L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Will Close June 30th

When Pete Wells reviewed Alison Eighteen a few weeks ago, he pokes at the current trend in restaurants that has taken place "in the decade since she (Alison Price Becker) last operated a Manhattan restaurant," stating that, "all of New York below 42nd Street has been taken over by kids."

He goes on to say, "Their bodies are still limber and lean, curse them, so when these kids are finally shown to a seat, and it turns out to be bigger than a laptop but smaller than an actual human lap, they can wedge into it without hearing anything inside creak or snap.  The seat (O.K., it’s more like a stool or a bench or a tree stump or maybe an anvil) will offer no lumbar support, but still they won’t wake up the next morning feeling as if they’d been lifting file cabinets all night.  The damage to their eardrums hasn’t started to manifest yet, so they can bob their heads to an early ’80s hair-metal anthem while recounting the latest episode of "The Walking Dead.""

Wells' prelude to the evolution of dining trends in New York City gets further support with the announcement yesterday that Joel Robuchon and the Four Seasons Hotel will amicably part ways.  L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon's last day of operation in the hotel will be June 30, 2012.  The restaurant opened in 2006 and for six years was a significant player in the world of fine dining.  Just last fall, L'Atelier received two Michelin stars.

While the restaurant lies above 42nd Street, its closing follows the changing trends washing through the city.  As more and more people continue to frequent small, casual, sometimes loud restaurants, fine dining establishments struggle to remain relevant.

Park Slope's Week Old Woodland Succeeds East Village's Vandaag

Brendan Spiro told Eater yesterday that Vandaag, his Dutch-inspired restaurant in the East Village that was open for less than two years, is officially closed.  Vandaag had changed chef's more than once, and earlier this month the restaurant installed a take out window to sell sausages to passersby.  The efforts prove too little as Spiro and co. decide to call it quits and put all their riesling braised rabbits into one basket.

"It is with much regret that we wish to inform all of our loyal patrons about a recent decision to close Vandaag."

Woodland is the new project from Spiro that opened last week on the corner of Flatbush and 6th Ave and employs much of the same team that worked at Vandaag.  The restaurant is equipped with a garden, music stage, private dining room, DJ venue and grilled cheese sandwiches for all the stroller riding toddlers that make their way in at the hands of Park Slope parents.

Double Duty for Pete Wells This Week

Pete Wells files a double review this week on Peter Hoffman's Back Forty and Back Forty West.

Back Forty West comes to us as the replacement to Peter Hoffman's Greenmarket visionary Savoy, which operated in the same building, on the corner of Crosby and Prince, for over twenty years before closing last June.

The menus at the BF and BFW share "an overall philosophy," but are no means identical.  "Back Forty West isn’t a total clone. It’s more like a fraternal twin, sharing the logo and the look of the first place, along with a few menu items and an overall philosophy."

"Over the last month or so, I’ve had a string of extremely pleasant meals at second-generation Back Forty West, and a succession of sloppy, careless ones at the place it was modeled after. It’s as if Back Forty has gone into a long, jealous sulk, like a family cat that responds to the arrival of a new baby by hiding under the couch and scratching at anybody who gets too close."

His experiences at the restaurants leave Wells awarding zero stars to Back Forty, who gets pegged 'Fair', while Back Forty West receives a solid two stars.

Anthony Bourdain is CNN Bound

Anthony Bourdain's Emmy award winning series No Reservations debuted on the Travel Channel in 2005.  This year, the eighth for the series, marks its last, as Bourdain and his Zero Point Zero production team head to CNN.  The team has a yet to be named show that will air in the first quarter of 2013.  Bourdain will play host to the show that will be shot on location, "creating a signature showcase for the network’s coverage of food and travel."

As a new member of CNN, the chef/author/TV personality will also offer commentary across some of the network's different programs.  "I’m really looking forward to coming over to CNN. I think the world is going to get a whole lot bigger for me.  I hope that old fans and new ones will be excited about what’s coming down the road."

Calexislope

Park Slope's Blue Ribbon Sushi merged with their neighboring Blue Ribbon Brasserie location three months ago, after their lease expired March 1st.  Here's Park Slope brings us news that Cal-Mex favorite Calexico will be taking over the space on 5th Ave between Garfield and 1st that was home to Blue Ribbon Sushi for ten years.

Calexico started as a single taco truck in Soho five years ago.  The idea was created by brothers Jesse, Brian, and Dave Vendley.  The menu is a California-inspired take on Mexican food and one that New Yorkers have quickly grown fond of.  The single cart in Soho is now a multi-faceted business, as the Calexico empire has grown to include two carts (24th and Broadway and Wooster and Prince), and two brick-and-mortar store fronts; 645 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint and 122 Union Street in Red Hook.

The Calexico team will sit down with Community Board 6 tomorrow with hopes of attaining a liquor license for their new location, which will be open until 12am on weekdays and 2am on weekends.

Digestny Introduces "Donde Dinner?"

Welcome to Donde Dinner?, a new weekly feature where digestny does the work choosing your next dinner spot.

In this new feature, digestny will pick a restaurant and post its address for you.  The catch is, the address is all the information we're giving you.  No name, no type of cuisine, and no googling allowed!  Price, quality, and accessibility are all being taken into concern, restrictions that result from trendy diets are not.  We promise not to have you waiting at the bar for two hours with $15 cocktails, and since we're not fancy folk, you never have to worry about a dress code.  Just hop on the train, or your feet, or your bike, and head to:

137 7th Avenue South

Heros in a Half Shell

Sunshine and oysters are pretty good pals.  Ragus and stews are great for the cold months, but a few oysters and a cold pint, or a glass of bubbles, are a great way to welcome the warm weather.

Here's a half dozen happy hour oyster options that give you the half shells at half price:

Ten Bells 

212.228.4450 | 247 Broome St (btwn Orchard and Ludlow)

$1 oysters everyday from 5-7pm.  Note: cash only.

The Mermaid Oyster Bar

212.260.0100 | 79 MacDougal St - 96 2nd Ave - 568 Amsterdam Ave

The UWS location isn't down with the oyster special, but you can get $1 littlenecks at their daily happy hour from 5:30-7pm.  The downtown locations feature $1 east coast and $1.75 west coast oysters from 5:30-7pm Monday - Thursday and 5-7pm Friday - Sunday.

John Dory Oyster Bar

212.792.9000 | 1196 Broadway (@ 29th St)

Seven days a week, from 5-7pm, your choice of a half-dozen oysters or clams with a glass of sparkling wine or a pint of Oyster Stout Ale for $15.

Millesime

212.889.7100 | 92 Madison Ave (btwn 28th and 29th)

$1 oysters Monday - Friday from 5-7pm.

Cornelius

718.398.6662 | 565 Vanderbuilt Ave, Brooklyn (@ Pacific)

$1 Blue Point Oysters from 5-7pm on weekdays and 3-7pm on weekends.

Maison Premiere

347.335.0446 - 298 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn (btwn South 1st and Grand)

$1 oysters Monday - Friday from 4-7pm.

Woodland Opens On Flatbush Avenue

Park Slope gets a new restaurant/bar/venue with the opening of Woodland earlier this week.  Brendan Spiro is the Director of Operations for the restaurant group responsible for the new, bi-level venue at 242 Flatbush Avenue (@ 6th Ave).  The same group owns Vandaag in the East Village, a restaurant that received two stars from Sam Sifton shortly after it opened in the summer of 2010.

In addition to two levels, Woodland has an outdoor garden, a private room available for up to 30 guests, a 12-seat bar, and has the capacity to seat upwards of 200 people.  The new space will double as a music venue, as the downstairs lounge will feature DJs and a stage in the main room will host live bands.

A meal at Woodland will not be a cheap one, as a glance at the menu reveals Manhattan prices but, with items like lamb T-bone, venison tartare, and Great Lakes Pike, it could all be worth it.  Perhaps as a result of the rising price of beef costs, the menu features a cheaper cut called bullet steak, though it still fetches $25.  Along with different cuts of meat, the menu has unique items like nettle shake, anchovy dip, and liver croutons.