(Apologies for the quality of the photos, spontaneous iPhone use, blah blah…) Minetta’s Tavern. A swanky nouveau-speakeasy, reconstructed from a 1930’s neighborhood Italian resto and saloon. Black and white check tiles, crimson leather couches. Glossy fresh, while retaining its authentic antiquity, the walls pulsating with the still audible echoes of our cultural forefathers (Hemingway? E.E…

Break-ups are not all bad. The proof? Neta – the happy product of Chefs Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau separating from their significant others, Masa and Masa Bar, respectively, to open a more approachable but still very serious sushi joint in The Village. I recently went there (or was taken there, rather) and had a…