UPPER WEST SIDE— Check out the sweet rooftop bar that's set to grace the top of the Empire Hotel (right). Zagat has the details: "...the Empire Hotel doesn’t have much of a reputation as a hot gathering spot. But we’re betting that will change quickly when its rooftop lounge opens to the public around May. Details are scarce – we can only confirm that the space has been leased by Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill Management, which plans to renovate it." [Zagat]

MEATPACKING DISTRICT— Cutty's got the update on ex-L'Impero and Alto chef Scott Conant: "He will be the chef-owner of Scarpetta, which will open in the meatpacking district this spring at 355 West 14th Street. The place is conceived as seasonal Italian and will feature the kind of elegant, yet elemental and assertive food Conant is known for...The room, which is designed by S. Russell Groves, will hold 70 seats, have a long mahogany bar, and a twenty-seat café in the front." [Cutlets]

UPPER WEST SIDE— Though Bruni usually sticks to playful musings on the blog, he's got some real news today on Kefi's new location. Per the big B: "Kefi’s new location is a secret no more: the restaurant will move from its current location on West 79th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam to 505 Columbus Ave., near West 84th Street...And he said he plans to hold onto the current Kefi space and put a new restaurant there. 'I’d like to do something I haven’t done before,' he said, 'maybe moving away from Mediterranean, maybe something American'...Kefi closes in its current location in late May or early June. It opens in its new location, ideally, in late July. Between those dates, the new restaurant in the old Kefi space opens." [Diner's Journal]

EAST VILLAGE— Chickpea, the falafel and hummus favorite on St. Mark's, is renovating so it will be certified as Glatt Kosher. They've been making moves in that direction over the past year, offering different breads and baked instead of fried falafel, but now the location will be closed until Saturday to make all the necessary changes. The 14th Street location will remain open and non-kosher. [EaterWire]

MIDTOWN— Owners of UWS Indian joint Indus Valley have decided to take the Midtown deli formula and apply it to their own cuisine. Per Midtown Lunch: "The owners of Indus Valley, a Zagat Rated (23) Indian Restaurant on 100th & Broadway, have set out to change all that by taking over half of the City Market Cafe on 48th St. btw. 5+6th, and replacing all the generic Midtown deli items, with Indian food. Instead of roast beef and mac & cheese, you get Chicken Tikka Masala & Saag Paneer. The soup station has been replaced with a samosa and pakora center, and possibly the biggest improvement, boring deli sandwiches, swapped out for kati rolls & naan wraps." [Midtown Lunch]
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Filed under Manhattan: East Village, Manhattan: Meatpacking/MePa North, Manhattan: Midtown West/Times Square, Manhattan: Upper West Side/Columbus Circle, Al Fresco, Chickpea, EaterWire, Scarpetta, Scott Conant

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