Side Dish

ADDITIONS TO THE BAD NAME HALL OF FAME
Hip Hop Chow, Thor, Curly’s Lunch, Dopey Benny’s, MamaGoo’s

THE NOAH’S ARK ROLL CALL
New spots with animal-themed names: Beast, Blue Donkey, Blue Owl, Dash Dogs, Monkey Town, Mule Café, Peacock Alley, Pink Elephant, Tigerland

MOST PROBLEMATIC BIRTH
European Union was slated to open in September, but didn’t get a liquor license, then said bye-bye to chef Anne Burrell and now, finally, is set to open next week—still without a liquor license.

MOST UNEXPECTED CLOSINGS
71 Clinton Fresh Food, Grilled Cheese NYC, Kitchen 82, Meet, Pace, Petrosino, Rhône, Second Avenue Deli

BUT WE WANT TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE
Nightclubs are trying to domesticate us with names like Home, Guest House and Living Room Lounge, not to mention Bed and Duvet.

UP IN FLAMES
Three BBQ joints have burned out in record time: Smoked, RIB and Maroons Smoke Shack.

THE DONALD TRUMP SELF-LOVE AWARD
A passel of quasicelebrity chefs took the eponymous route this year: Telepan, Morimoto, Ureña, Falai. The only twist: Sascha Lyon decided to use his first name.

THE “JUST WHAT WE NEEDED!” AWARD
At the Tribeca Japanese restaurant Ninja, black-robed servers perform tableside magic in a space that evokes an 18th-century mountain village.

THE CHURRASCARIA SCARE
Rio’s, Porcão, JC & Family Brazilian Buffet, Buenos Aires and Carnevale—do we really need a half dozen more South American rodizios?

SMALL FAVORS
Little Branch, Little Bistro, Little Dishes…a little imagination would go a long way.

NEW SPOTS MOST LIKELY TO GET EACH OTHER’S MAIL
Bette and Sette
G Bar, G Lounge and G Spa & Lounge
Mainland and Mainland India
Jovia and Obivia
Haku and Taku
Uva and Yuva

CHAIN REACTION
P.J. Clarke’s cloned itself in the World Financial Center, Nobu launched Nobu 57 in midtown, Mary’s Fish Camp pitched a tent in Park Slope, and Cafe Habana opened Habana Outpost in Fort Greene.

WE HOPE THAT’S NOT THE ONLY THING ON THE MENU
New mono-monikered destinations: Beet, Ginger, Sorrel, Egg, Mint and Gravy