In Brief

Girl Scout Cookies Pop Up - But Without Gluten-Free Option

New Yorkers, rejoice. It's Girl Scout cookie season, but those without knocks on their apartment doors from neighborhood Scouts needn't despair. On March 18, a pop-up Girl Scout cookie shop opened at the Girl Scouts of Greater New York office (43 W. 23rd St.). But those who want to try the new Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Shortbread cookie are out of luck. ABC Bakers, one of only two companies producing Girl Scout cookies, developed the gluten-free variety and released it in limited test markets this year. Little Brownie Bakers, which supplies greater New York's Girl Scout chapter, doesn't have a gluten-free cookie on its roster yet. But fans of Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Thin Mints and other varieties can still snag the familiar boxes of coveted cookies at the pop-up shop through May 8.

Katz's Sues Pastrami Cart

Standing for 125 years and forever etched in the pop culture landscape, Katz's Delicatessen is defending its good name. The famed deli is suing a food truck that it claims is trying to profit off its signature style and name. The food truck, Katz & Dogz, not only shares the Katz name, but also serves an item called a Reuben Orgasm sandwich. For those unfamiliar, this is reference to the famous scene in 1989's romantic comedy classic When Harry Met Sally, when Meg Ryan, who is eating at Katz's Delicatessen, fakes an orgasm, and another customer quips, "I'll have what she's having.

The $1 million suit alleges that these references are too overt to be coincidences. "It has taken over a century of dedication, hard work and consistent customer satisfaction for Katz's Deli to become famous," as stated in the trademark-infringement suit."Defendants' blatant efforts to appropriate plaintiff's business goodwill, name and mark have resulted in plaintiff being associated with food products and restaurant services over which the plaintiff has no control."

Lisa's Pizza Closes

Lisa's Pizza, which has been operating since the 1980s in the Financial District, closed its doors permanently last month. Neighbors of the pizzaria, located at 76 Fulton Street, said that its closure was due in part to a decline in business and hefty rent increases in the area.

The pizza joint is another casualty downtown, and in the city as a whole, of rising retail rents, and its closure continues a pattern of casual Italian eateries being forced out in the Financial District. Late last year, Pizza and Pasta at 77 Fulton Street, right across from Lisa's, also closed, after 34 years in business. The owner, Michael Magliulo, had been asked to leave so that the landlord could combine the space with a vacant storefront next door and rent out both.