New York City Edition

• – Is the next season of Top Chef an all-stars edition? Signs point to yes. [Eater]
• – Related: more folks wondering if Top Chef has “jumped the knife.” [Endless Simmer]
• – White Castle is testing three new restaurant concepts, including a noodle resto. [NRN]
• – Where have all the watermelon seeds gone? [WP]
• – Ladies nights are constitutional. For now? [NYP]
• – When it rains it pours: Gordo busted for hiring illegal immigrants. [Sun]
• – That “A” stamped on your egg doesn’t mean what you think it means. [WSJ]
• – Will McDonald’s “Moon Burger” ever leave Japan? [SoGood]
• – A brief history of the lunch box. [Smithsonian]
• – Ok, so booze will help you live longer. But how, and which types? [Slate]
• – Le Whif, the chocolate inhaler. [MealTicket]
• – Rachael Ray hits up Craig Ferguson. [Eater]
• – Lionel Richie is now pitching potato chips. [Videogum]
• – Today’s Tumblr du jour: Album Tacos. [Album Tacos]

When she’s not mixing up margaritas at the Lexington Avenue location of barbecue joint Brother Jimmy’s, Alice Hargrove is busy tickling the ivories. If you think her handiwork behind the bar is fast, you should see her work the keys – Hargrove is a trained classical pianist that accompanies instrumentalists, plays with singers and even gives lessons to some of the other staff members at the restaurant. We caught up with her to talk about her musically inclined side, and to see if we might run into her at a piano bar sometime soon.

ZB: How does your bartending work square with your piano playing?

AH: This job is so great. Since I don’t come in until six or seven in the evening, I’m able to teach lessons during the day. I teach a few people from Brother Jimmy’s, and I also teach young children. I also play for voice lessons. A girl that graduated with me used to work here, she does clarinet performance. I played piano for her grad school auditions. Also, in a weird way, when I’m having those times where I’m really busy preparing for something on the piano side, working at the bar gets to be my social life. Coming here doesn’t just feel like work.

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A little night market

Is your calendar not booked up with enough tasting events this month? Well, add one more on September 14. From 6:30–10:30 PM, the Chelsea Triangle in the Meatpacking District will play host to a Malaysian night market. Restaurants like Fatty Crab, Betel and Café Asean will dispense tastings of street food underneath tents and lanterns inspired by the open-air markets of Kuala Lumpur. Food ranges $4–$8 a plate, and a Malaysian dance troupe will perform. Get more information at the fest’s website (14th Street and Ninth Avenue).

Here’s our quick, poetry-inspired take on last night’s Top Chef. Submit your own in the comments. Note: spoilers ahead.

Angelo takes two.
Space, the final frontier,
takes Tiffany. Tear.

Nothing says Oktoberfest like a beer-soaked cruise up the Hudson River. On September 18, New York’s Pier 81 will play host to Oktoberfest on the Hudson. The event kicks off at noon on the dock with plenty of beer, German grub and an oompah band. Beer trailers will offer Gaffel Kölsch, Hofbräuhaus, Jever, Radeberger and Weihenstephan.

At 2 PM, it’s all aboard a World Yacht boat for a trip up the Hudson to see the George Washington Bridge and Riverside Park. Oh, and also to continue drinking beer. The cruise is optional and lasts an hour, while the party lasts from noon–4:30 PM. Tickets are $10 to the pier party and an additional $15 for the cruise, while drink and food tickets will be available for purchase at the event. You can get more information and buy tickets here (212-630-8100).

Le Bernardin

Photo: Noah Kalina

1. Yikes! Le Bernardin’s white tablecloths weren’t as clean as usual during a recent inspection. The spot scored in the “C” grade range. The restaurant promised to get its score back up on an upcoming reinspection, and it doesn’t have to post any letter grades until that goes down. [Grub Street]

2. Eater scored the first pics of Michael White’s new spot Osteria Morini. Let the plywood coverage begin!

3. Chef Laurent Tourondel was slapped with a lawsuit by his former partners in the BLT empire, who claim that his new Hamptons restaurant, LT Burger, is selling copycat burgers and boozy milkshakes. [NY Post]

We’re sure you checked out our list of Labor Day brunches, but maybe none of those options struck your fancy. Well, Uptown spot Vareli will serve brunch for the first time this weekend – think a $12 frittata with bacon, braised leeks, goat cheese and scallions and $13 corned beef hash. And, bonus: it’s serving on Monday as well. On the drink side, $9 scores you a passion-fruit Bellini or tangerine mimosa, but you should probably have more than one, since summer is over and all. Check out the full menu after the jump (11 AM–3:30 PM; 2869 Broadway; 212-678-8585). More

In our recent Fall Preview, we noted two new Indian spots that are set to hit town. Well, a third is about to join them in the form of Tulsi, opening soon in Midtown East. The high-end restaurant is from Hermant Mathur, one of the founding co-chefs at popular Indian resto Dévi. It gets its name from “holy basil,” which will be featured both in the spot’s dishes and incorporated into the design scheme  (think green hues). The menu will feature dishes like tandoori wild boar chops, 12-spice chicken curry and semolina-crusted monkfish. The 55-seat restaurant is shooting to open sometime in October (211 E. 46th St.; 212-888-0820).

Waverly Inn

Photo: Noah Kalina

Get those calendars out, because it’s time to make reservations at two New York hot spots.

First up, the Waverly Inn just announced a public reservation line for its newly launched brunch service. As per Eater, the number is 917-828-1154. Brunch will be served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM–3 PM.

If you don’t want to head Downtown, Jonathan Benno’s Lincoln is set to start service on September 24. Feast has word that the spot’s reservation line is up, call 212-359-6500 if you want to try to snag a table (142 W. 65th St.).

Photo: courtesy of Eater

Looks like we spoke too soon. A rep for soon-to-open Meatpacking District spot MPD assures us that the Derek-and-Daniel-Koch-run spot will not be like the champagne-fueled brunch parties that garnered the brothers their reputations. So – looks like no dancing on tables.

Plans are to open the spot on September 20 for Fashion Week events, with the public opening soon to follow on October 4. A French-American menu will be served for dinner and late-night only at the beginning, with breakfast, lunch and brunch to start some time after. We’ll provide further details as they trickle in.

When looking through the schedule for the upcoming East Village community board meeting, we noticed a familiar name. Prime & Beyond is on the docket for a wine and beer license. The steakhouse has been in business in Fort Lee, NJ, for upwards of nine years.

Turns out there’s a 65-seat outpost planned for the East Village this December. The owner, who just got the final renderings back, promises to keep things high quality but low cost. He hopes the space will be a cross between “Peter Luger and Chipotle” with plenty of options suitable for take-out (90 E. 10th St,).