Some activity observed around the neighborhood over the holiday.
Kim Davis131 St Mark’s Place.Nino’s, the fixture pizzeria at the corner of St Mark’s Place and Avenue A, was shuttered by the Health Department last month, then seemed briefly to re-emerge as a Lebanese takeaway. A more substantial refurbishment was underway over the weekend: scrawled notices suggested it would become a pizzeria called The Spot. “New menu come 2013.”
Kim DavisBoulton & WattBoulton & Watt, the industrial revolution-styled gastropub at the bottom of Avenue A looks closer to opening with each passing day.
Kim DavisThe Burger Shop–or is it The Village Joker?.Meanwhile, also on St Mark’s, the strange Burger Shop stand-off continues. It’s open, the Burger Shop sign still hangs, the menu and beer selection remain the same–but the garish Village Joker signage also glares. An identity crisis? The burgers are good, anyway, so shield your eyes and step inside.
Noah Fecks The bagel burger at Tompkins Square Bagels did not get a warm reception from our local expert.When we got wind of the bagel burger at Tompkins Square Bagels, we knew just the person to try it. So we called Josh “Mr. Cutlets” Ozersky, the East Villager who wrote “The Hamburger: A History.” Would the bagel burger replace the one at Veselka as his favorite? Or would it be too sacrilegious for a burger purist?
The Bagel Burger at Tompkins Square Bagels has the distinction of combining the worst hamburger in the East Village with one of the most disappointing bagels; but that’s not why I hate it so much. At first, it struck me that the clownishly oversized bagels, as puffy and bloated as parade floats, would actually serve a burger well.
A traditional bagel, which is what I had hoped for, would have been far too dense and chewy for any form of ground beef: a single bite would have sent the meat squishing out to the sides, or swallowed up all its juices entirely.
But one of these augmented, airy confections might be OK. And so they might have been, had not the place chosen to cheap out and serve a gray, pasty puck of meat that woudn’t look out of place in a convenience store refrigerator. Thin as a cat’s ear, without even a hint of taste or moisture, this thing would have been overwhelmed by a slice of wonder bread.
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Stephen Rex Brown The electrifying scene at last night’s meeting.The always-colorful Community Board 3 liquor license committee recommended on Monday night that one of its more outspoken critics not be allowed to serve beer and wine at his restaurant.
The board denied the beer-wine license for Keith Masco’s 24-hour B.A.D. Burger, citing the proximity of other booze-selling establishments, similar restaurants that operate without licenses, and “consistent community opposition.”
“B.A.D. Burger, bad neighbor. Deny them,” said Shawn Chittle, who lives above the restaurant at 171 Avenue A.
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