Neighborhood Watch

Two Boots Throws Itself a Birthday Bash; ‘21’ Club Adds Suds

Chelsea: Haven’s Kitchen, a “recreational cooking school,” store, eatery, party space, and rooftop nature haven is opening this month at 109 West 17th Street. Chefs like Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune will lead the cooking classes, which are aimed at teaching approachable dishes, not restaurant fare. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
Slow Food and Slow Food NYC sponsor the first English version of the Slow Wine Guide at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street on January 30. More than 60 Slow Wine producers showcase 140 wines in a walk-around wine tasting with light food pairings. Tickets here. [Edible Manhattan]
East Village: Two Boots East Village kicks off a 25-event extravaganza tonight at 6 p.m. for its 25th anniversary with a jumble of entertainment celebrating the neighborhood. [EV Grieve]

Financial District/Battery Park: Starting January 16, SHO’s Shaun Hergatt is cooking his version of hot cocoa for the cold snap — house-made cocoa pappardelle soup with broccolini and salt-cured egg yolk — plus other extravagant constructions for the launch of his winter prix fixe menu. [Grub Street]
Jersey: The Cuban, a new restaurant and bar with bold and seasonal Cuban cooking, is set to open January 17 in downtown Hoboken. Executive chef Alexis Lahens calls the restaurant a return to traditional eating — but the menu perks include fresh takes like grilled Spanish octopus with an olive-potato purée. Located at 333 Washington Street, the Cuban has a late-night bar Thursdays through Saturdays until 2 a.m. [Grub Street]
Lower East Side: Health inspectors shuttered Congee Bowery on January 9 after they issued seven Health Department violations — five of them critical. The Chinese eatery at 207 Bowery, which has a sister on 98 Bowery, garnered 55 points for sins like improper holding temperatures for both hot and cold food items, evidence of mice and roaches, and unsanitary food surfaces. [Lo-Down]
Midtown:’21’ Club will offer beers on tap for the first time since it opened four score and two years ago: Just in time for the 90th anniversary of the birth of Prohibition, Bar ‘21’ will launch Bar 21 on Tap on January 17 with a Brooklyn Brewery night. A $45 ticket buys three Brooklyn pints paired with bar bites like homemade rabbit sausage and mini lobster “tacos.” The ongoing series will feature a different brewery one to two times a month. [Grub Street]
Get a taste of wine’s role in U.S. culinary culture and the life of Robert Mondavi, the Napa Valley vintner, at a panel discussion on January 23 at 6 p.m. Join the panel of authors, a New York Times wine columnist, culinary historian, sommelier, and wine consultant at the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center in Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, second floor. Admission is $5 and free to all members of the New School community with I.D. at the door or box office. For reservations and inquiries, e-mail boxoffice@newschool.edu or call 212-229-5488. [Grub Street]

Two Boots Throws Itself a Birthday Bash; ‘21’ Club Adds Suds