A “bistro Francais moderne” has left foodie row. Taureau, a quiet BYOB spot that opened in 2010 and specializes in cheese and chocolate fondues, has moved to 558 Broome Street. The Local noticed a sign up this morning announcing its move from East Seventh Street, between First Street and Avenue A. Don’t worry: you can still do fondue at the Bourgeois Pig on the same block, and also at newcomer Heidi.
A couple of blocks over, I Coppi, an Italian restaurant on East Ninth Street, has also closed, taking its lovely back garden with it. Civil Court documents spotted by The Local over the weekend and dated Sept. 7 indicate that the neighborhood longtimer, which opened in 1998, allegedly owes at least $37,600 in back rent. Calls to the owner, Lorella Innocenti, and the listed claimant, Daria Genza, have not yet been returned.
Jehangir Mehta, best known as a memorable contestant on “The Next Iron Chef,” is planning to serve the gamey delicacy with an onion confit when he opens Graffiti Me next to his restaurant of five years, Graffiti. He said preparing brains is “as easy as slapping together a ham and cheese sandwich.”
The Local spotted a fresh coat of bright orange paint today on the 10th Street storefront that previously held bridal boutique Atelier Muse. Mr. Mehta is transforming the narrow space into a casual-cozy restaurant that he said would “literally look like your living room.” Though no graffiti will adorn the walls, chandeliers will create a “Bohemian chic” vibe. Lobster soufflé and bone marrow with fennel relish will be among dishes included on the three-course, $30 tasting menu. Read more…
A couple of troubled establishments on Avenue A have closed, and it’s uncertain whether they’ll reopen. A sign on the window of Diablo Royale Este indicates the Mexican spot is closed “until further notice” and redirects patrons to the West Village original. And a reader uses our Virtual Assignment Desk to express concern about Bar on A, also between 10th and 11th Streets: “The last couple times I’ve walked by it’s been closed,” writes the tipster. The bar’s outgoing phone message indicates, without explanation, that it is indeed “temporarily closed.”
Both businesses had a troubled history. Bar on A’s owner, Bob Scarrano, died in 2010 after surgery to address esophageal cancer, and his widow fell behind on the rent, according to an associate of the bar who spoke to The Local in May. That associate said at the time that an upstairs neighbor had called 311 numerous times in an attempt to shut down the bar. The neighbor said she was only trying to resolve “excessive noise” issues. In July, EV Grieve noticed a listing indicating that bar’s space was on the market.
Diablo Royale’s headaches were similar: during an acrimonious community board meeting last November, neighbors who had been complaining of noise since 2010 accused the restaurant of “contributing to turning Avenue A into a booze-filled entertainment zone.” Read more…
Porsena’s next-door bar will open tomorrow for lunch and dinner. The Local spotted chef-owner Sara Jenkins prepping Extra Bar this evening, and a Tumblr page lists the small plates (e.g. lemon potatoes with caviar and Surryano ham with spicy greens) that will comprise the “fleeting and changing menu, reflecting inspirations from the Mediterranean, random travels by Sara, and found ingredients.” Ms. Jenkins said the narrow space, which is made up mostly of a bar and boasts a map of Rome on one wall, won’t be ready for photos until Friday; in the meantime the chef has been posting images of dishes such as yellowfin tuna puttanesca, gulf shrimp and black spaghetti, and a salad of yellow zucchini, tomatoes, lemon vinaigrette, pecorino Romano, herbs. See Porsena’s Twitter feed for more.
When we last updated you on Porsena’s annex in July, Ms. Jenkins had a few words for Porchetta.Hog, the relative newcomer that she said was “so pathetically copying” her other joint on Seventh Street, Porchetta. Well, guess what? A sign on the door of that fine establishment indicates, without explanation, that the place is “temporarily closed.” A call to the restaurant went unanswered.
Further down Seventh Street, Greek favorite Pylos is also temporarily closed – “for renovation,” according to a sign on the door. Work was being done at the restaurant this evening and an outgoing phone message indicated it would reopen Sept. 8.
Update | 11:00 p.m. Porsena has sent over its lunch and dinner menus, below.
Can we tell you about a couple of completely insane additions to the menu?
Daniel MaurerCheesesteak on a bagel
First off, Tompkins Square Bagels is running a “Philly cheesesteak on a bagel” special today. As impressive as it looks (at right), it’s to be expected of the place that brought you the infamous bagel burger. What really blows are minds and will probably pop our buttons is this: L’asso EV, itself no stranger to experimental bagels, is adding a trio of Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas to its menu, and one of them, called the Big Muff, is the pizza version of that New Orleans meat monster, the muffuletta.
We happen to have a soft spot for the muffuletta, and apparently so does L’asso’s owner Robert Benevenga, who after his last trip to N’awlins, came up with the idea of a pizza version of the sandwich. Of course, New Orleans-inspired pizza is nothing new (Two Boots, anyone?) but this is really something special: a two-inch pie formed in a buttered deep-dish pan in the following calorific manner: layers of soppressata, caciocavallo cheese, mortadella, and capicola are covered by a bed of mozzarella and then a slathering of the obligatory giardiniera, consisting of pickled olives, carrots, celery, red onions, cauliflower florets and peppers. The process is repeated all over again and then – “to add color,” says chef Joseph Lee – the pie is topped off with yet more mortadella.
The Big Muff, $16, debuts at L’asso EV on Tuesday along with a deep-dish meatball pie. You can see that one in The Local’s Flickr pool.
The new Starbucks isn’t the only one that got signage today. The Local spotted workers putting up new awnings at the former Meatball Factory, which, as expected, will become a seafood joint.
Robert McRae, a contractor, said he had returned the Meatball Factory space at 14th Street and Second Avenue “almost to normal” after its brief time as a psychedelic art café, restoring the bar to its original state and so on. Soon, he said, fishing nets and perhaps a “pirate’s wheel” will decorate the place, which is set to open Sept. 7.
Back in February we got a first look at two enlarged buildings as they came out from under plywood. Today, there’s progress at both of them.
Just minutes ago, workers were spotted hoisting signage for the Starbucks going into 219 First Avenue, at the corner of 13th Street. A contractor said the store may open next week.
As you can see in our slideshow, this ‘bucks won’t have discrete lettering like the “neighborhood Starbucks” that replaced the Bean farther down First Avenue. Nope, it’s old-school all the way!
And over at 100 Third Avenue, the (bi-level!) space that will soon house the new Nevada Smiths has been revealed. Clearly, it’s still very much under construction. We’ve asked the owners of Nevada’s, who were back in front of the Community Board 3 last week, for their latest opening date. We’ll let you know what we hear.
Update | 11:20 a.m. Patrick McCarthy, owner of Nevada Smiths, has now told us he’s shooting for “sometime in October,” with the floor hopefully going in tomorrow. “Oh my God, it’s a big place,” he said.
The folks at Maharlika posted photos today of last weekend’s balut-eating contest. (Got a strong stomach? There’s video, too.) The man you see here is winner Wayne Algenio, who ate 18 fertilized duck embryos in five minutes. A spokesperson for Maharlika said, “We created a great way to introduce the public to Filipino food as well as saw a champion rise.” Hopefully that’s all that came up.
Stephen Rex BrownHan Joo is close to opening, pending city
permits.
A popular Korean barbecue joint in Flushing, Queens aims to open an outpost on St. Marks Place next month.
Co-owner Daeyoung Kim said that construction of the East Village location of Han Joo is on schedule, but that he was still waiting on an assortment of city permits. Previously, a sock shop named Sox in the City occupied the space at 12 St. Marks Place.
Taking a break from building the restaurant, Mr. Kim touted the Flushing location’s reputation, noting its crystal grill, and the naeng-myun cold noodle soup. The latter is the restaurant’s specialty, though an assortment of reviews rave about the grilled pork belly.
“It’s really famous,” Mr. Kim said of the restaurant that opened in 2001.
Lobster Joint, which opened in Greenpoint last year and set up a concession stand in Rockaway Beach this summer, wants to sink its claws into the home of French bistro Lina Frey on East Houston Street.
Yesterday afternoon the seafood spot’s owner, lifelong Greenpointer Thomas Chabrowshi, chased local residents through a sea of tourists standing in front of Katz’s. He was looking for their support in the transfer of a liquor license at 201 East Houston Street, near Ludlow Street. Read more…
Paul Krug wanted to open a Seattle-style teriyaki joint in the East Village, where he had lived for most of his ten years in New York. But the Emerald City native couldn’t find the perfect lease, so he settled in midtown instead. Two years later, he’s finally giving it a go just below 14th Street.
The second outpost of Glaze Teriyaki Grill opened today at 139 Fourth Avenue – right next to another narrow takeout joint, Dos Toros – in a building where Mr. Krug once lived (he’s now a couple of minutes away).
“We never intended to go to midtown first. We always wanted to go down here,” said the restaurateur.
Maharlika just released this amazing video promoting its balut-eating competition at the Dekalb Market this weekend. The Filipino snack strikes fear in the heart – or at least, queasiness in the stomach – of many (just watch East Villager Josh Ozersky lose his cool at the sight of a fertilized duck embryo being pulled from its shell), but according to chef-owner Miguel Trinidad, 20 brave souls have signed up to see how many eggs they can suck down in a five-minute span.
The pressure is on for the 10 who will take the stage: according to the chef, there’s been interest from Guinness World Records. No less than 300 eggs will be at the ready this Saturday (they’ll also be sold to spectators for $3 a pop). Mr. Trinidad said a friend of the restaurant has already done a test-run, and managed to down 25 eggs in five minutes. “He felt fine,” said the chef.
By the way, this isn’t the only gastronomic showdown involving an East Village restaurant. A reader uses the Virtual Assignment Desk to send word of an Iron Chef-style cooking competition at the Tompkins Square Greenmarket. Read more…
Just a quick update from pizza land: a sign on the door of Pomodoro Pizzeria says it will be closed for three weeks for “cosmetic work and cleaning.” It’s uncertain when the note was posted or whether the spelling of “Pizzaria” will finally be corrected.
Maybe Pomodoro is feeling the heat from its new neighbor on Second Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets? Michael White’s Nicoletta just got outdoor seats, as you can see above.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, a sidewalk barker with a bullhorn (hey, it’s hard to be heard above the construction noises from 51 Astor) was handing out “VIP Customer” cards for 15 percent off at another newcomer, Little Italy Pizza. She also noted that the place sells bottled water. (But does it contain supplements?)
And finally, signage for a new location of Joey Pepperoni’s Pizza, a chain that sells slices for $1, has gone up at 222 First Avenue, between 13th and 14th Streets.
Sure, everyone associates Rockaway Beach with the Rockabus‘s home base of Williamsburg, but fact is, there’s also an East Village connection that goes all the way back to the Ramones song: Caracas has an outpost on the boardwalk, and Jeremy Spector of the Brindle Room serves up Donkey Punch Pizza nearby. Oh, and the folks who operate the Veggie Island farmstand keep an apartment on 12th Street. (And then there’s these dudes!) So it should be no surprise that Back Forty is joining the bunch, at least for a couple of days.
This Saturday and the next, you can enjoy the place’s wildly popular crab boil (currently in full effect at the Avenue B location) on the boardwalk, at the Beach 96th Street concession stand. From 5 p.m. till 10 p.m. (or whenever the crabs run out), $25 gets you a half dozen spiced jimmies (and a mallet to hammer them with), two ears of corn, and steamed potatoes. Plus, bands including Kyp Malone’s TV on the Radio side project, Rain Machine, will perform starting at 4 p.m.
If you can’t make it, mark your calendar for Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 – that’s when Back Forty will end the season with five consecutive nights of crab boils at the East Village location. Pre-paid reservations will go on sale here next Wednesday.
A new pizza joint opened at 23 Third Avenue today, right around the corner from where 2 Bros. started experimenting with $1.50 slices last week.
St. Marks Pizza is slinging pies in the former home of Tahini. Earlier this year chef Michael Huynh told Eater that he planned to open a restaurant serving cheese steaks in the space, though that idea apparently went nowhere. (Elsewhere in Mr. Huynh’s universe, Eater breaks news that BaoBQ has officially closed on First Avenue.)
Now, St. Marks Pizza is serving fairly standard fare. Several signs trumpet “Little Italy Pizza” (right here in the East Village!) A slice goes for $2.75. Read more…
Back in June, Paul Gerard, the chef who took over the short-lived Zi’Pep space on Ninth Street, told us he would open Exchange Alley with Billy Gilroy, a partner in West Village hotspot Employees Only. So what does “New York with a New Orleans flair” look like? Watch our video of yesterday’s opening night festivities to find out.
Yesterday Mr. Gerard, who was a chef in New Orleans before most recently serving as chef of Soho House, said he would be preparing a frequently changing menu using, in part, ingredients from a backyard garden that he hoped would be used by local schoolchildren. “Some days I’m enamored with pasta, other days I’m enamored with tomatoes,” he said. “By the time the tomato season is just about over, I’ll be enamored with root vegetables and game.” The bar, backed by mirror-finished stainless steel, will serve beer-and-wine cocktails till 2 a.m. on weekends.
The walls are decorated with photos of some of Mr. Gerard’s creative inspirations, including downtowners like Lou Reed and Miguel Piñero. The chef is hoping to tap into the new make-up of the neighborhood, which has changed a lot since his younger days living in Alphabet City. Read more…
Rob Harding left his job in marketing to start a food truck in Texas and now he wants to bring his pierogies back home to the East Village.
After he got laid off from a gig at Groupon, the 39-year-old and his girlfriend, Britney Lukowsky, 30, moved to Austin, Tex. to launch Hill Country Pierogi last September. The truck, currently on summer hiatus, serves a traditional potato pierogi based on a recipe handed down by Ms. Lukowsky’s Polish family, as well as out-there varieties like chorizo and kimchi pork.
Last week, Mr. Harding posted an ad on Craigslist indicating that he was looking for an investor for a small brick-and-mortar takeout shop (a la Dumpling Man) in the East Village. That’s right, he wants to bring his pierogies right into Veselka’s backyard. Read more…
Here’s one more late-August bar opening: The Beagle on Avenue A will reopen its doors in two weeks with a new look and a focus on the cocktails that Jim Meehan of PDT likes so much.
The Beagle’s cream-colored walls and tables have been replaced with dark blue paint, new blue glass doors, and booth seats. Its owners Matt Piacentini and Dan Greenbaum said their goal is to create a “cocktail den,” moving the space away from its previous status as half-bar, half-restaurant.
“We’re going for that intimate, cozy feel,” he said. “Making it somewhere where it’s a little more fun and easy to hang out.”
Mr. Piacentini said a new menu of cocktails and charcuterie would be “more approachable” but that the specifics were still in the works. One thing is certain: “There will be a lot of sherry,” he said.
Speaking of new incarnations of old favorites: a sign on the doors of Josie’s, in the former home of Joe’s, says “opening soon,” and its owners told The Local today to expect a debut in about two weeks. The bar on Sixth Street near Avenue B, which the owners of Mona’s had hoped would open mid-July, is still undergoing extensive renovations, but partner Fred Brown said that replicas of the bar’s old red-and-black floor tiles and patterned wallpaper are on their way. A spokesperson for the State Liquor Authority said the full liquor license has been conditionally approved pending completion of construction and paperwork.
Blackbird will open in the former Lakeside Lounge space next week with seasonal cocktails on offer and a longtime CBGB bartender at the helm.
As The Local revealed last month, the new bar’s principal owner is Laura McCarthy, an original partner in Lakeside who also helps run Bowery Electric, HiFi, and Niagara. Her operating managers will be Maria Devitt, a neighborhood bartender for over 15 years, including a 10-year stint at CBGB; Jesse Malin, who is also a partner in Niagara and Bowery Electric; and Mr. Malin’s bandmate in D Generation, Danny Sage.
During a stop-in earlier today, it was clear the former Lakeside space was getting a major makeover (ongoing construction has delayed a friends-and-family opening planned for tonight). Ms. Devitt said a new black-and-white look, which she described as “60s rock and roll,” would appeal to a broader audience.
“I said, ‘Let’s make it a place where girls want to go – have bathrooms that work and don’t smell horrible,’” she told The Local. “People say, ‘I love a dive bar. I love that it’s dirty and all that.’ And I enjoy it too – but I have to be pretty drunk to enjoy that.” Read more…
The Local was a journalistic collaboration designed to reflect the richness of the East Village, report on its issues and concerns, give voice to its people and create a space for our neighbors to tell stories about themselves. It was operated by the students and faculty of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, in collaboration with The New York Times, which provides supervision to ensure that the blog remains impartial, reporting-based, thorough and rooted in Times standards. Read more »
Suzanne Rozdeba
