee, a nonprofit that trains and places asylum grantees and refugees in jobs in the food industry. From now until June 23, Everyman and its coffee shop partners will brew coffees from refugee export countries. Refoodee, Counter Culture Coffee, and Everyman have also collaborated on a box set of three coffees from Burundi, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

Real estate restaurant happenings around town

Tech company Olo, an online food ordering and delivery system for over 250 restaurant brands, signed a new lease in One World Trade Center for the building’s whole 82nd floor. Meanwhile, the Post reports that construction has curiously stalled out on the new Hard Rock Hotel at 159 West 48th St. Miscelanea NY, the East Village casual Mexican restaurant and shop that closed earlier this month, will have a garage sale today from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., selling off all remaining supplies and equipment. And the Mediterranean restaurant near the Manhattan Bridge, Monroe, shuttered earlier this year and will be turned into an indoor soccer field.