The Spirit of Sammy’s Roumanian Is Back for the Holidays

The spirit of vodka-fueled Lower East Side party spot Sammy’s Roumanian, which closed in 2021, is back for the holidays (kind of). Quality Eats is hosting a month-long Festivus celebration and a Shabbat dinner series at the Upper East Side location (1496 Second Avenue, at East 78th Street) with Sammy’s Roumanian beloved performer Dani Luv. First, for the Seinfeldian holiday starting December 1, look for festive drinks like the Miracle Mule with rye, blackberry, ginger, and lime or the Festivus Cup with Grey Goose, grapefruit, rosemary, and St. Germain. For the Shabbat dinners on December 2, 9, and 23, Luv will perform from 8 to 8:45 p.m. The adults-only dinner includes frozen vodka drinks and Sammy’s Roumanian-themed food specials. The cover charge is $20 per person on OpenTable.

A new Korean spot from Hand Hospitality has opened in the East Village

Ariari has opened, a seafood-centric comfort food Korean spot inspired by the port city of Busan, according to the website. Look for dishes like the Ariari salad, with seaweed noodles, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, pecans, and an apple mustard dressing ($9); lamb-stuffed fried peppers ($13); dolsot al-bap with fish roe, poached egg, and sea urchin ($18), and octopus sook-hwe, with white kimchi and a perilla seaweed vinaigrette ($27). 119 First Avenue, near East Eighth Street.

NYC Starbucks workers walked out Thursday

Starbucks employees from more than 100 stores across the country — a handful in NYC, Gothamist reports — went on strike for “Red Cup Rebellion.” Yesterday’s events coincided with “Red Cup Day,” a promotion in which Starbucks gives away limited-edition promotional cups. The strike follows in the wake of dozens of Starbucks locations nationally filing to petition to unionize, with several across New York state following suit. Workers are demanding that employers discuss scheduling and staffing among other issues. NYC workers join those who have been on strike for a month at Starbucks’ Chelsea roastery over reports of bed bugs, mold, and a moth infestation, following the chain’s alleged resistance to bargaining with the union.

A big Thanksgiving that someone else cooks

The Butcher Girls, Jocelyn Guest and Erika Nakamura, who first came on the scene as the White Gold butchers before breaking out on their own with a Dobbs Ferry-based online business, have teamed up with Brooklyn home entertaining shop Big Night for its Big Thanksgiving pickup. It includes turketta (a white-meat turkey roll) and turkey legs (confit dark meat), cranberry sauce, chicken liver mousse, and more. In-store pickup, with the code BIGNIGHT, is November 22. There’s also national shipping that arrives Tuesday, November 22, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Westchester delivery, and local Long Island City pickup for Wednesday, November 23.