FARM-TO-TABLE PIZZA

It was only a matter of time before the classic New York City slice got the farm-to-table treatment. Leave it to restaurateur Miki Agrawal of Slice to re-imagine this local staple as a healthy alternative on thin gluten-free, vegan crust, no less. Now open in the West Village, Wild is pizza-gone-wild (albeit on Skinnygirl cocktails) just in time for spring break. While the Gorgonzola, pear, date, and rosemary pie sounds seriously good, DailyCandy.com advises, “Dig into veggie-packed kale, frisee, and field salads, and Brussels sprouts four ways with bacon creme fraiche, or beet it with a grainy salad and citrus yogurt.” 

Farm Fresh Pizza in the West Village

photo via

WALK-INS WELCOME

After some holdups, Wylie Dufresne’s East Village gastropub Alder is finally set to open tonight in the old Plum Pizzeria space on Second Avenue. Open from Wednesday to Sunday for walk-ins only, the 56-seat follow-up to his LES hotspot wd-50 promises “modern casual food and well-crafted cocktails,” albeit modern casual food dreamed up by a futuristic mad scientist. Think purple cheese and Caesar salad in sushi form and clam chowder topped with oyster crackers made of actual oysters. UrbanDaddy.com hailed it as “an emotional roller coaster of confusion and delight.” Foodies, leave your reservations at the door.

Alder, The Gastropub Version of wd~50

photo via

CINEAST FEAST

Check out Nitehawk’s second Film Feast tonight pairing director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s cinematic bon-bon “Amelie” with traditional French dishes from chef Sara Nguyen (who you might remember from “Top Chef Season 3 Miami”) and Pernod Absinthe cocktails. This whimsical urban fairytale set in the streets of Paris, stars Audrey Tautou as a café waitress with a vivid imagination. Says Nguyen, “This is one of my favorite, feel good movies.” After sampling her five-course menu (including dessert) it might be hard to remember how you ever sustained yourself on stale popcorn through a two-hour-and-two-minute film.

Amelie at Nitehawk Cinema

photo via

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Since the festivities fall on a Sunday this year, the parade kicks off on Saturday ushering in a weekend-long celebration. While you might skip the leprechaun hats and shiny plastic shamrocks, there is one new St. Patty’s Day tradition you will want to get down with: the beer cream puff from Puddin’. Think of it as a “baba au beer” made with a soda-bread-inspired pastry filled with beer-soaked pudding covered in an orange glaze and served with cherry compote. Even better? It’s made with Brooklyn Brewery’s Dry Irish Stout. 

The Beer Cream Puff at Puddin’ NYC

photo via

PRECIOUS EATS

You might have noticed Pearl & Ash making a brief appearance on the Bowery House’s ground floor during the holidays, and then closing, well that was just the preview. Making its official debut this week, it reopened with a brand-new look, including “blond wood tables; navy suede benches; and a wall of box shelves dotted with dried botanicals, vintage knickknacks, and candles,” reports DailyCandy.com. The menu crafted by chef Richard Kuo is equally detail-oriented featuring dishes like berbere-spiced diver scallops with fennel. Call it a new dining gem, er pearl, on the Bowery.

Pearl & Ash Seasonal Small Plates on The Bowery

photo via

MONDAY TO-DOS

Get properly primed in eyeshadow primers with R29’s experts.

Order up MeBas at the newly opened Meatball Shop just north of MePa.

Turn the Screw with the New York City Opera.

Listen in when the Talking Heads’ David Byrne and The Roots’ ?uestlove chat it up.

Warm up with the hearty Cassoulet Festival at Back Forty West in Soho.

LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEISURE

Looking for a sunny spot for Saturday lunch? Try the newly opened Cantine Parisienne, a light-flooded bistro offering “some extremely French-sounding food from the Tartinery guys,”says UrbanDaddy.com (not to mention, some delicious cocktails designed by a former barkeep at the Dutch). Relax and people watch through the oversize, 20-foot windows, order up coffee and a pastry, and try some authentic pate and veal scallops. Then cue up the Serge Gainsbourg track playing in your head, channel your inner Brigitte Bardot, and unwind with some tipples named for the aforementioned singer and his onetime paramour Jane Birkin.

French Bistro in Nolita NYC

photo via

HOT DISHES

Do you know your ravioli from your rigatoni? What about your tagliatelle from your agnolotti? When it comes to big helpings of pasta, we’re all “orecchiette”—especially now that it’s been shown carbs are actually good for you in realistic quantities. Eater.com has mapped out the most satisfying noodles in town with a guide to New York’s best new pasta dishes, including Andrew Carmellini’s rigatoni with broccoli and sausage (yum!) and ravioli at Acme (yes, please!). All the spots listed have opened in the past year and give Italy’s most famous comfort food a fresh spin. (Start your juice cleanse tomorrow.)

New York’s Best Pasta Dishes

SOME LIKE HOT COCOA

Dreaming about skipping out to Mexico right about now? If those musings don’t materialize into an actual trip to JFK, there’s always the next best thing: Antojeria La Popular, a new Mexican tapas bar and restaurant, which quite ironically just opened on Spring Street. Unseasonal location aside, this super-stylish spot makes up for it by serving a dozen different kinds of hot chocolate (really, 12!), including sweet options, like orange, ginger, and cinnamon, and spicy ones, like chipotle and guajillo, for those who want it extra hot. Aren’t you glad you decided to stick around? Besides, it’s too warm in Mexico to drink hot chocolate.

Antojeria La Popular

photo via

MIDTOWN SODA FOUNTAIN

Looking for a cute, after-work date spot in midtown? Try the retro-styled Skylight Shoppe now open upstairs from Maloney & Porcelli. This reimagined 1950s date spot has a classic soda counter complete with fanning straw dispensers, ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles at every table, and an old-fashioned popcorn machine (albeit popping up inventive flavors like bacon, peanut butter, and banana). Grab your steady, settle into a red-and-white-checkered table, and order up some “pop” (i.e. house-made blood orange soda) or some oysters Rockefeller po-boys. But what’s really going to bring them to the yard (or in this case East 50^th Street)? The pie milkshake.

The Skylight Shoppe

photo via