It hasn’t always been easy for Pinnacle.

Today, Pinnacle’s legacy begins a new chapter: not really being Pinnacle. Shane Ferro checked in with some Pinnacle employees who told him that construction is starting this week and will take place this week and continue over winter break. The Space Formerly Known As Pinnacle is now under new management, and something called Uni Cafe will open next week.

The Morningside minutiae in our little Bubble Above 110th Street is what keeps us together. The tiny parts of our neighborhood that make it both boring and wonderful would seem trivial to anyone on the outside. Occasionally, we’ll be taking the time to share the minor details with you.

• The Entitled Sophomores indignantly note that the price of a Brooklyn Lager at 1020 has increased from $3 to $4, and blame it on imagined gentrification.
• Those Perpetually in Fear of Slipping need fear no more. The mats outside Butler have been upgraded to rubber ones with exquisite traction.
• The upgrades continue inside with Blue Java now filling your cup of coffee for you, while Butler Café hosts its own new vending machine.

It’s safe to say that Morningside Heights is the culinary center of America.

Hey, JK! Since the Pinnacle Incident made everyone debate the merits of Cracker Barrel, Bwog is here to quell your foodie nerves: there are new options! The Morningside food openings, renovations, and gossip:

• The vacant storefront formerly known as Empanada Joe’s has been deserted for nearly a year. The spot is one of Morningside urban legend– perhaps some will remember the rise and fall of the Wrapp Factory– nothing that occupies the spot next to Famiglia’s can never stay open. Now Israeli vegeterian falafel chain Maoz is trying its hand: a huge poster with two tanned falafel enthusiasts went up about a week ago, announcing that the internationally successful chain is coming soon to Morningside.

• A new Caribbean and Soul restaurant, Freda’s, recently opened in La Negrita-ville, 993 Columbus and 109th Street. Freda’s offers standard Soul fare, with a menu similar to Miss Mamie’s but cheaper prices. A fried chicken entree, for example, is $7.99 and includes peas, rice and two sides. Freda’s menu also includes a selection of fish, curries, and desserts.

• A new gourmet-ish deli, Crystal Gourmet, has also recently opened on Broadway and 108th Street, serving the genre of slightly high-end deli food that you often find in Midtown. There’s lots of selection, and the prices are reasonable. It’s certainly shinier than its across-the-street neighbor, Famous Deli.

Read more…

Matt Kalish, SEAS ’12, sends in this photo of a shuttered Pinnacle Deli:

The phones happily rang when we tried to call Pinnacle but no one answered. The Department of Health is closed on Sunday and the most recent inspection is not online yet, so use your imagination! Because, as you know, Pinnacle was always spotless.

Update: 1/6 10:30 AM: The most recent inspection details are online now. Save this for after lunch.

One more photo after the jump.

Read more…

If you recall, a while ago Bwog tried it’s hand at Craigslist’s Missed Connections for Columbia students.  While the primary object of longing was Hawkmadinejad, the rest of the student body was not impressed.  However, a tipster showed us that Craigslist had a few Columbia-related connections, just waiting to be brought together.  Bwog, in a rare attempt to give back to the community, is spreading these messages in order to unite these fated lovers.

Lost love in butler – m4w

You worked in butler at the RBML, then one day just disappeared. They said you had quit. Definitely took work down more than one notch.

You-Blonde, tall, wears boots, full of smiles.

Me-Darker blonde, not as tall, totally dressed down…always. Read more…

The battle for frozen yogurt dominance is one that has savagely torn through Morningside since Pinkberry’s arrival in the summer of 2007. Today, we offer a comprehensive look at Columbia’s bitter — well, sweet — rivals in hopes of settling this thing once and for all. (Full disclosure: Your Bwog editor went on a rather unfortunate Tasti bender some years ago, but harbors no ill-will at the current time.)

Tasti D-Lite:

Tasti D-Lite is located right in the heart of Lerner Hall, and is fittingly central to the Columbia froyo identity. It’s Flex-friendly, it’s right here, and it’s been around forever — in froyo years. There are four different flavors each day, the roster of which varies daily. Some appear more than others: Dulce de Leche, French Vanilla, and Tres Leches are perennial favorites. There’s an old saying around the Tasti Lounge that the first bite is always the best, and this is certainly true. Three or four spoonfuls in, all selections have the same flavor: cold. Toppings are nothing to write home about, just sprinkles, peanut butter cups, Oreos, and other mainstays. Still, Tasti provides the illusion of the taste and feel of ice cream without actually containing any of its ingredients in a way that Pinkberry does not.

Read more…

In the past 15 minutes, Bwog has been deluged with news of an evacuation at Pinnacle that happened between 12 and 1 a.m. Apparently, the soggy pizza peddlers have been threatened with a bomb. Tipster Miriam Manber relays that the NYPD is caution-taping the restaurant off; Vedant Misra tells of four squad cars surrounding the eatery. Regular Bwog jokester Alex Weinberg reports that cops on the scene looked “bored” and shrugged the incident off as an “ongoing investigation.”

According to roving reporter Justin Goncalves, police were investigating what the proprietor of Pinnacle called a “suspicious package” incident. According to the owner, Justin reported, a man in the eatery had been acting strangely around a suitcase. He added that Pinnacle employees had vacated the premises and that cops looked to be taping off the rest of the block–between 115th and 114th– as well.

UPDATE: First overheard at the scene:

“I hope it’s a bomb. And it blows up. Because I do not like Pinnacle and I want a new restaurant to go there.”

UPDATE 1:46 AM: A cop on the scene informs Bwog that a suspicious package was discovered several hours ago at Pinnacle. “We’re just investigating,” she said, ushering Bwog down 116th and away from the police tape.

We’ll be updating as more information rolls in.

UPDATE 2:18 AM: The firetrucks, EMT squad, bomb robot and police cars start rolling away. It’s all over folks. And the cause of such commotion? The ever-so-suspicious package? A bag of cameras.

An anonymous Bwog tipster reports this “fuck-you” fest and near fist-fight at everyone’s favorite cardboard-as-pizza joint…

Just letting you guys know that a friend and I had the opportunity to witness a small pre-Halloween brawl at Pinnacle tonight at approximately 2 am. It started when we noticed many expletives coming from the lower level of the eatery. Little did we know when we walked to look over the rail that quite a show was in store. A man (presumably a student) dressed in a tacky 70′s suit and awful chest hair (fake?) was yelling at the Pinnacle owner/manager over a slice of pizza. Apparently he wanted a new slice for free after dropping his slice on the floor, but the manager (who we had never seen so angry before) refused to comply to his wishes and began yelling back at the tacky-costumed customer.

Several of the characters visiting Pinnacle tried to interfere with Tacky 70′s Suit Guy, including his swashbuckling Zorro-sans-mask friend, the Green Giant, a blinged out balla’, a jump-suited convict, and an Asian kid.

However, most of the time Tacky 70′s Suit Guy continued yelling unpleasantries at whoever he could while continuing to argue over his pizza slice with the manager. Somewhere in midst of this the staff at Pinnacle locked and guarded the doors and called the police while several girls became emotional, the “fuck yous” continued getting thrown around at least 40 times, the manager became aggravated to the point of angrily leaving his customed counter and yelling at the various individuals involved, and straws and coffee stirrers were being tossed all over the place.

Around 10 minutes after the incident began the police arrived and people were dispersed. Tacky 70′s Suit Guy and friends were taken outside by police for questioning. It is unclear, however, if any arrests were made, since we figured it was best to get out at that point. The great part: the entire time while this was going on, customers were still slipping past the doors and the rumble to place food orders. I guess the show must go on.

Quote of the evening:

Tacky 70′s Suit Guy: “What, are they going to arrest me for,

dropping a fucking slice of pizza?”

Asian kid: “No, for being a fucking douchebag.”

(Everyone in the restuarant goes hysterical)

Happy Halloween!