(Photo: Liz Clayman)
By now you may have heard that, hot on the heels of opening Westlight on the roof of Williamsburg’s shiny new William Vale hotel, Andrew Carmellini has opened his bottom-floor restaurant, Leuca. Grub Street noted that the Italian spot is serving “New York’s most elegant sundae,” which will surprise no one who’s had the decadent, over-the-top La Fantasia di Doppio Cioccolato at one of the chef’s other spots, Locanda Verde.
(Photo: Liz Clayman)
But a hotel cannot survive on sumptuous sundaes, smoked beets and a Milan-chic dining room alone (though, seriously, look at those mushroom lamps on the bar). That’s why the William Vale is launching Vale Sessions, a new outdoor music series. Sure, it’s November, but here’s hoping the gods of global warming once again bless us with one more 75-degree day when Brooklyn’s own Secret Weapons graces the Vale’s landscaped terrace on Thursday, Nov. 10. (Either that, or let’s hope they’ve converted the pool into an ice-skating rink.) The band is back on its home turf after signing to Epic exactly a year ago and doing Lollapalooza this summer. Tickets are $15, and you’ll want to jump on them if you missed their sold-out show at Rough Trade last week. Also, save a few more ducats for the cheeseburger being served out of an Airstream at Mister Dips. We hear good things.
The hotel is obviously making an effort to honor the culture of its home borough. On Halloween, we were at Westlight as a fire-breather from the Coney Island Circus Sideshow did her thing on the bar’s terrace. (Usually the Fireball is behind the bar– hey-oh!) Kind of a genius move to bring Coney Island to the tourists and save them the F-train ride. And shoutout to the lady dressed as Flo the Progressive Girl. Safe to say we’ve forgiven this place for letting itself be bogarted by Aziz Ansari.