NYC Restaurants: New Whole Foods + Smuggled Duck Guts

NEW YORK CITY — Only in New York could rattlesnakes and duck guts slither and squirm into the week's food news.

Not all headlines this past week were eye-catching — or stomach-turning, based on your taste — stories about smuggled foodstuffs.

Whole Foods set plans for a smaller grocery, Brooklyn-based bagel shop took a trip to Manhattan and the usual bevy of new eateries all grabbed notice from Patch's small news team.

Feast upon the latest in foodie fun, and come back next week for more.

Whole Foods plans to open a new, small-format urban "quick-shop" store on the Upper East Side.

Dubbed Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, the coming shop at East 69th Street and Third Avenue is a debut for a smaller convenience-forward concept store for the grocer, according to a press release.

The smaller store will still offer basic foodstuffs like produce, meat, seafood, snacks, breads, alcohol and a range of prepared and pre-packed meals, including sandwiches.

Whole Foods currently has 17 stores in New York City, and customers can expect the new store to open sometime this year, the press release states.

But not all good things come in small packages, at least according to a federal criminal complaint.

Smugglers funneled illegal duck and goose guts, blood and other banned foods from China into New York City, in part by concealing the goods under packages of rattlesnakes, prosecutors said.

Those foods, which are banned from import, then made their way into restaurants in the city, authorities said.

Six people were indicted in the smuggling pipeline, prosecutors said.

And New Yorkers waiting to get OK'd for food stamps are in luck.

Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that backlogs for processing food stamps, or SNAP, as well cash assistance applications, have been nearly eliminated.

• New UES Whole Foods Details: Third Ave To Be New, Small-Format Store
• Illegal Duck Guts Smuggled In Rattlesnakes From China To JFK: Feds
• NYC Fixes Food Stamps, Cash Aid Backlogs That Left 50K Waiting: Mayor

A Brooklyn-based bagel shop is coming full circle to Manhattan.

Bagel Point had a soft opening in a new Upper East Site spot this past week.

The Upper East Side also saw other new eateries announce plans to open up shop.

A new sushi spot, Mikado 800, will replace an old sushi spot.

An as-yet-unnamed Mediterranean/Italian eatery will take over a recently shuttered restaurant.

And a new pub — also with a to-be-determined name — will open and spiritually replace its restaurateur's nearby past pub, Brinkley's Station.

Over in Harlem, a longtime Guatemalan chicken joint is opening a new spot.

Pollo Campero, known for their chicken and tasty sides, is set to open next week on West 125th Street.

• Brooklyn Bagel Shop To Open New Upper East Side Spot Wednesday
• New UES Restaurants: Sushi, Mediterranean And A Fancy Pub
• Guatemalan Chicken Spot To Open In Harlem

Finally, health inspectors temporarily shut down two Manhattan restaurants.

• NYC Restaurants Ordered Closed March 1-8