Taste a Whole Lot of Wine Tonight; Thai Red Bull Firing Up ElmhurstGreenwich Village: If you can finish a “Can you take the heat?” tasting menu (which gets spicier with each course) on March 15 at Thai restaurant Rhong-Tiam on La Guardia Place, the chef will give you dinner for two at a new restaurant he’s opening called Kurve. [Grub Street]
Elmhurst: You can find “those scary-looking little bottles of Thai Red Bull” at Sugar Club, a little Thai grocery and video store at 81-20 Broadway. (They have curry pastes, too.) [Gothamist]
Hell’s Kitchen: The city’s first Wine Expo will be open tonight and tomorrow afternoon at the Javits Center; get excited about seminars on Argentine Malbecs (oh, and 600 WINES to sample). [New York Wine Expo]
Midtown East: Construction seems under way for the Times-announced first U.S. outlet of Brussels-based chain Rouge Tomate. [Eater]
West Village: The Waverly Inn has a secret cocktail on its menu, and they won’t tell you what’s in it. But maybe that’s why LeBron really wanted to go to the bathroom. [Down by the Hipster]
The Orange Line
Riding the V Line: Thai Heat and Genius on Elmhurst AvenueWe’re riding the B and V from Coney Island all the way to Forest Hills, jumping off frequently to rave about our favorite restaurants along the way.
It’s not much of a secret anymore, but it would be madness to get off at Elmhurst Avenue and not eat at Chao Thai, a Thai restaurant nearly as good as Woodside’s legendary Sripraphai.
Neighborhood Watch
Blue Ribbon to Conquer Columbus Circle by Mid-AugustBrooklyn Heights: Montero’s earned “duty watch bar” status from the British Royal Navy when its seamen passed through Brooklyn last week. [NYT]
Columbus Circle: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill should open simultaneously with Thompson Hotel’s new Six Columbus by the middle of August. [Down by the Hipster]
Elmhurst: Always wanted your tacos open-face, deep-fried, and splattered with crema? Try the memelitas from Taqueria Coatzingo at 40-18 82 Street. [Gothamist]
Flatiron: Tabla and Tamarind are only a few of the restaurants extending their Summer Restaurant Week menus through Labor Day. [GoNYC via NewYorkology]
Fort Greene: Former Top Chef contestant Josie Smith-Malave has left Island restaurant to prepare for a fall opening of her next project, the Speakeasy. [Eater]
Harlem: Gentrification is apparently a lesser evil than filth: A Taste of Seafood restaurant relocates from dingy to spiffy new digs. [Uptown Flavor]
Midtown East: Two sake masters from Japan will host a tasting that also features shochu and snacks at Sakagura next Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. [Eat for Victory/VV]
West Village: Centro Vinoteca won’t be opening until the 20th or 21st at the earliest, the restaurant’s representatives say. [Grub Street]
Three Blocks
Doctors and Teachers Tuck Into Asian and More Around Elmhurst’s Broadway andThe micro-micro-neighborhood centered around Broadway and Whitney Avenue in Elmhurst is one of the most diverse areas in the entire world, but Asian cuisine provides the best lunch options. The staffs of nearby Newtown High School and Elmhurst Hospital Center, as well as local real-estate agents and China Trust Bank workers, have no shortage of interesting places to nosh.
