DONA CLOSES Dona (208 E. 52nd St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-308-0830), the restaurant that features Michael Psilakis’s food and Donatella Arpaia’s service, is closing its doors after service on Saturday.

The building was sold to a real estate group that plans to build a hotel on the block. Restaurant management said everything was going into storage while the restaurant’s operators looked for a space to reopen.

BETTIE’S PLACE Nurse Bettie (106 Norfolk St., between Rivington and Delancey streets, phone line currently being installed) is in its soft-opening phase. The Lower East Side bar, which pays homage to 1950s pin-up legends, most notably Bettie Page, is a joint venture of Naked Earth Café owner Shuki Kazaz and finance-and-marketing guy Stephen Schuler. Beers on tap are $5, bottled ones are $6. Cocktails top out at $9. Music is punk, rock, and alternative. The official opening date is January 18.

HAVE MERCY Mercy Grill (230 Washington St., between 2nd and 3rd streets in Hoboken, 201-239-1400) also is in its soft-opening phase, but plans to go full-steam this week. It is the first restaurant of real estate entrepreneurs Mark Bastanza and Greg Bowlby. The chef is 30-year-old Eddie Montalvo. Menu items include coconut almond shrimp with lemon grass-mango chutney, baked shells-andcheese with pumpkin, and chicken pot pie.

FIND THE FIGURINE Celebrate Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, or the Twelfth day of Christmas, January 6, French-style at Café D’Alsace (1695 Second Ave. at 87th Street, 212-722-5133), which is offering the traditional Galette des Rois, or king cake, from today until next Tuesday. The almond cream-filled pastry traditionally has a ceramic figurine baked into it. Find it, and you get to wear the paper crown that comes with the cake. A slice is $8.50. A whole cake, which serves six, is $50.

CROWN CAKE Celebrate Epiphany Mexican-style at Maya (1191 First Ave., between 64th and 65th streets, 212-585-1818) and Pampano (209 E. 49th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-751-4545), where the Rosca de Reyes, or king cake, is available on January 6 only. The Rosca de Reyes is a sort of giant sweet roll in the shape of a crown. It, too, has a figurine baked in it. Find it, and you win a tamale party for 10 people.

RIINGO IN THE NEW YEAR Riingo (205 E. 45th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-867-4200) is celebrating the new year Japanese-style by offering traditional soba noodles, whose long length are intended to encourage long life and prosperity. They are being served with cherry tomatoes and shrimp, tossed in a jasmine tea vinaigrette and topped with herbs.

The noodles, $14, are available through January 6.

CLEMENTINE COOKING Chef-owner Don Pintabona is cooking with clementines at Dani (333 Hudson St., between Charlton and Vandam streets, 212-633-9333) to bring good luck. Dishes include citrus-cured sardines with clementines and fennel, seared scallops with caramelized cauliflower and clementines, fluke crudo with clementines, sea salt, and pine nuts, and tuna carpaccio with clementines, mint and bottarga. A special cocktail, the Clementina, is made with Plymouth gin, sweet vermouth and clementines.

Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.