Zum Schneider Turns 11
Posted on | August 19, 2011 | 1 Comment
Despite the rain yesterday, the gang at Zum Schneider celebrated their 11th birthday in grand style. I passed by around 7pm & everyone was rocking Bavarian attire & tending to the suckling pig that was spinning quite happily outside.
I returned after 10pm from the Wok+Wine event & said pig was still roasting. Inside, the party was in full swing with a full band & girls dancing on the bar. Zum still remains one of my go to spots, if you haven’t been there yet, you’re really missing out.
More Zum here.
Zum Schneider (107 Avenue C @ 7th Street)
Balaboosta
Posted on | August 18, 2011 | 2 Comments
Blaboosta, which means ‘perfect housewife’ in Yiddish can best be described as a Middle Eastern Trattoria with Israeli roots (courtesy of Sam Sifton). I had never heard of the place but headed there to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The space is open & airy. It was a slow Sunday & we started at the bar. Everyone ordered sangria, but I found it to be a bit on the tart side so I got a beer. Read more
Casimir Wants You To Get Drunk
Posted on | August 17, 2011 | No Comments
Hot on the tail of ‘Monday Night Steakhouse‘, Casimir’s new owner, Mario Carta, is introducing bottomless Mimosas & Bloody Marys at brunch for $19.95:
NEW YORK- NY On Saturdays and Sundays Casimir is serving brunch with bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys! For only $19.95 you can enjoy their delightful brunch menu and as many of the two brunch beverage favorites as you can drink. Come in between 11am and 4pm and get your Saturday off to a good start or begin your Sunday Funday!
Casimir takes classic French dishes and serves them for brunch, every New Yorker’s favorite meal. Choose from sweet or savory dishes that will fit in with whatever time you make your way to the EastVillageinstitution. The $19.95 brunch menu consists of Fruit Buttermilk Pancakes served with fresh fruit, syrup and sweetened cream, Brioche French Toast with fresh fruit, syrup and sweetened cream, Croque Monsieur or Madame with mixed greens, Granola with fresh fruit and honey yogurt. Feel a little healthier with the Salade Dubarry with fennel, radicchio, mesclun, asparagus and green beans or the Spinach & Chickpea Omelet with garlic roasted potatoes or a Toasted Bagel and Pernod Cured Salmon with tomato, onion and capers. Indulge with Eggs Benedict (Florentine or Scandinavian) with poached eggs, with Bayonne ham or spinach or smoked salmon on top of a toasted muffin with Hollandaise sauce, among other offerings. Not in the mood for a brunch cocktail? Any of the items above can be paired with coffee of tea for $9.95. Casimir also features a la carte brunch offerings that are sure to please.
Visit this classic French eatery which is currently under new management. Mario Carta formerly of Chazel and Leah is applying his decade’s worth of expertise in managing and developing restaurant concepts to Casimir in an effort to revitalize the famed restaurant.
Carta is obviously taking the restaurant in a new direction & possibly trying to compete with Sunburnt Cow a few blocks away which is the only other place that I know of in the East Village that offers endless booze at brunch. You might not recognize any of the new waitstaff, but the kitchen, helmed by Chef Blair Hanlet, is still intact. We’ll have more news later.
Photo by Carbapple
More on Casimir
Casimir: 105 Avenue B between 6th & 7th St.
The Changing Face Of St Marks
Posted on | August 13, 2011 | No Comments
There’s been a lot of food-related activity on St Marks recently. Mõtek, a small restaurant serving coffee & crepes has closed according to EVGrieve. I reviewed the place last November & never returned. Honestly Mõtek, won’t be missed.
Construction at 119 St Marks continues. The Taco Joint was on the 01/11 CB3-SLA docket. Not sure how that went, but there’s some stiff competition for tacos in the neighborhood. La Lucha, Mercadito, San Loco & Snack Dragon (among others) are all firmly entrenched in the East Village)
Further down the street in the former Barbao space, I’ve been hearing rumors that the owner of Tribeca Tavern might be opening a slider bar/restaurant in that space. These construction pictures are a bit old, so we’ll see how that progresses.
RUB BBQ
Posted on | August 3, 2011 | 1 Comment
There’s nothing more satisfying than good BBQ. That feeling of happiness with a stomach full of smoked meat & sticky hands. I don’t eat as much BBQ as I’d like (I reviewed Hill Country recently), but I will admit that this is one of my favorite places. Read more
Food News
Posted on | August 2, 2011 | No Comments
Upstate opens in the East Village, via Grub Street.
Dov Charney gets into the restaurant biz. Via Village Voice.
The secret to The Brindle Room‘s amazing burgers; Deckle Fat. Via Food Curated.
Dwindling vegetable viarieties via National Geographic.
Roberta’s is coming to the East Village. Via Village Voice.
Got any news? email me (see ‘About Page’)!
Duke’s Bar on its last legs?
Posted on | August 2, 2011 | 2 Comments
Duke’s bar on Avenue C has been my haven from huge crowds & douchebags for quite a few years. It’s a low key bar that offered cheap beer, pool, Buck Hunter, darts & a promise of no hassle. A few months ago, the bar lost access to the basement, meaning they had to pull all of their taps & serve bottled beer only. I figured that this was only a hurdle, but the place has been slowly falling apart.
It seems that the owners have let the place fall into disrepair, a precursor to closing the spot. I went there a few nights ago & it’s looking pretty grim. There’s broken tile & dripping water from the ceiling. They are still open for business, but the manager told me that the place is on it’s way out. As a regular, I’ll admit I’ll be sad when they finally throw in the towel.
Odds are that there will be a snooty wine bar in there before then end of the year *sigh*. Avenue C seems to be changing, as evidenced by Banjo Jim’s closing last night.
Exterior shot by EVGrieve
Update: Duke’s is now closed.
Lunch At The Brindle Room
Posted on | July 31, 2011 | No Comments
Lunch can be somewhat boring in the East Village since there aren’t really that many good places that open & serve food before 4pm (I often find myself returning to the same places over & over again) which is why I was excited that The Brindle Room is open for lunch.
I had recently watched Food Curated‘s awesome video on what makes the burger there so good; deckle fat. We arrived around 4:15, right between the lunch & dinner crowds. The Brindle Room opened in May 2010 & is a small space (it was formerly home to Persimmon) with maybe 35 plus a small bar. Read more
Casimir Launches ‘Monday Night Steakhouse’
Posted on | July 29, 2011 | 1 Comment
I mentioned in April that Casimir had been sold & spoke a bit about what changes could be expected. It seems that the new owner has choosen a direction as I got an email from Type A Media on Wednesday (they seem to represent a few East Village & LES restaurants, they clued me up on Bondi Road’s Tattoosdays). From the release:
Who wouldn’t want to treat themselves to a decadent steakhouse dinner? However, steakhouse prices have put this luxury out of reach for more and more diners. But not anymore! East Village French bistro Casimir has introduced Monday Night Steakhouse – a weekly special featuring every steak on its menu for only $9.95!
Starting Monday, July 25, 2011 Monday Night Steakhouse is set to tempt your taste buds without sacrificing your budget. Indulge in 12 ounces of favorites such as ribeye and skirt steak, filet mignon, steak tartare, the juicy Casimir hamburger and even a grilled pork chop – all for the wallet-friendly price of $9.95.
I’ll admit that this looks like a great deal. I’m a huge fan of the steak tartare (although I think that Goat Town does a superior version), the steak there is great (make sure to get the pepper sauce) & the burger is pretty decent. Diners that have been going to Casimir for a while will notice changes though. Since the new owner has taken over, there has been a mass defection by long-time employees.
I was there on Sunday & it just felt different. I didn’t recognize anyone & the service at the bar was pretty bad (the bartender was obviously new & still figuring the place out). Plus they have a new point of sale system that seems to not be working quite right. I got the carpaccio which was delicious as usual so it seems that the kitchen staff is still intact. Still, a $10 Monday night dinner is a great addition to the East Village. As a side note, I heard that Casimir got a C on their initial DOH inspection, but now have a ‘Rating Pending’ sign up. I can’t verify that this is 100% correct, but we’ll see what happens.
Casimir: 108 Ave. between 6th & 7th street. Further info on Casimir here.
Goat Town Puts The Backyard To Work
Posted on | July 28, 2011 | No Comments
I went back to Goat Town (further coverage here) recently & asked about what they planned to do with the backyard. I had thought that they might offer outdoor seating, but turns out that they decided to grow herbs out there. I’m not exactly sure what is growing there, but from the picture, I can see a healthy basil plants & while we was eating, more herbs were being planted. Read more