East Village loses 2 Southern Food mainstays
Posted on | March 30, 2011 | 2 Comments
Hot on the heels of Eater.com reporting that Acme Bar & Grill (9 Great Jones Street) will be closing for much needed renovations, East Village blog EVGrieve reports that Mara’s Homemade (342 East 6th Street) will be closing for good at the end of April. The owners of Mara’s (who have been at the current location for 7 years) blame the BP oil spill, rising rents & the newly installed 1st Avenue bike lanes (not sure what that has to do with anything).
Acme’s owner, Bob Pollock is claiming that the restaurant will reopen, but odds are that it will not be the same restaurant that it has been for the past 25 years. I spoke to a former employee recently who went in to work as usual, only to find that he no longer had a job. The latest rumors are that Acme will reopen as a completely new, upscale restaurant with new staff, a new menu & higher prices.
Both of these restaurants served excellent food & they will be missed.
Update: Acme is open.
Update: Mara’s Homemade is now Toucan & The Lion.
Update: Acme will be reopening as an upscale farm to table restaurant.
Image via Grub Street.
Singa’s Shutters
Posted on | March 29, 2011 | 2 Comments
Singa’s Famous Pizza (94 Avenue C @ 6th Street review here) that opened to little fanfare just over a year ago has shuttered & is closed for renovations. The pizza there wasn’t anything to write home about, the service was snail-slow & with Gruppo, Two Boots & even Papa John’s around, I really saw no need to go there at all. The sign says that it’s under new management, so hopefully something worthwhile will take it’s place. I’ll post news as it breaks…
A Return to Goat Town
Posted on | March 28, 2011 | No Comments
I’ve been posting quite a bit about Goat Town (511 East 5th Street between Avenue A & B) in the past few months because I really would like to see the restaurant do well. I’ll admit that the food is not ‘knock your socks off’ amazing, but there are a few dishes that they do very well & keep me coming back for more.
I’ve reviewed my New Years Eve meal & a regular sit-down dinner (here), so I wanted to take a look at the bar happy hour bar menu & a few new items that are available. The bar menu (4-7pm) has a few additions; Beer (domestic) & a Burger for $14 or 1/2 dozen Oysters & a Muscadet for $20. The strange thing is though, if you don’t ask for the bar menu, you’ll get the regular one & never know about these deals. Read more
Murray’s Cheese Shop
Posted on | March 25, 2011 | 1 Comment
I’m actually very upset that it has taken me this long to finally go to Murray’s (254 Bleeker Street off of Leroy St.). I’m so hooked on East Village Cheese that I neglected to go to one of the city’s best cheese shops but a few weeks ago they were doing a cheese & Kelso Beer tasting so I jumped at the chance. Read more
Zum Schneider Revisited
Posted on | March 21, 2011 | No Comments
I poke fun at Zum Schneider (107 Avenue C @ 7th Street) quite a bit due to the noise it generates, massive lines, Oktoberfest Madness & the ‘popped collar’ brunch crowd, but I will admit that I love that place. I live just around the corner on 7th Street & with the weather warming up, it’s great to see that the outdoor tables have sprung up. Read more
Jin Restaurant Revisited
Posted on | March 13, 2011 | No Comments
The food at Jin (252 Broome Street between Ludlow & Orchard Street) is way too good for just a single visit, so after a few months away, I went back for a second review. Luckily the Happy Hour special was still in full swing when we arrived. From 3:30-7pm during the week, there are several items on the menu for the reduced price of $3. These include wine, beer, salads, rolls & appetizers. Read more
Vanessa’s Dumpling House
Posted on | March 11, 2011 | 1 Comment
My brother has been trying to take me to Vanessa’s Dumpling House, one of his favorites, for quite some time, but being the lazy git that I am, I always declined. Finally, his pestering got the best of me & I’m so glad it did! I had heard great things about Vanessa’s, particularly the dumplings (obviously), duck & incredibly cheap prices; they were ALL true! Read more
New Posts Coming Soon
Posted on | March 10, 2011 | No Comments
You may have noticed that things have been really damn slow around here lately, but I’m back now & I promise that there will be a lot of new content coming soon.
Satsko Eldridge Closes
Posted on | February 14, 2011 | 1 Comment
Sake Bar Satsko‘s more grownup & fancy sister, Satsko Eldridge (245 Eldridge St. between Houston & Stanton Street), has closed. I knew business there has been slow for quite some time, but on Saturday the rumors were confirmed via a friend & today Bowery Boogie reveals that it’s due to nonpayment of taxes. Read more
Roast Chicken Sandwich from Frank Restaurant
Posted on | February 6, 2011 | 1 Comment
I’m feeling pretty lucky at the moment as I won another free lunch from Frank Restaurant a few days ago. @frankrestauant on Twitter, if you’re the first to retweet, you get a free lunch that varies daily. I’m never one to pass up a free meal so I humbly accepted, I love the food at Frank & have never had a sandwich there so I was excited to see how things would turn out. Read more