Daniel MaurerGood morning, East Village.
Your “neighborhood” Starbucks opened today in the Bean’s former home at First Avenue and Third Street. Hours are from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday (it closes at 10 p.m. on Sundays) and wireless won’t be installed for another few weeks. So much for our plans to liveblog the coffee shop’s first day. And three blocks north, the Subway between Sixth and Seventh Streets has opened.
On Friday night, Marco Canora, the owner of Hearth, tweeted, “Yes that’s a cab that just ran into the corner of HEARTH restaurant. Scared the hell out of our guests.” According to Eater, there were no injuries.
Pavement Pieces speaks to Larry Jackson, a 56-year-old homeless man who sells cigarettes in Tompkins Square Park and sleeps on the banks of the East River. “After losing his ‘dream job’ as mortician in sunny Los Angeles, Jackson hitchhiked across the country, arriving in New York City on his last dollar and dying hope for work just eight months ago.”
Lionel Rogosin’s 1956 film “On the Bowery” is now available on DVD. According to the L.A. Times, the film is “a time capsule in at least two senses: a portrait of a hand-to-mouth existence of a once-notorious New York City thoroughfare, as well as a glimpse into a largely forgotten byway of American documentary film.” Michael Wilson of The New York Times points out that much has changed since the movie was filmed in 1955: “Near the spot where Mr. Hendricks died stands a Whole Foods market, an art gallery and a hotel that, for a room tonight, has rates starting at $355. The biggest headache the police face is grand larcenies in crowded nightclubs, and noise complaints.”
Profiling the “last surviving punk rock boutique in New York City,” Business Insider notes that Trash & Vaudeville “helped Madonna’s stylists put together the Super Bowl look.”
Eater notices that Momofuku Milk Bar’s delivery menu features “a date night party pack, which is two pork or veggie buns, two slices of crack pie, and six beers for $32.”
Safe to say Handsome Dick Manitoba isn’t a fan of Death & Co. On the Maniblog, he writes: “Some insipid pretentious place called Death something, on E. 6th street , has a line a people waiting to ‘get in’ ….this is not the new Meatpacking thing or Bowery rich folks thing, just some UNBELIEVABLY PRETENTIOUS INSIPID joint on East 6th Street!!!!”
The Daily Meal compares Tompkins Square Bagels to a trio of stalwarts and decides: ‘Tompkins Square Bagels easily beats out Bagel Boss and David’s. They may not be as good as Ess-A-Bagel, but it’s close, and Ess-A has only been around since, oh, 1976.”
Eater rounds up some early reviews of Empellon Cocina: “According to the early word from Yelpers, bloggers, tweeters, and commenters, the menu of inventive and often modern small plates can be a bit pricey and service can be spotty, but the food is getting raves across the board.”
Fork in the Road raves about the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant’s potato pancakes: “Quite frankly, these are the lightest, most delicate potato pancakes we’ve ever sampled, which was a shock given that they look rather dense on first glance.”
Finally, a couple of Presidents Day deals: According to Eater, Spina is offering $5 bottles of prosecco with food purchase. And tomorrow, per Grub Street, Forcella is offering margherita pizzas for $2.
