QUICK HITS:
♦ Finishing up a west coast swing here so we’ll keep these updates nice and brief. Short Order reports that restaurateur Amir Ben Zion will be opening up a “neo-soul food” restaurant called South Street in his old Sra. Martinez space. The restaurant will feature “lighter fare” like “fried chicken” and it’ll be a collaboration with “lifestyle maven” Amaris Jones. I’m putting things in quotation marks so I don’t get depressed that the Miami dining scene is backsliding. This makes me really miss Sra. Martinez. Hell, this makes me miss Domo Japones, words I never thought I’d utter. Silver lining? Cocktail menu by Bar Lab.
♦ The trio behind The Federal is opening a bakery in Midtown, in the former location of Brooklyn Bagels. Acme Bakery will be in the Midtown 2 condo and will feature the creations of Cindy Kruse, formerly of Gigi. No word yet on whether they’re going to use Brooklyn water in their pastries. Oh, and for those keeping track at home, former Pacific Time chef Jonathan Eismann handled the real estate transaction for Chariff.
