stopped at "on the avenue" hotel east of bwy on 77th to inquire about the recently shuttered "fishing eddy" space on the corner. a hotel front desk rep said the space was to become a french restaurant & had been rented to "Daniel"!!?? she pronounced daniel the american way, so i'm not sure if it is THE daniel; although, she did say it was rented to an exclusive french restauranteur...

not sure she knew who or what exactly, but the good news - a new neighborhood restaurant; the better news - competition for the nearby crappily-serviced nice matin, & the trek all the way up to ouest on 84th for overpriced drinks & food, & crappy service; the amazing news - would be if it really is THE daniel.

oddly, i have been thinking about this space for awhile, & thought it would make for an excellent location for a restaurant: perfectly situated, easy to get to, & hopefully filling a void in the immediate neighborhood; & "IF" smart, somewhat of a lesser menu than "DANIEL", perhaps something along the lines of a quatorze bis, which i happen to think is the quintessential bistro in manhattan (obviously those of the la goulue & le bilboquet persuasion would beg to differ)

any info??