Top-tier Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan came out of self-imposed retirement to bring you a unique chance to experience his newest sculpture in a personal and tactile manner, with your butt. Starting May 4th, the Guggenheim will have a fully functional replica of the museum’s standard Kohler toilet in solid 18-karat-gold that you can use.
• The week in reviews: Sam Sifton of the Times pronounces Madangsui the best Korean BBQ in Manhattan and gives it one star; the Post's Steve Cuozzo isn't all that impressed with Le Caprice; Time Out's Jay Cheshes has mixed feelings about Susur Lee's Shang; GQ's Alan Richman heads over to Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield's Breslin; and Gael Greene checks in on Café Boulud.
• It's looking likely that Scott Conant will take over the Table 8 space. [Eater]
• A peek inside the Guggenheim Museum's new restaurant, Wright. [NYT]|
• Nightlife: A new club on West 29th Street called Amnesia debuts tomorrow; and Mike Satsky's meatpacking club Provocateur should open shortly.
• More on the Tavern on the Green auction scheduled for next month. [NYT]
• Time Out lists off the 100 best things to eat and drink in New York. [TONY]
• The Flatiron Indian eatery Tamarind is opening a branch in Tribeca. [Zagat]
• Frank Bruni and Jonathan Safran Foer debated meat last night. [TONY]
• If your kid refuses to eat at McDonald's, watches Iron Chef religiously, and studies up on varieties of cheese, you probably have a "gastrokid." [NYP]
• Didn't crash last month's state dinner? No worries. Marcus Samuelsson's Riingo will offer the same menu he served the Obamas next week. [GS, TONY]
• Closings: Pink Tea Cup in the Village will close its doors next month after 55 years in business; and nearby Gus' Place has been shuttered by the tax cops.
• The Wright, the new eatery inside the Guggenheim, opens on Friday. [Eater]
• East Side Social Club, the new Midtown spot co-owned by photographer Patrick McMullan, is the 2009 version of the Waverly Inn, apparently. [NYP]
• UWS deli Artie's has a new owner and will expand across NYC. [Crain's]
• A handful of local food-related holiday gift ideas for you consideration. [SE]
Most museums across the city have been battered by the economic downturn, as corporations and wealthy donors have cut back on charitable contributions and attendance has declined. One way to make up the difference: Invite people to sleep over at the museum and charge them a good deal for the privilege.
• The Guggenheim is planning to open a restaurant named The Wright inside the museum. [NYT]
• Le Cirque is now morphing into a club on Friday nights. Just don't actually call it a club, though. [GS]
• Former Tailor chef Sam Mason has a new cooking show on Independent Film Channel and reports he may open something new in Brooklyn. [NYT]
• Má Pêche (aka Momofuku Midtown) is serving cocktails. [F&W]
• Is the Department of Health waging a war on pizza? It seems so. [Slice, GS]
• Starbucks is rolling out more of its brand-less coffeehouses. [NYT]
• If you haven't had a chance to get to know Vadim Ponorovsky, the owner of Paradou, please do so. He's a delight, both in print and on the phone. [Gawker]
If you're looking for a cheap but stylish place to put up your relatives this holiday season, you now have a new option to add to the list of possibilities: the Guggenheim. The "theanyspacewhatever" exhibit, which opens today, features a "Revolving Hotel Room," an art installation that doubles as an actual hotel room. The space sleeps two and rates for the room start at just $259 a night, making it as affordable as the Holiday Inn in Midtown.
A new man will be in charge at the Guggenheim beginning on November 4th. The board of the museum officially tapped Richard Armstrong, who recently headed up the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, as its new director. The Kansas City native and modern architecture fan will take over for the controversial, motorcycle-ridin' Thomas Krens. He also happens to be 6'5, in case you were wondering. [NYT]
Guggenheim director Thomas Krens — perhaps inspired by a flurry of less-than-glowing business interactions following a recent Vanity Fair article detailing the museum's woes under his leadership — has put his 4,500-square-foot loft on the market for a wee $5.5 million. The Tribeca penthouse (listed with Corcoran, of course is "sundrenched and glows with natural light." Pity: All that sunshine would certainly help Krens deal with his depression after he's forced to abdicate the GuggenThrone. Er, if. We meant if.
