Quick Hits: Springtime Edition

Holy crap what a week. We better do something fast before it's over. Quick Hits fast. Quick HITS. ARGH!

1. The people love Nicolette. That's great, because so do we. She ain't going anywhere. One reader emailed to say: "Thank you thank you thank you for introducing us to the gloriousness that is Nicolette. Have been lapping up her blog this morning. Saw you just put up a post on her visit to this Touch place but based on careful perusal over the last couple of hours I think there's a lot of other stuff out there that's pure. genius. and deserves a spot on your homepage." Much more to come.

2. Some intial reviews of Antik are in, and we aren't sure what to make of it. One Little Birdy told us it was "a shit show", but a commenter says, "I was there last night and there is definitely a bar, and a lot of models . The place although is incredible small. I think you should send Nicolette there on a recon mission and watch her mingle. This could make for a great new reality show." That may be a good idea. But it's now property of DBTH.

3. Our friends at Freemans Sporting Club are having a sale this weekend. Cheap expensive stuff is always fun, so go get some.

Oooh, Fashion

For those who like dress fancy, a retail update for you. Taavo Somer and his band of bespoked fellas from Freemans Sporting Club may be opening up a West Coast joint. A little birdy fills us in, saying "they are looking at spaces to open a FSC in Los Angeles. It would have a different vibe than the LES branch, less old world feel and more of an LA, art deco type feel. Apparently this branch took a ton of time and money to create the feel they achieved." Very cool LB. So get ready all you LA kids. Classic rugged men's wear and accessories are coming your way.

Start it Off At Sakaya

Our friends at Sakaya want to invite everyone to kick their weekend off with a Happy Hour sake tasting at their store on E. 9th Street, saying:

This evening from 4-6PM 6-8PM, sake sommelier Paul Tanguay
from the importer Vine Connections will pour samples and familiarize visitors with selections from their portfolio of exceptional sake including...

Fukucho "Moon on the Water" Junmai Ginjo - This bold
fragrant sake from Hiroshima is made by one of Japan's
rare female master brewers.

Sato no Homare "Pride of the Village" Junmai Ginjo - From the famous Sudo Honke brewery in Ibaraki(also know for their Kakunko and Yusura nama junmai daiginjos), this beautifully refined sake is elegantly floral with a classically clean finish.

Sounds tasty and educational. How can you beat that? Kanpai!

Hello Sakaya

Just because we broke the story, we may as well take you all the way home. Specialty sake shop Sakaya is poised to open tomorrow. We'll let owner Rick Smith bring it home. "It has been nearly two years since we returned from our first trip to Japan together with the commitment to our dream of opening NYC's first shop dedicated exclusively to sake. Tomorrow that dream becomes a reality." Kanpai Sakaya. Kanpai.

Golden Years

Do you work at GoldBar? If no, that's too bad. If yes, then we hear that someone has an early holiday gift for you. Izzy Gold, the bad ass clothing makers and sometime DJ's at the swanky spot on Broome, has created a special t-shirt just for GoldBar staff and friends. Swanky. So if you are a GoldBar Elite, congrats. You get a t-shirt. If not, you can stop by the new Blue and Cream store on the Bowery to peruse some of their other goods, none of which are as special as this t-shirt.

Tom Ford in the Center of it All

When you go out, you wear clothes. That means we can give you a bit of breaking fashion news. Tom Ford, design maven, nudist, model, is poised to open a second store. You can stop guessing which neighborhood because it isn't in New York. Shocking, we know. Anywhoo, Mr. Ford is headed to Las Vegas, signing a lease in MGM's hulking new project, City Center. Opening TBD. Carry on.

Papabubble Parties Down

On a warm Saturday night, with about 70 close friends and family members enjoying themselves both inside the store and out on Broome Street, Papabubble officially opened for business. Just two days late to boot. Not too shabby. The walls were fully stocked with fresh candy, open jars with samples were everywhere, and we had a choice of some bubbly and Tecate for our sipping pleasure. Chris and Fiona, your stateside Papabubble proprietors, even put on a little candy making show for us. Then we got more samples of fresh warm candy, which is pretty tough to beat. Our favorite? The oh so decadent Gold Ring, made by the Illuminator himself. You can ask for him by name when you stop by, which we expect each of you to do sometime very soon.
Check out our Flickr page for some more great shots of the Papabubble Party!

OMG! Ommegang!

Since we enjoyed the Brooklyn Blast so much, we decided to head back to the Beer Room to pick ourselves up another growler (or 3). Little did we know that there was a party going on inside. A beer party that is. The WF team welcomed Cooperstown's favorite son Ommegang Brewery inside to celebrate their 10th birthday. As a special treat, the Ommegang folks brought down a barrel or two of their brand new Chocolate Indulgence Stout, a limited edition fall/winter beer that was brewed in celebration of the 10 year milestone. The in-store sampling party was the first public tasting, and the Stout was a winner. Not for nothing, the WF team kicked in some crazy rich Beer-Cheddar soup and some frites with a cheddar-beer dipping sauce. Ho-lee!. Get your growler while the choco stout party is still going strong.

Papa's Got a Brand New Store

Dulces. Or as the sign says, Tienda de Caramelos, Artesanos. That's candy to you and I. And we ain't talking Bolivia. This time we are talking gourmet candy, hand made by some real candy experts. We're talking Papabubble. The Barcelona treat has settled on a location on Broome St, just east of the San Gennaro. The storefront is still papered over because some modern day Oompa's are hard at work getting this place ready for a late October opening. Hopefully. Because we all love candy. And we all love you.

Update: Sakaya

A quick update from Sakaya, the soon to open specialty sake store in the East Village. Store owner Rick Smith checked in to say, "We were approved for our liquor license in mid-July and are moving forward on our build-out...During the construction phase we'll also be doing some things in the shop window to begin to create the feeling of what we'll be about by treating passersby to a bit of sake imagery and info." Sounds good to us. Don't forget to check out their semi-regularly updated blog as well. Kanpai!

Reduxe: Sakaya

Recently, we dipped our toes in the water that is Sakaya, a small, soon to open storefront on East 9th Street that will specialize in sake. We weren´t exactly sure what to make of this. Is it to be just another liquor store in a neighborhood awash with them? It turns out our guess was pretty spot on. How can we be sure? Well, Sakaya´s owner Rick checked in to clarify, saying, ´´We hope to have our liquor license by the end of the month....stay tuned, you're right about the synchronicity with Tinto Fino.Kanpai. ´´ Kanpai to you sir. Kanpai to you.

Brunch News From the Bowery

The Whole Foods on Bowery opened big a month ago. A big party, tasting events and the like. But from an insider, things haven't been going so great. The place is apparently empty during the weekdays, generating a little more traffic at night and then filling up with weekend shoppers. How do you change that? Well, WF Bowery has an idea. A little birdy writes, "I walked by Whole Foods LES tonight and saw that they will be serving brunch starting June 10. You have to talk to a custie service person to get details, but I was late for dinner." That's ok birdy. We still love you. Now, we know retail is not our specialty, but brunch definitely is. We can picture it now. A big Saturday night on the town. You wake up, feeling like $5 bucks. All you are thinking about is brunch. Solution? The City's biggest supermarket, full of bright lights, loud shoppers, and piped in market music. That's where we want to get our rancheros. And scene.

Photo Courtesy of Electric Stove/Flickr

Sakaya? Sake You!

This small retail space on East Ninth Street seems pretty unassuming. The street is mostly small boutiques with a few exceptions. Veselka being one. MUD being another. But this store may just throw a little wrinkle into that scene. Coming soon is Sakaya, a small retail space specializing in sake. But DBTH, isn't that just a liquor store in rice wine clothing? Maybe. Or maybe it will be a small gem of a store where clerks will be able to help customers match the proper bottle of sake for each occasion. Perhaps the Tinto Fino of Sake. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Another Retail Mystery Solved

We're getting pretty good at solving retail mysteries. We had worried that the St Marks Mystery Space had gone cold case on us, but this baby is now doing a slow burn. First, one of our instinctive commenters remarked "Maybe a hot dog stand. There was a giant paper-mache pluto-colored Clifford inside the store a few days ago." Someone must have rocked their SAT logic games, because a little birdy equipped with a camera provides the photographic proof, saying "the awning went up this weekend, place is called Good Dog, and their mascot is Clifford." Case closed. Maybe we should change our name to Down By The Hardy Boys.

Astor Place Goes Upscale

There is just something special about the old NOHO buildings. The brickwork and design transports you back to New York's golden days. On this note, we were so very pleased when a little birdy told us what would be replacing the old Astor Wine shop that moved down the street last year. The conversation follows:

DBTH: What's going in here?
Little Birdy: Walgreens
DBTH: Walgreens?
Little Birdy: Walgreens
DBTH: You don't say.

Why didn't we think of that? The high ceilings, large floor plate(but not too large, you know how pharmacies like narrow aisles), and proximity to Duane Reade made this a natural spot for Walgreens to further expand in NYC. With its GAP, B&N, Kinkos, Starbucks, Coldstone Creamery and now Walgreens, old Astor Place is poised to challenge 5th Avenue for NYC shopping supremacy.

Thanks to Tabby Lee/Flickr for the photo.

Oooh, So Very Bright and Shiny

Once there was a crappy Hollywood Video Store,
Now there is a Duane Reade.
Prehistoric Third Avenue sucks.

The DR near Astor Place is officially open for business. We must not forget that every Duane Reade has a Chase Bank center inside, giving the East Village 3 Chase locations (Astor Tower, 3rd Avenue and 9th St, and Second Avenue Deli) in as many blocks.

This is a serious challenge to Starbucks Square. Hopefully, the Green Goblets rise up to defeat their blue and red foe.