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Tasty restaurant gossip

Tasty restaurant gossip

No soup for you! No soup for anyone! After less than a year in business, Original Soup Man, an outpost of the Al Yeganeh soup shop that Jerry Seinfeld made famous, has turned off the stove at its Greenpoint location for good. The shop, which was an exciting addition to the humdrum dining options on its stretch of Manhattan Avenue, is now shuttered and locals are saying that high prices — up to $10 for a bowl! — were the kiss of death.

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Kicking off on June 2, Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Brooklyn will host its 31st annual Greek Festival in Downtown Brooklyn. The weeklong event will feature homemade Greek food and pastries in addition to a flea market, games, dancing and raffles.

If the festival, on Schermerhorn Street between Court Street and Boerum Place, leaves you wanting more, take home “What’s Cookin’” ($7), the cookbook filled with recipes from around the globe that the A. Fantis Parochial School put together to commemorate the occasion. Check out recipes for dishes like poached salmon with yogurt-mint sauce or Bulgarian cheese pie — not to mention GO Brooklyn’s special Greek weakness, “moussaka” — a blend of eggplant, ground lamb and tomatoes.

The festival begins at 11 am on Monday, June 2 and continues through June 8. The cookbook is available at the festival or the A. Fantis Parochial School of Sts. Constantine and Helen Cathedral (195 State St. at Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn). For information, call (718) 624-0595.

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The May 31 Brooklyn Pigfest, to be held in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, is shaping up to be quite an event. The eighth annual pork party, a fundraiser for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, will feature slow-cooked whole pigs, ribs, chicken and classic barbecue side dishes courtesy of grill masters Jeff Riley (The Smokin’ Grill) and Sam Barbieri (Waterfront Ale House). Toss in free beer from Brooklyn Brewery and live music from the South Slope String Band and the Cobble Hillbillies, and this promises to be one fine, swine time in DUMBO. Tickets, which are $85 in advance, are still available through www.brooklynbrewery.com.

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After suspending dinner service in the wake of chef Cody Utz’s departure — which was announced exclusively on The Brooklyn Paper’s Web site — Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Label is back with extended hours and a new brand of coffee to keep them awake through the new shifts.

The restaurant is now open until 10 pm from Monday through Thursday, and 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. They’re still closing at 4 pm on Sundays, but as long as you’ve gotten to 180 Franklin St. early enough to grab a bowl of the “Chili Colorado” — the heartiest breakfast in town — and a mug of the new Stumptown coffee (an award-winning brew from Portland, Ore.), you shouldn’t be hungry again — till Monday morning.

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On Wednesday, May 28, DUMBO welcomes back Toro, an Asian fusion restaurant at 1 Front St. that is reopening after two months of renovations. Now with a new interior and kitchen, the restaurant has ditched the Spanish influences on the menu and focuses on Chinese, Japanese and Korean specialties. The updated menu features butternut squash soup, pad Thai, sushi, filet mignon and a collection of lunch specials that might give DUMBO delis a run for their money.

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Uncle Louie G, the ice cream shop with eight Brooklyn locations from Park Slope to Bay Ridge, is opening another outpost. A store is currently under construction on Smith Street between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street. With summer here, we can’t think of a better way to cool down.