PX This.

• Which "scoop" are we dying to disclose, but our Head Editor won’t let us (lest it alter the course of destiny)? Well, we’ll just sit back and wait for the story to play itself out. If history is any indication, it should be soon— and quite entertaining. Read more…

This Tuesday, June 29, 2010, Juliet Supper Club will unveil its new "international street style" menu by chef Mario Tolentino of Food Network’s Chopped. Which sort of begs the question, “What about Todd English?”

True, English’s cuisine debuted far later than Juliet’s official Grand Opening (if at all? —Hey, does anybody actually know?) and has received little attention aside from Juliet’s preliminary launch announcements, had very dim prospects at ever garnering favorable press reviews, took a backseat to the ample coverage of English’s dramatic love life and was rarely considered or discussed propitiously by its judgemental clientele….

OK, maybe we just answered our own question.

So! Uhh— Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at Juliet. Be there or be square!

As news spreads about Anna Wintour’s apprehension over Serge Becker’s latest enterprise (New York Post’s "Page Six" has confirmation from Ms. Wintour’s office), comments and suggestions have been pouring into our inbox. (Thank you!)

Several have asserted we were perhaps remiss in neglecting to divulge the name and/or location of said enterprise, which was, in fact, intentional. As it has come to our attention these details are hardly a "secret" (many of the e-mails received contained the particulars within), we no longer find it necessary to maintain our initial furtiveness.

The aforementioned entity is said to be dba Miss Lily’s and is located at 132 West Houston St (contrary to further speculation).

Thank you for your kind support and advocacy.

:)

**Miss Lily’s graphic design logo by Carmen Montt

***See also (earlier):

• The Blabber in the Trenches [Volume 3]

The Devil Eats Jerk Pork. NOT.

The latest captivating chatter in and amongst the industry has Anna Wintour rumored to have already slapped Serge Becker’s latest not-yet-open downtown "café" with a preliminary smackdown. As you may recall, one of Becker’s other establishments, La Esquina, was recently unjustly obstructed from doing business for three days, and some speculation seems to place an irate neighbor at the core of that unwarranted temporary shutdown. Unfortunately for said neighbor, La Esquina was quickly found to be "in compliance with New York City building codes," and the Department of Buildings is said to have "scrambled" to rescind their erroneous judgement after an attorney and judges from as far away as Washington DC were consulted (presumably to help expedite the matter faster and more efficiently than New York’s frustratingly backlogged bureaucracy) on the arguably distorted assessment of celebrity-haven La Esquina’s "imminent… peril… to life."

Well!
Here we go again? The recent salacious out-and-about tittle-tattle has Anna Wintour allegedly warning Serge Becker to refrain from throwing "parties" at his new currently-under-construction exotic eatery, located (perilously?) close to Ms. Wintour’s abode.
LOL! Silly Anna. Every night’s… ♪♪ a holiday at Huuurleeey’s! ♪♪ [Quick: name that movie.]

In any case, Serge Becker & Co. might best hope a set of new $10,000.00 soundproof windows can propitiate Ms. Wintour. But frankly, we can’t help but suggest they get down on their knees and pray she doesn’t decide to implement a strategy that could conceivably be classified a "C*ntyNasty," whereby she would perhaps exert her powerful influence to contribute to the restaurant’s undoing, only to open her very own ‘hotspot’ hash house located conveniently close to her residence.

Does Anna Wintour have 311 on speed dial? Would downtown NYC be better served by a more subdued bistro, with a menu based entirely on supermodel-satiating lettuce leaves and water, than a "café" offering up callaloo and whatnot? Stay tuned!
Ahh, so starts the wintour of our discontent…

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For more details on Graydon Carter and the strategic implementation of “the C*ntyNasty” read PX This – The Revised Edition and PX This Too, The Sequel to PX This (Coming Soon in the Autumn of 2010)

** See our latest UPDATE on Serge Becker’s newest enterprise **

Rumors swirling within the industry have Chef Akthar Nawab slated to take over the kitchen at a very popular downtown Mexican eatery. Which begs the question, "what about Zengo?" True, Zengo’s early populace reviews on the internet and word-of-mouth have been mixed at best, but even the most insightful, jaded veterans of the industry are raising their eyebrows over a move that practically takes transience to a whole new level. And let’s never mind the head scratching over why this particular downtown "classic" Mexican eatery (which remains one of the hottest spots in town despite its persistent lack of a boldface-worthy chef) would court a media darling like Nawab in the first place. Some insiders speculate its plans to expand by opening its first offshoot in Miami (ambitiously but tentatively scheduled for the next Art Basel) may have something to do with its new foodieblog-gratifying outlook, but others insist Nawab’s superficial popularity has little or nothing to do with this latest (alleged) development, noting, "he’s just a downtown dude… ya know… with friends in the restaurant." And still others feel fit to surmise the Miami location’s impending opening is still very much on precarious footing anyway, as potential investors continue to engage in the ol’ Subsidizers’ Shuffle.
[But, on a semi-related note: this famous Mexican restaurant is said to be aggressively advancing on its goal to establish a new Jamaican counterpart.]

Whatever? We’re just sayin’.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Salman Rushdie hearts PX This – The Revised Edition by abbe diaz

• Rumor has it David Bouley has "let go" of corporate chef Shea Gallante. This report has not been confirmed, however, as further inquiries have merely resulted in eye rolls and knowing smirks. Besides, it’s not really our job nor inclination here at PX This to sweat and/or verify these things (we’re not a fucking foodie blog, dammit!) but, you can feel free to bear in mind that since its 2004 inception, PX This has never been wrong.

It’s much more fun to sit back and watch others do the work, anyway. Imagining the PR people and whanot suddenly scrambling to send appeasing press releases to Florence Fabricant is always good for chuckle.

• John deLucie responds via SMS to the persistent e-mails PX This has received that he was "fired" and not simply "on leave" from The Waverly Inn. He writes, "I’m a partner. How can I be fired?"
Mmmkay? Got that? We hope you’re satisfied now. Just sayin’.

• John McDonald replies to an inquiry about the renovation of Chinatown Brasserie: "Eh, we haven’t even started yet… you know how it is."

• Lastly, our two nightlife impresarios on the subject of their latest venture: "The Russian is out… but we got this other guy from Belarus…"
Just in case you were wondering.

Chef Anne Burrell et al Sued for Discrimination…

PX This has recently obtained the official Supreme Court docket (Index No. 108471-2008 Filed: March 23, 2009) for Susan Kendall Bradford, Jennifer Sue Lim, and Sarra Hennigan VS Anne Burrell, Centro Vinoteca, Sasha Muniak, and George Elkins alleging that the plaintiffs were subject to "discrimination" and "retaliation" in violation of the Human Rights Law. Among the plaintiffs complaints are the accusations that (former Centro Vinoteca chef) Anne Burell subjected the plaintiffs to persistent ridicule and disparagement, at times calling the plaintiffs (all formerly employed by Centro Vinoteca) such derogatory terms as "slutty," "saggy," "ho," "whore," and "stupid dumb whore… idiot." The plaintiffs also assert Burell persistently addressed them mockingly, commenting on their "cleavage," and "harassing" them with such offensive remarks as, "have you fucked that [co-worker] yet?" The plaintiffs further allege they were wrongfully terminated in "retaliation" for their "complaints" about Burrell.

The lawsuit charges that Elkins and Muniak were aware of these circumstances but failed to address the situation in a manner consistent with the NY State Human Rights Law.
According to the docket, the defendants Elkins and Muniak sought to dismiss these claims "as asserted by all plaintiffs, and as asserted by Hennigan against Burrell, …the Complaint is devoid of any allegation against either Muniak or Elkins or of any actionable comments made by Burrell."

"Additionally, plaintiffs have failed to adequately allege that they suffered adverse employment actions by Muniak and Elkins. As to the remaining allegations which do not involve Burrell, such allegations do not identify (1) who allegedly told Bradford to dress nicely for New Years’ Eve, (2) the manager who allegedly told Lim and Bradford to work during brunch, (3) who allegedly replaced Lim after she left for a few days when her mother passed away, (4) who fired Bradford and gave Bradford’s shifts to the new bartender, (5) who allegedly fired Lim, told her she was being suspended, or which manager never returned her calls, or (6) who allegedly terminated each of them Bradford or Lim, or constructively terminated Hennigan. And,to the extent my of the above-allegations constitute adverse employment actjons, plaintiffs have failed to allege individual liability against Muniak or Elkins under New York law. Their names a re absent from all such allegations, and plaintiffs do not specifically allege that Muniak or Elkins were personally involved in any of said conduct. In addition, those allegations made ‘collectively’ against defendants are similarly insufficient. Thus, plaintiffs failed to state causes of action against Muniak and Elkins."

The Supreme Court, however, disagreed and found, "the Complaint sufficiently alleges Muniak’s, Elkin’s and Burrell’s alleged managerial roles at Centro, their ability to hire and fire plaintiffs, their failures to sufficiently investigate the complaints made against Burrell, and the ultimate termination of Lim and Bradford, and constructive termination of Hennigan." Furthermore, "…plaintiffs’ complaint sufficiently alleges that defendants terminated or constructively terminated the plaintiffs after defendants received complaints concerning Burrell’s alleged discriminatory conduct."

As it currently stands, "dismissal… is denied." The case is presently ongoing.

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For more information on Anne Burrell, read PX This Too – The Sequel to PX This – Coming Soon in the Autumn of 2010

Start packing your bags now. Two must-visit destinations are about to get hotter (and not just due to global warming).

Your beloved chain of snazzy flophouses, by your favorite cute diminutive hotelier, is expanding to include locations in both London and Costa Rica. Plus, you can probably expect to see some familiar faces to welcome you with open arms when the awesome formidable projects are finally (eons from now) consummated.
Ha ha, "consummated." The Standard Hotel. See what we did there?

Don’t forget to breathe in the meantime.

MORE on Sevigny & Khan (& Civetta. Sort of.)

When we broke the story on Civetta’s closing, little did we realize it would become the *Nightlife Bloggers’ SAT on Reading Comprehension. Or maybe that’s more like the Jellus Bloggers’ SAT on Integrity and Pettiness? Whatever! We digress.

This just in from a tipster: "Did you see your old buddy Steve [Lewis]’s column today? Funny how Nur [Khan] supposedly denies working with Paul [Sevigny]… from what I hear, they maybe are looking into a space in SoHo together, and Brad Zipper is their money guy… I don’t know how (or if) he fits into Civetta, though."

Another source adds: "…I have seen Brad [Zipper] at Civetta a couple times — he does live around the corner and is quite friendly with the staff… but I wouldn’t say that he’s involved in Civetta…"

And yet a third ‘insider’ speculates: "If I had to make a semi-educated guess, I’d say it could be possible there are two deals in the works? If the so-called SoHo space with Zipper is a go, it might still be a ways off… the Civetta thing would be a way for them to start up now, get their feet wet, then move along to the next project once that’s in the swing of things…"

*By the way, what does "the new Beatrice" even mean? As far as we know, The Beatrice Inn is closed, indefinitely— just as we predicted (despite various uninformed opinions throughout the blogosphere contrary to our deduction). When Eric Goode & Co opened MK, did they call it "the new" Area? When Peter Gatien built Club USA, was it called "the new" Limelight? Hmm, perhaps they were— by those who were narrow-minded, shortsighted and ignorant.
The Beatrice Inn was the name of the space at 258 W 12th St, long before Matt Abramcyk and Paul Sevigny took over. For anyone to take that very same name and apply it to another location would, in short, be asinine.
Might we suggest pulling your head out of your navel for a change, and try some real erudition on for size. You might be amazed at what you can learn about reality and our industry if you just freed your hands from that circle jerk, and say (for example)— picked up a book every once in a while.

This just in from a tipster: Civetta has abruptly laid off most of its staff and is closing for one month to make way for a new concept that will tentatively be manned "…by Nur Khan and Paul Sevigny." The termination comes as quite a surprise to the majority of those involved, as Civetta was just building its mostly-word-of-mouth reputation as a "pretty darned good restaurant."

Apparently, an unnamed very deep-pocketed "investor" with "ties to several projects in downtown" Manhattan, including possible "involvements" with such high-profile operators as "Andre Balazs and Serge Becker," is the primary impetus behind Civetta’s sudden shift in momentum.
Civetta will close its doors next week on December 1st.

Gee, and we hadn’t even had the chance to try it yet.
Oh well, maybe next concept.

**See our UPDATE for more information on Khan, Sevigny and Civetta.**

• Which rival nightlife impresarios are vying for the same space, unbeknownst to each other? One has a very deep-pocketed investor, but the other has A-list celebrity names "attached." Little do either realize the space has also caught the eye of two F&B powerhouse contenders as well. May the best man biggest check win!

• Which nightlife impresario who just had a baby is (typically) shagging his pretty, young bartender? Unfortunately for him, she now has bragging rights and knows how to use them. Damn that pesky Primadonna Complex!

• Which James Beard darling is ready to fly the coop (he helped put on the map)? Sigh… creative types…

*image by Shari Davis