Kind Farewell from Karen and David Waltuck

Dear Fellow PS150 Enthusiasts,

Voila a fond farewell to our wonderful neighbors and neighborhood. After thirty years of successful business, we are sad to share the news that despite all our efforts, the plans to renovate and re-open Chanterelle will not come to pass.

We shall certainly open another restaurant in the future...it may well be another Chanterelle...but that said, we will always feel special about being part of the Tribeca Community and the school that gave our daughter the perfect beginning...

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the many people who have become dear friends and supporters through the years, to our loyal and loving staff and to our endlessly encouraging family.

Through good and bad times it is a thrilling, passionate and rewarding journey. We are proud to be a part of this creative industry in this unparalleled city of ours and look forward to what we will bring to you in the future...

Karen and David Waltuck

Tamarind Tries TriBeCa

Trendy Flatiron Indian restaurant, Tamarind, is coming to TriBeCa. At some point later this month Zagat's Top Rated Indian restaurant hopes to open a mammoth two-story, 11,000-sq.-ft. sequel at 99 Hudson Street (a space which until 2004 was the sports bar The Sporting Club).

Wouldn't it be a great way to introduce themselves to the neighborhood by hosting a table at Taste of Tribeca?

Valentines Day Sweets for Your Sweet

Valentine's Day is just around the corner- waiting there. What are you going to do for your Valentine this year? Roses? A Hallmark card that sings? Another teddy bear? Sigh.

Tribeca Treats has customized gift baskets, allowing you to tailor your gift to your sweetie's sweet tooth. Cookies, brownies, chocolates... there are so many options! Best of all, if you order by noon on Thursday you will be guaranteed Valentine's delivery. How sweet is that?
You know your sweets are in good hands with Tribeca Treats. After all, they won the popular vote for best gingerbread house among entries from 8 other NYC bakeries in a contest at Le Parker Meridien which raised over $12,000 for City Harvest. This is their entry, "Christmas in Palm Springs".

After looking at all of those sweets, wouldn't a cookie taste good right about now?

Best Pastry Shop?

Tribeca has Tribeca Treats, Duane Park Patisserie, and Bouley Bakery. Paris has La Patisserie des Reves?
Care to vote on your favorite?

Danny's Ices

Every parent hopes to give their child great memories and treats often have a special place in a child's heart. Here's a sweet, memory-making recommendation from one Tribeca parent:

I've heard they call it "prenatal marking"--in other words if you eat a lot of something while pregnant, your child develops a particular fondness for it. With my eldest, it was avocados. With my youngest, it's "Catch the Flava". Tribeca families know what I'm talking about. Nine years ago, hugely pregnant, I would pick up my 5 year old at Downtown Day Camp. We would always stop at the little cart on Chambers Street, otherwise known as Danny's Ices or "Coco Helado"...or "Catch the Flava". My daughter would work her way through the various "flavas", but I stayed true to the creamy, coconut and- almost from the day she was born- her younger sister has seldom wavered from it too. Danny Castro smiles at me every time she orders it. Judging from the line of kids that snakes its way down Chambers Street, the other flavors have fans: Rainbow will remind you of "Pixie Stix", "Mango" is smooth and tropical. Cherry is tart and intense. Sometimes he'll have specials like Tamarind or Strawberry/Kiwi--both worth getting.

Danny has a smile for everybody and treats each child like a special connoisseur. I suspect that 30 years from now, when the Tribeca kids have grown and meet up, one of the neighborhood institutions they'll reminisce about will be Danny and his ices. This afternoon,as we walked away, my daughter said, "I don't know what I'd do if Danny wasn't there. Something would really be missing from my life".

You can "catch" him on the northeast corner of Chambers and Greenwich--look for the green and white umbrella. On summer weekends, he sometimes moves to Soho at Prince and Broadway. He's in business from Spring through Fall, weather dependent. No phone, no reservations, just respect the line.

Billy's Bakery Open in Tribeca

Cupcake bake offs, cupcake blogs, cupcake mania! Billy's Bakery to open a location in Tribeca.

Amanzi Tea at Taste of Tribeca

Amanzi Tea, a new tea bar and shop at 166 Chambers Street, is one of the newest participants in this year's Taste of Tribeca (May 16, 2009). Amanzi Tea boasts over 100 custom blends, including Rooibos, Yerba Mate, Herbals and White, Green, Oolong and Black teas. They also serve hot & cold teas, tea smoothies, tea frappes, tea lattes, sparkling tea and bubble teas. Welcome to Tea Paradise!

Saluggi's - New To Taste of Tribeca 2009

Pleasing adults and children alike on a Friday night can be a big balancing act. Luckily, one of our readers found Saluggi's which seemed to satisfy everyone:

Ordered delivery on Friday night and they told us it would be 40 minutes. It was actually 20 minutes Three adults, 4 kids and everyone was impressed. The kids had the regular pie, adults got the Arugala pie and ceasars salad. We had leftovers for lunch, except my daughter who ate a slice after her rice crispies in the morning. I dropped the menus off to my doorman to spread the word and when I came back that evening he was raving about the calamari. One downer is that they are not open on Sundays.

Believe It or Not, I Do Eat at Home

A recommendation from The Fork Lifter:

Those living on the northern edge of Tribeca have a couple new things to celebrate (and no, they did not close down the Holland Tunnel). After months of promise, Grandaisy Bakery is finally open on the corner of Ericsson and West Broadway. Their offerings look simple but are packed with flavor. How else to explain that I walked 4 blocks out of my way for one of their cured-beef sandwiches? I made the mistake of ordering the bread-pudding and now I'm afraid I'll become obsessed. Other notables are the Dulce de Leche torte and the gingersnap cookies with lemon filling.

Potluck Confessions

It was an evening event and I didn't really know the hosts who happened to have a posh river-view apartment on the UES. The invite specified "Finger food-entree. No red wine". Yikes! That's a pretty tall order and there was no way I'd be cooking on a weekday afternoon. Solution? Ring up Tokyo Bay. I had them put together a selection of maki rolls and about an hour later I stopped by to pick up their beautifully composed platter. Of course there was no way to pass it off as my own home-cooking, but I prefer to leave the sushi making to the professionals anyway. I represented Downtown very ably that night. And when I got home, I treated myself to a big glass of red wine.

The Best of Tribeca's Wine Stores

On last year's Taste of Tribeca walking tour of neighborhood wine stores I was thrilled to discover Chambers Street Wines. They always have a great selection of limited release wines, as well as filling the need for a great local wine store with affordable, delicious wines for a party.

The Wall Street Journal likes it , too. Click here to read more.

David Bouley Makes Top 10 List

Why does it feel like David Bouley owns Tribeca? Because for more than ten years, he's played musical chairs with various eateries around his favorite city blocks...

So writes Sylvie Bigar in her recent post titled New York's 10 Most Influential People in Food. Click here to read more.

David Bouley

"Few chefs are as closely associated with a neighborhood as David Bouley is with Tribeca..." writes Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite of New York Magazine. Truer words were never spoken-David Bouley has been a big supporter of the annual Taste of Tribeca fundraiser which is just one of the ways he has made his mark in the neighborhood. Click here to read more.

When You Need a Little Something...

Sometimes you just need a little something... Maybe you need to bring something for a party or a morning pick me up. If so, here are a couple of suggestions to help scratch that itch:

Duane Park Patisserie made the cutest cookies for Easter. What a hit with the family when we brought a box over!

Zucker's Bagels is a nice addition to the neighborhood. I always see a friendly face when I stop in to pick up a homemade yogurt or bagel with tuna. The coffee is good too.