Chatham Square Restaurant Felled by Health Department

A reader tells us that Chatham Square Restaurant has been temporarily shuttered by the Department of Health. Strangely, no violations were recorded during a January inspection, which might explain why, just an hour ago, employees were milling around in what you might call a state of “sticker shock.” They might want to jump on one of the Atlantic City buses outside, to make back whatever tip money they’re going to lose while management puts its house in order.

Our Fourth of July Gift to You: Sweet Rooftop Action

Yesterday we checked in on the Brass Monkey’s new roof deck — it was a bit crowded, as rooftops tend to be this time of year! How are the others fairing? We dispatched our videographer, Matthew Waxman, to five recently-opened ones — Studio B, Salon de Ning, Eden, the Pool Deck at the Empire Hotel, and Highbar — to check in on the after-work scenes. We’re hoping this will put you in the holiday spirit so that you won’t miss Grub Street too much— we’re gone fishin’ starting now. See you Monday, barring any debilitating grilling accidents.

‘Food Party’ Creator Reveals Backstage Secrets

Thu Tran, the Brooklyn artist who created and stars in Food Party, our new favorite cooking show, isn't as mysterious to us today as she was yesterday. Tran, it turns out, is a glassblowing instructor who lives in Bed-Stuy. But her real vocation (at least to us) is Food Party. The show, which we wrote about yesterday, is a surreal admixture of puppets, weird special effects, and, yes, cooking. Three episodes have been made over the past year and a half, and a fourth comes out this fall. Tran, who cites “Pee Wee's Playhouse, Sesame Street, Martha Stewart, Yan Can Cook, John Woo movies, and Abba videos” as influences, says that a lot of work goes into each episode. “It took two and a half weeks just to build the sets for the last one,” says Tran. “I have a bunch of friends who help me with it. But then I needed another seven people just to work puppets.” The costs of Food Party are low, though: “it only cost me $600 to make. A lot of friends helped, and I fed them a big soup pot full of mashed potatoes and a case of beer.”

Have Models Turned Rose Bar into the World’s Fanciest High School Cafeteria?

In an ABC News piece about “the ugly side of modeling,” Noel Ashman said, “Everyone wants a piece of them.” Ironic, since our old friend Baird Jones once told us that Ashman’s club, The Plumm, is notorious for planting young models at tables. Just how heated does the model grab get? Blogger Chipping Mademoiselle, who was at Rose Bar recently, describes a “turf war” over the matter of “who has the best girls (more famous models) at their table, and who can convince more girls to ‘switch sides.’” Case in point: “Bridgette, one of the girls at my table, tells me that she knows the promoters next to us. Yet, because she is at another table, they refuse to acknowledge her existence when she says hi! But had she not been with a group of models, they would have been very, ‘Oh hi darling,’ with her.” Ew. At least in the high school cafeteria, Tang didn’t cost $20.

Will This Year’s Hot-Dog-Eating Contest Just Not Be the Same?

The Brooklyn Paper touched on Takeru Kobayashi’s health problems, but an ABC News profile of the Tsunami goes more in depth about the turmoil he’s faced since his mother passed away in March of 2007. It’s going to be harder than ever to root against the poor guy, especially since his “jawthritis” prevents him from using his much feared “Solomon method” of demolishing hot dogs two at a time. Perhaps he’ll take a page from the book of Crazy Legs Conti and Tim “Eater X” Janus, who are profiled in a Voice piece— maybe he’ll resort to the “reverse bunning” method that Crazy Legs also discussed in his New York Diet. Either way, with the contest down from twelve minutes to ten this year (not to mention a forecast of rain), it’s just not going to be the same — especially with the Wall Street Journal putting still more of a damper on things by pointing to a study that indicates that competitive eaters risk the possibility of permanently stretching their stomachs to the point of needing surgery. And then there’s the real tragedy: that Daniel “Mosca” Maurer will not be at the table this year. Sigh.

No Red Hook Vendors This Weekend, But Still Plenty to Eat

We won't be eating any papusas, tacos, or plastic-cup ceviche this weekend at the Red Hook ballfields. Vendor rep Cesar Fuentes confirms that the vendors still haven't gotten everything straightened out with the DOH. “We expect to clear our last compliance burdens … next week and hopefully open our season either the weekend of July 12th or July 19th,” Fuentes says, disappointing hungry New Yorkers everywhere. (Previously, he had said that he hoped to be open by the last week in June or the first week in July.) On the other hand, there is no shortage of weekend food events. Over at the Strong Buzz you'll find a useful roundup, which includes a backyard BBQ at Back Forty, a lobster boil at Elizabeth, and a clam bake at Jane. None of these are any substitute for the Red Hook vendors, but they may have to do.

E. Coli Outbreak Compounds Food Fears; Ed Witt Opening 88 Bloomingdale Road in August

Rusty Knot Gets Taken Down Like A Ship’s Mast

Kobayashi’s Presence at Hot Dog–Eating Contest Makes Waves

Gersh Kuntzman, the former New York Post columnist now editing The Brooklyn Paper, is up in arms about this weekend's Nathan's hot dog–eating contest. Takeru Kobayashi, the six-time champion and global face of the sport, is competing without having won a regional qualifier. “I think the whole thing stinks,” Kuntzman writes. It's not just that Kobayashi is being given a technical pass, in recognition of his universally-admitted status as a contender. The Tsunami, as he's called, hasn't done any competitive eating since October, and still suffers from the so-called jawthritis that has crippled his career. We don't agree with Kuntzman. A Nathan's contest without Kobayashi would be like a Mermaid Parade with fully-dressed women, or a Nathan's that only serves soy dogs. Sick or well, contending or not, America needs Kobayahsi — if only so current champion Joey Chestnut can wallop him again.

Early retirement is a false idol