Somewhere, An Artist Turns in His Grave

New B14 correspondent Kelly P. emails us about Rothko, the Bar Formerly Known As Adult World (Suffolk @ Rivington/Delancey). "I walked by there last Friday night, to see a host of skinny UES girls with blow-outs lined up outside the joint. I walked up to the doorman (he was wearing a head-set microphone thing) and asked, 'Hi. What's the new name of this joint?' He pointed to the words on the building and said "Rothko, it's the original name of the building, you don't believe me, look up," and pointed upwards to show that, yes, in fact it is the name on the building. I know, I live on the block, I should know what it says. Anyhoo, when I returned to my home block at 3ish that night, I heard a Kinks tune blaring out of there. The Kinks? I don't believe that they were being ironic, either. Anyway, they aren't opened every night, since I tried to go there and check it out for myself on a non-weekend (and thus non-crowded night.)" Intrigued, we stopped by early on Saturday night with our boy BluBox, who did reconassiance work at the bar. The space is the same as Adult World, but gutted, with a stage at the far end. Has been open Thurs–Sat nights, but they're throwing open the doors more often in May, cultimating in a "Grand Opening with Bands Coming May 21st!!" according to its calendar of events.

Neighborhood Notebook (Now w/20% more Nolita!)

'Twas a bright and sunny weekend, the time to discover eateries anew in the Dining Fields of the Lord 'neath Houston... On the well-trafficked block of Spring Street, just steps from the reknowned Jen Bekman Gallery (N.B. opening there tonight, people!), we noted a collapsed awning at Cafe Lebowitz—further proof of the decay of this once-grand establishment. But that is not why we write today. Two doors down, wedged in politely next to Bread, we noticed that a new Asian tapas restaurant/bar called Room 18 has opened. A peek revealed a breezy space and friendly barkeep; we shall return, perhaps even this eve!... New East Village wine store on the way: Discovery Wines on lower Avenue A (thanks, Charlie)... Proving that you can't keep bad taste down, 12" Bar has opened in the old Filthy McNasty's space on Essex (@ Houston/Stanton). Emails Joey of ToTC, "There's a motto on the sign: 'Drink. Look. Listen.' Look at what? The playground across the street? That's just gross, dude. And if there's going to be live music at that place, the band better have absolutely no following, because it's not like that place can fit more than five fat dudes." Indeed... Sandra, the proprietress of Essex St. chucklemporium Laugh Lounge NYC, also drops us a line. "Come on by any Thursday-Saturday night and tell folks to mention the Lockhart Steele site for free admission to the show!" Amen!

The Decline and Fall of Rosario's?

New correspondent Darren F. emails: "It's common knowledge among a few people that Rosario's [Orchard @ Stanton] has completely slipped in quality the past few months. It's pretty shocking considering what a mainstay of great pizza they've been, but I personally have had about 8 bad slices in the past few weeks, and I've heard a lot of anecdotal evidence that says other people have as well. It's all different kinds of pizza at all different times—not just the last pizza of the night at 5am. The cheese seems cheaper and oilier, and the crust is not the normally crispy and crunchy high quality we're used to. The sauce was also dry and skimpy. One night it was so bad it was inedible and seemed closer in quality to the bagel store pizza (which you must know how bad it is). They were also closed on a recent Saturday night at 4 which was very early for Rosario's. Sal looks fine and healthy, so what's the deal??" As longtime fans of Rosario's, we throw the question out to our listening audience. Any clues?

6's and 8's

Last night, once the quasi-models had left the public school auditorium where Built By Wendy held its downtown fashion show (Collection tagline: "Midwest prepiness meets proper European boarding school"... Our kind of style!), we adjourned to Chrystie Street (@ Stanton) for an afterparty at new Lower East Side club 6's and 8's. In a space that housed the late, not-so-lamented 205 Club (a divey joint with a penchant for sporadic violence), Guy Jacobson and David Schlachet have morphed it into a large, sultry bar. (Who are Jacobson and Schlachet? We have no idea either.) Apparently designed to evoke Las Vegas (so parroteth Page Six), the place does indeed boast slot machines in the Clorox-clean basement. Similarities end there. Upstairs, flea market crystal chandeliers hang above deep black leather banquettes. Music plays so loud that a man outside remarked, "Must be a great gig going on in there." He, alas, could not get by the velvet ropes. Whereas we could: absent a doorman, we just stepped over them and walked right in.

Review: Sugar Sweet Sunshine

If it's true, as we've come to suspect, that we're living in Magnolia Bakery Nation, we can think of worse cultural fates. For the last month, we've been peeking in on Sugar Sweet Sunshine, a new Rivington Street bakery slash coffee shop (@ Essex/Norfolk) from two ex-employees of the West Village cupcake shrine. Verdict: Sugary goodness—our new go-to spot for all things cake in the hood, and a worthy addition to the Lower East Side's espresso explosion. (The banana pudding ain't shabby either.) Interesting historical note: the bakery used to be the retail home of Shapiro Wine Company, the wine maker whose kosher mural still adorns the facade above the north-east corner of Rivington and Essex. The company had quit the neighborhood in 2000, but has re-opened a retail spot in the Essex Street Market, the Times reports (last item).

Spelunking on the LES

A pal forwards us a press release with this tantalizing start: "Cave exploration on the Lower East Side? Now it can be done while enjoying a delicious cocktail!" Damn if someone hasn't picked up on our closest-held dream! (And some people say the LES is played. Fie! Fools!) The release continues: "On a trip to Europe, owner Nick Adjari decided to come back to the Lower East Side in order to introduce something fresh to the landscape." Something... fresh? Could it be?... Yes! An Italian restaurant! Actually, we've been negligent in checking this joint, La Caverna (Rivington @ Essex/Norfolk), out, given that it's just a few doors down from The Magician. From the street, La Caverna is just a hallway. Around the corner, it gives way to a stairwell decorated—yes—like a cave... albeit a cave from a really cheesy fairground haunted house. But then, at the bottom of the stairs, the room opens into a giant cavern, complete with faux stalactites, waterfalls, and more. This is Suba on some serious fucking acid—one of the trippiest spots we've ever seen. Definitely worth a peek.

Neighborhood Notebook

Just two weeks into zed-four, and new restaurants are a' sprouting on the Lower East Side. On Clinton Street, the never-ending race to convert every last storefront into an upscale eat-place continues apace with the opening of Cube63, a sushi restaurant by some folks (including, ominously, "an investment-bank controller by day") somehow associated with East Village raw fish temple BondSt. It's near Chibitini on the 71 Clinton side of the street. We'll check it out and report back... In case you missed it, two clearly unhinged East Village entrepreneurs are offering $2,500 if you can name their restaurant. Here's the official contest page (we'll take 15%, thanks). Amy uncovered the related Craigslist ad; more at NewYorkish... Today's Post has a deeply random roundup of some East Village/LES Italian restaurants [via tfs]... As always in NYC dining, one man struggles while another relaxes. Strolling down Second Ave. a few days ago, we noted a boarded-up storefront where the great sushi haven Iso used to reside. Correspondent JH points us to a Chowhound thread lamenting the passing, and a follow-up post indicating the place will return next month with a new name and Iso's two top assistants at the helm... Back on the LES, we won't lament the rumored death of Essex Street dive bar Filthy McNasty's, where the bartenders always lived up to the name.

Breakfast of Champions

New B14 correspondent CM drops us a line In Re Maradona: "That new hookah bar or whatever on Allen between Stanton and Houston is open every morning, bright and early, for BREAKFAST, and it's always empty, obviously. They have pyramids of mini cereal boxes, baskets of shitty danish, and set out little baskets of fake flowers at all of the tables. I feel sort of bad for them every day when I leave for work." People, let's show these good folks some morning love. I propose Hookahs and Hangovers at Maradona, every Saturday at 9am. See you there!

2003 LS.com LES Awards

The Second Annual LS.com Lower East Side Awards have been posted to the main blog. Catch Part I (Food & Drink) and Part II (The Neighborhood, Miscellaneous & The Future). Happy New Year!

Crash Mansion (Yes, Crash Mansion)

Walking home up Bowery last weekend, we found our path impeded anew by some spanking fresh velvet ropes. "I saw them setting them up. They looked very purposeful," one pal later confided. A scant two years ago this month, when Pioneer opened on the sub-Houston Bowery, its name didn't strike us as ironic. Now—permission to kill self, sir, cuz it's just getting silly. Earlier this year, Upper East Sidey velvet roper Mission opened across from Pioneer, its name cribbed from a homeless organization a few doors down. (If you've never been, all we need to tell you about this craptacular lounge is that it was named one of Citysearch's best "Singles Scenes.") Now, in that massive apartment building a block south built for ibankers interested in "hitting" the downtown "scene," another posh club/lounge has opened. We wandered in a few nights ago and found ourselves running down the mental checklist: wide booths bathed in beige fabric? Check. Sleek, over-designed bar? Check. Unfinished coat check area? Check. Dazed, we asked an unpleasant looking man rushing about, "What's the name of this place?" He shot us a look like we were the idiots here, before finally deigning to answer. "Crash Mansion." People, you have been warned.

Clinton Street Update, New Chefs Edition

What does it say that we've gone more than a month without posting anything about Clinton Street? Why, that it's time to ratchet the hypemeter on downtown's culinary expressway back up!... First, some very welcome news: LES stalwart bar Barramundi, which as we reported in September is being forced out of its space on Ludlow Street when its lease is up next August, will reopen at 67 Clinton Street (the Olga's Bridal Shop storefront) next fall... On the restaurant scene, change is afoot with the 71 Clinton/Alias hivemind. Alias, which we've always adored, now has a full liquor license and some new people running the show: Anthony Rose (formerly part of Jonathan Waxman's kitchen at Washington Park, a pricier—though also deeply excellent—establishment) is the new chef, and Warren Fraser is running the front of house and wine program, which he also did at Washington Park and Lupa. This Monday, we'll be hitting the Full Moon Lunar Dinner at Alias featuring "biodynamic wines." (And yes, we'll be paying our own way. Nothing must impinge the truly earth-shattering journalism regularly committed in this space!) Look for us in the purple top hat... Meantime, a stone's throw away, Matthew Reguin celebrates his final night as chef at 71 Clinton on Saturday. Phillip Strange, now the sous chef, will become head chef. Says our source, "He's been in charge on Sunday nights for over a year and, besides having perhaps the coolest name of any chef in town, can really sling the hash."

Enter Patricia Yeo

Fall 2000 was a time of change on the block of Stanton Street running from Orchard St. on the west to Ludlow St. on the east. On the heels of a breakup, your faithful correspondent had moved from the West Village into a sublet at 100 Stanton Street (fondly recollected as "the dorm room"). Across the street, at 99 Stanton Street, a hip, happening joint called Barrio threw open its doors, promising 24/7 cuisine with panache new to the neighborhood. Alas, the glitz did not hold, and soon tumbleweeds were blowing through as NYPress penned its pre-obituary in its 2001 Best-Of ("Best Inappropriately Named Restaurant"): "The only thing Barrio, this odd farrago of unremarkable cuisine and mixed architectural metaphors, really pays homage to is cluelessness." Perhaps, we mused after Barrio shut its doors for the last time, a block best defined by Arlene's Grocery is not the right place for fine cuisine. But lo! Comes word that superstar chef Patricia Yeo (formerly chef at AZ and Pazo, and a noted rising star) is coming to the LES to open her own restaurant, Naga—at 99 Stanton. The space, as one can tell from Barrio's still-active Citysearch listing, is bright and welcoming. Our spy, who spoke with Ms. Yeo, reports this exchange: "'I got the space before it ever went on the market,'" she said, to which I replied, 'So you have a pretty good rent then, huh?' 'Ummm, yes, I'd say so.' Damn, so Misrahi really DOSEN'T own the neighborhood! Oh, and opening day wont be for 'a while,' she grimaces." (That's spring 2004 officially, summer 2004 in reality, to you.) Ms. Yeo, welcome to the LES! We await your plywood with glee.

Grading New LES Hotspots

ToTC grades the soups at Tiny's Angels: "Corn Chowder: A; So creamy and delicious. Crazy amounts of corn and chunks of onion makes this my favorite Tiny's selection".... The Black Table's Rachel Natelson joins the anti-Schiller's ranks: "And by the way 'Tables for Two,' I don't care if the waiters all have Ivy League degrees and a tableside manner to make a grandmother proud--if they're such prodigies, why aren't they splitting the atom or curtailing the national debt instead of serving Welsh rarebit to Harvey Weinstein? F-".... NYPress food critic Gabriella Gershenson stops by new "quiet man's beer hall" Loreley (Rivington @ Bowery): "Also notable were the potato pancakes, crisp and non-greasy with a fluffy middle, served with applesauce and lingonberries ($8). Hyper-ironic Lower East Side hipsters can come here to eat them on Hanukah." [Presumed Grade: B+]

Tiny's Angels Opens

Just in time to warm the winds of winter, Tiny's Angels has opened in "a wisp of a shack" on Stanton Street (@ Orchard/Ludlow, seen here in July in plywood form). An offshoot of the terrific Rivington St. lunch haven Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop, Tiny's Angels serves four daily soups plus homemade desserts and bizarre beverages like plum clove cider. B14 doubleagent AK (of LF fame) offers this first-hand report: "I went last night. I met the very nice Morgan working the soup shack who suggested the veggie meatball minestrone. It was great and I've been waiting for such a place in our neighborhood. I will be a repeat customer, perhaps even in the same day." The downside: it's only open 12pm to 8pm. (UPDATE: "The Tiny's Angels soup stand has ruined my life.")

Neighborhood Notebook

Yes, it's time for another episode in the ongoing search for suckage, this time dedicated to our LES neighbor, Tamarama.... Joey of the new East Coast/West Coast blog Tale of Two Cities notes that the loungey space on Orchard between Rivington and Delancey has opened with the disturbing moniker 13 Little Devils. (This salient fact was also noted by our pals at CertainDisaster when they hit a pre-opening party a few weeks back.) Joey writes, "There was a group of four girls standing outside, and they were in the most dreaded of societal uniforms: all black, including the super-tight pants and shoes. Not to mention that the. bar. had. a. velvet. rope. And a bouncer in a suit. Someone should start making 'Defend LES' T-Shirts. Or 'Invade Murray Hill!'" Count us in!... As reported on the main blog back on LES pitch day in July, new comedy club Laugh Lounge nyc has opened on Essex (@Stanton/Rivington, in the hilariously out-of-place Gotham Court apartment building that narrowly averted a torching last week). The club's motto, "Where Humor Reigns on the Lower East Side," already has us in stitches... Clinton Street's new TOC ("Thai on Clinton") is also open for biz, and already doing delivery. The space is sleek and modernist, with a vague cafeteria vibe... Got the scoop about a new restaurant or club opening Below 14th? Spotted some plywood in your downtown neighborhood that warrants investigation? . (Results not guaranteed.)

Review: Les Enfants Terribles

Like father, like son. Last Friday, we trekked down to the corner of Canal and Ludlow to try new bistroeatery Les Enfants Terribles (previewed in plywood form in this space in June and announced as open by Ian at ebway.org last week). We arrived on the early side for a night on the town. Wise move. By 9pm, the small space was jammed to the gills with hipsters, flipsters, and all breeds in between, crowding the bar and the packed-in tables. The vibe was alive. The food, however, was moribund. We didn't think it possible to butcher a goat cheese salad, but if you're seeking LET's secret, give the goat cheese the consistency of tuna salad and serve it up. The rest of the meal—bistro fare filtered through Africa—felt similarly lacking in quality ingredients. We've always disliked upper Ludlow Street's Le Pere Pinard for the same reason, and lo and behold, the two places share an owner. "At least in a world of uncertainty," Ken said after the meal, "we can say for a fact that we'll never be back here."

Chefs Shuffle

Lots of neighborhood buzz in the increasingly useful Off the Menu blurbature today in the Times dining section. Fer instance, we learn that chef Sara Jenkins, ex-I Coppi (which we secretly hate) and ex-Patio Dining (which we secretly love) is now in the kitchen at 50 Carmine in the West Village, serving up rustic Italian goodness. Worth a shot, we'd wager... Meantime, down the Bowery at three star food/six star prices boondoggle Capitale, chef Jonathan Becker is gonzo. We wish him well—far, far from this sinkhole... About a year after opening, the chef has turned over at Eldridge Street's own Apizz, sister restaurant to perennial Nolita hotspot Peasant. The gimmick at this place—besides the unpronounceable name that's supposed to be said as "ah-BEETS" but we choose to render as "a piss"—is that all the food is cooked in a wood-fired oven. We took a piss last fall and found it well neigh inedible. Yet an Eldridge Street friend reports standing room only on a recent Saturday night. Anyone who's eaten here recently care to let us know if we should try again?... In case you missed it: far Above 14th, French Laundry chef Thomas Keller has announced that his new restaurant in the AOL Time Warner building will be called Per Se [via tfs]. "Whenever anyone asked me what the restaurant would be like, I always said, 'not the French Laundry per se,'" he told the Times. Well, it's no Apizz, per se, but it'll have to do.

LES Espresso Explosion!

B14 correspondent Joey A. writes to us of an apparent rebirth of caffeine on the LES. "On Friday, I was walking from the Delancey F stop to home on Orchard St. There was a woman on the sidewalk handing out free coffee samples for a coffee shop that opened that day at 106 Delancey (between the KFC/Taco Bell and Payless). I went in there today, and the place is called Alchemy 106. Besides the usual espresso-based drinks, they have a wall covered with different flavors of coffee beans, and they have about eight rotating daily coffee choices. I had a delicious blend called Icing On The Cake, which was brewed with chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon. They had tables, chairs, couches and two (!) plasma TVs. Then, I happened to walk by the space next to Barrio Chino today. Always thought it was going to be a bar, because, well, they built a wooden bar in there. But as they were working on the space today, I noticed the installation of several new espresso machines." (N.B. On a related note, we had the donuts at Schiller's for breakfast today. Not to be missed.)

But Luise, She's All Right, She's Just Near

As we crossed Norfolk on our way to brunch at (please, avert your eyes) Schiller's Sunday morning (hint: it's all about the french toast), we couldn't help but feel a pang for the remade Cafe Luise welcoming guests on the opposite corner. Throwing open its doors the night before, this new restaurant from the team behind Alicia’s in Brooklyn Heights (full disclosure: we have never been to Brooklyn) looked adorable, but compared to the din at Schiller's, forlorn. Now comes word from Felix that Luise serves up "the best burger I've had in months." We recommend you follow Felix's lead and take a window table at Luise, from which vantage to give the Schiller's masses a slow shake of the head and the you-are-so-passé look. [Also of Sunday note: since sometime late last month, WD-50 is now open for dinner on Sunday. As one Citysearch user puts it, "it's no Applebees."]

Barramundi Blues

Everyone on the LES has their own reason to hate Mizrahi Realty. Add one more to the list. We hear that the one-story building on Ludlow that houses B14 hall-of-fame watering hole Barramundi and performance art space Collective Unconscious has been sold to Mizrahi, which plans to tear it down to make way for something bigger. Our source tells us that Collective Unconscious is out in a month or two (their lease is up, it is said, though this sad Village Voice report on LES theater closings from March indicates they have another year to go). Barramundi has until August 2004 when they will be gone and demolition will start. (The bar hopes to relocate to a new location nearby.) Our favorite Barramundi moments: (1) friend escorting a 22/F/Upper East Sider to the bar. She is visibly shaken; describes it as "scariest place" she's ever been in NYC; (2) special-k-and-tonics night (don't ask). All in all: just tragic news.

Review: Schiller's Liquor Bar

Sitting on a high rooftop on East 12th street late last night, as we gazed at the Pillars of Light again lighting up the crisp night sky, MB inquired to dining companion Ken about our meal at Schiller's. "So, how was the matzo ball soup?" he asked. "Considering we ate garlic shrimp, pork chops and meatloaf, it couldn't have been any less Jewish," Ken retorted. Indeed. We're sorry for irresponsibly spreading the "German-Jewish" rumors, cuz this joint is a bistro—straight up, kids, if you don't count the once-a-week weiner schnitzel special—with good food done at a nice price. Though you may want to travel to check it out (best reason to visit from afar: the tilework), it's really a gift to the neighborhood, a place that will be at its best 3pm on a winter Saturday. As Felix put it, "Schiller's will be a welcome addition to such places as Cafe Lebowitz, Teany and Paul's Boutique for those of us looking for a pleasant place to while away a large chunk of afternoon with a coffee and maybe a friend." [Previous Schiller's coverage: Aug 21, July 28, July 24, July 14, June 30, Mar 19, Feb 5. No mas! No mas! N.B. Conversation in thread has shifted to Paul's Boutique critique]

More Schilling

Okay, kiddles, we're just about out of here (more on that in a sec), but we can't leave you in the lurch just as Keith is about to throw open his doors. So here's the final Schiller's update for the great month of August Two-Thousand Three. First, the full name of the place is Schiller's Liquor Bar. Pretentious? Not to our ears. This is post-pretention—a clever play on the finickey Lower East Side. This week's New York has the scoop on the eats, which—though not straight-up German Jewish cusine as rumored, does tilt in that direction ("I’m sick of French bistros,” McNally obliquely tells the mag). The article continues: "Instead of a croque monsieur, there’s Welsh rarebit, plus rotisserie chicken, fried-oyster po’ boys, and, as a tribute to the neighborhood’s immigrant past, German specials like wiener schnitzel with spaetzle." Everything except the steak costs less than $15. No reservations. "Which means, of course," GL emails, "that McNally's crew can cater to celebs as liberally as they want." Figuring in the blackout delay, the place is said to be opening to the public on Tuesday the 26th. "Wear your 'keith, my boyfriend is out of town' t," counsels SLNY [props, DR, props]. Check out Keith's weird-ass website, then post your early reviews here for everyone's pleasure.

Review: Barrio Chino

Bowing to circumstances beyond our control, we found ourselves at an opening party for new LES bar Barrio Chino (Broome @ Orchard/Ludlow) late last eve. Located just down the block from Lolita (a B14 first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee), the new place has a similar vibe—exposed brick walls and high ceilings, though in a tighter space. Place was packed for the party, but appears that it will prove a reliable hangout, especially for those who favor a wide selection of tequilas. As is our wont, we eventually adjourned to Lolita, but we'll be back.

Neighborhood Notebook

Time's a-wasting! Let's get right to it!... Latest word from inside the vast empire that is Keith McNally's new LES celeb haven-to-be Schiller's: opening has been recalibrated by about a week. Tastings begin next Tuesday, the 19th, with public opening set for Saturday the 23rd. We also hear that the total cost of the renovation is an eyezapoppin' $2.5 million. Kitchen equipment alone is said to have cost $400k... Over on Clinton Street, where several storefronts inexpicably have not yet been converted to upscale eateries, the plywood next door to Clinton St. Baking Co. is set to become TOC (which stands for "Thai On Clinton"—not, sadly, "The Orange County.") [tip o' the derby to Jennifer L. and KG]... Down a block from TOC-to-be, we poked our head into just-opened dumpling house Chibitini on Saturday night following a typically tasty meal at AKA Cafe. The creation of LES resident Marja Samson, who operates the Kitchen Club (and Chibi's Bar) in Nolita, Chibitini is tiny but elegant. Full report soon. (Don't miss its wacky website, if pugs french bulldogs are your thing)... On the bar side of the coin, Ian reports that new tequila bar Barrio Chino (Broome @ Ludlow) has opened... We hesitate to break out the m-word in this space, but it sure sounds like new Ludlow (@ Houston/Stanton) men's herbal spa/smoothie joint Vitality is catering to an, uh, particular crowd. Opening soon... Word on Page 6 today that Lenny Kravitz and Denzel Washington are opening a club called Koz on Bowery below Houston looks to be the finishing chrome on the coffin that Mission pounded the first nail into earlier this year. Damn, and we used to like the Bowery... Finally, for those who dare venture Above 14th, check out tasty new NYC restaurant blog nyc eats.

Review: Kuma Inn

Sometimes, something great is hiding right under our nose. Such is the case with new Japanese Filipino tapas (!!) joint Kuma Inn (Ludlow @ Rivington/Delancey), which opened a few months back but eluded our radar until neighbor Chris tipped us off to it. We sought it out last night with AWC—no easy task, because Kuma Inn is located on the second floor of the building next door to Suba, up a dingy flight of stairs. Interior design is haphazard at best (a long orange extension cord snakes from the kitchen to an air conditioner at the other end of the restaurant), but the food, oh, the food! We shared six dishes, a variety of meat, fish and vegetable offerings. Each was sublime. Do you like the sake? Then you will also like Kuma Inn, which has a wide selection. Prices are reasonable. Word will get out about this place—in point of fact, the Post reviewed it today. In every way, it's the long-awaited anti-Suba. In that spirit, we urge you: go now before this place jumps the moat.

Name Game

AOL Digital City previews the new McNally place ("bare bones Balthazar reborn on LES?") and calls it Schiller's. It is now the official position of this weblog, viz. the name of this place, that We Don't Care Anymore. [Ed—except that we do care. Passionately.]

Ludlow Bar Update: Pianos Redux?

Big news brewing on the Ludlow bar scene. No, we're not just talking about tonight's re-opening of stalwart Local 138 (Ludlow @ Stanton/Rivington), which has been shuttered while new management takes over (the good news: they've kept the front window booths). No, just up the block, at the site of this one-time lead photo for this website, big changes are afoot.


Perhaps a select few in the crowds oozing out of Pianos have detected the faint tinge of sheetrock in the air (not to be confused with bad blow). It's coming from next door, where word from an insider (who, knowing our predilection for construction sites, snapped the above photo) has it that folky Allen St. music dive Living Room is prepping a new, larger venue. Also to be called Living Room, and apparently superceding the current venue, the new space heralds the inevitable commingling of the post-hipster scene with neofolk groupies. Folks, this will be fun. We're so excited, we could cry.

Paging Arthur Phillips

The latest rumor to make it our way regarding the name of the new Keith McNally eatery on Norfolk @ Rivington? Prague. (From the inside, our source also reports, "Lots and lots of vintage subway tile.")

'inoteca Review

On the night last week when they added the awning to new neighborhood panino emporium 'inoteca, we hit the joint with the überliterate KL (a self-proclaimed "big fan" of the West Village's 'ino, of which the LES edition serves as the lanky younger brother).


First thought: though bigger than 'ino, this place is still pint-sized. Result: overcrowding. Second thought: experience counts. We frequent many new restaurants, but seldom have we seen a staff as together as this during week two of operation. Points for that. Wedged into the bar (the 40 minute wait for a table too unappetizing), we opted for the $15 porchetta panino, which apparently comes from a special pig raised by nuns in upstate New York that's later hand-slaughtered on the back streets of the LES. (Disclosure: recollected from memory.) Downside: tasted like so much prosciutto to us. Verdict: not worth an hour wait, but deservedly likely to last a hell of a lot longer than the previous occupants of this space.

BREAKING:

Schit. It's gonna be Schiller's, not Schneider's. (Fear not. The appropriate B14 factcheckers have been disciplined.)

Neighborhood Notebook

Tips from the B14 advance team have been piling up in our inbox... MG reports: "The spot on Broome between Ludlow & Orchard [now under plywood] is to be a tequila bar called, of course, Barrio Chino"... Over on Elizabeth Street in Nolita, Francesco reports that the former M&R Bar is now under control of the industry (food) folks. He adds, ominously, "There's also whisperings of a huge new, bi-level restaurant going into newly-awakened building at 258 Elizabeth, three doors down form M&R, a hollow shell of a space that's been derelict for well over a decade." Yikes. Jekyll and Hyde East?... Insiders whisper that Schneiders is shooting for an August 11 opening (probably for private tastings)... Meantime, a few doors down, Mike H. reports, "I was walking down Norfolk when a lady stopped me to talk about the new restaurant she's planning on opening in the space next to Lulu's. It's going to serve new American food. The reason she stopped me was to sign something about community support. She said to look for it opening in September."

Is Norfolk The New Clinton?

Credit prolific blogger and B14 correspondent Felix Salmon for that timely question, destined to be a Dining Out headline by year-end 2005. "So there's this nice new coffee bar on Norfolk between Rivington and Delancey called Lulu's," he emails. "Very bright, very friendly. Next door someone is building a new restaurant, and next door to that is an old restaurant—Lansky Lounge. Up on the corner (all on the same side of the same block) is the new 'German Jewish' place. And of course over the street at Tonic they have their Klezmer Sunday bruch. Trend! I smell trend!" Indeed. We peeked in at the "German Jewish" place, Schneiders (mentioned here in March), last week:


Where: Corner of Rivington and Norfolk | What: From Keith McNally, the man who brought you Balthazar and Pastis, comes a retro Lower East Side bistro serving up German Jewish cuisine. (We're as dumbstruck as you are.) We can say this: the place has the classiest plywood we've ever seen—it's contoured, for chrissake, like some project from an ambitious GSD first-year. Pushing open the sleek plywood door, we note a terrific bistro ceiling. We're guessing September for an opening, and have wagered $10 on the series finale of Sex and the City including a scene shot herein.

Coming Attractions: 'inoteca

Feeding our strange obsession with unopened LES restaurants, today we're "hangin'" at "our" corner, that of Ludlow and Rivington, wondering, will we ever know the truth? (Also, what's behind this here plywood?)


Where: Corner of Ludlow and Rivington | What: Finally, a concept for this cursed corner that we bet will have staying power. The folks behind hyper-hyped and widely adored West Village panino cubbyhole 'ino are replicating the formula for Lower East denizens, this time in a larger space. Given the dearth of sandwichy places in the hood—the awesome Tiny's Giant Sandwich Shop a few blocks down on Rivington aside—we expect 'intoteca will be jammed from its early-July opening on. [another tip o' the B14 sandals to mg]

Grimes on WD-50

Yes, we're crying in our puréed Stellar Bay oysters: Grimes gives WD-50 a meager two stars (same rating he awarded 71 Clinton back in April 2000). Great line: "At 71 Clinton, the kitchen was like a tightly disciplined rock group. At WD-50, Mr. Dufresne has moved on to a cool, often cerebral jazz." Well, we like jazz. Wylie, your thoughts? UPDATE: Wylie has spoken.

Coming Attractions: Les Enfants Terribles

It's been a few months since the WD-50 opening (N.B. Grimes review tomorrow!) forced us to stop taking pictures of its unfinished facade. But lo! Plywood sprouts anew from the streets of the LES! All this week on B14, we peek in at unopened LES restaurants and ask the important question: Can we get a free meal here?


Where: Corner of Ludlow and Canal | What: In the land that Good World begot comes just what the LES has been missing: a French bistro. Actually, we jest. There are enough French bistros here to power au jus dripfeeds for hospitals across the borough. Yet still they rise. We peeked in here and saw spiffy wood paneling in the front bar area. Our source (thanks, mg) tells us that the place will be called Les Enfants Terribles. (There's a joke there somewhere, we're sure.)

Rediscovering 1492

It was warm enough and not rainy enough last Friday for us to make our first summer stop at 1492 (Clinton @ Stanton/Rivington), which boasts our favorite undiscovered LES back garden. We noted with de-glee that a portion of the outdoors has been covered with a lean-to/plywood creation (perhaps they had a tip-off on the spring weather), but further back, we snagged a table under the fading blue sky and dug into the robust tapas menu. This has always been a good place to drink, but the food was better than we remembered (cf bacon-wrapped dates) and ELB's company was gracious as ever. Next up, we'll head next door to 1492 spinoff Crudo, mentioned here last month, which looks, on first impression, downright weird. (Full disclosure: the outdoor area at Cafe Lika—ex-Mooza—on Orchard Street is the most dazzling in the hood, but the quality of the cuisine dims our enthusiasm to quasi-suicide levels.)

Enjoy a Cupcake

Lolita, long one of our fave watering holes, is hosting a new monthly reading series featuring "kickass female writers." The gathering, called Cupcake at Lolita, kicks off this Wednesday with readings by Donna Minkowitz and Sex and the City's Aury Wallington. Attendance, like all good things, is free.

Chubo Review

Peeking in at the sea of open tables at Petrosino on a recent evening, we were reminded that value still shares a rather intimate relationship with price on the Lower East Side dining scene. It's a lesson that Chubo (Clinton @ Houston/Stanton) seems to have noticed, too, given that this month-old newcomer is prix fixe only, $20 for two courses or $24 for three. The place is narrow but well decorated, the menu efficient in scope, the food a strange global fission that mostly worked. (Granted, the best thing we had was the $37 Gewürztraminer, which we ordered mostly to show off the fact that we've learned how to pronounce it.) We'll be back. N.B. In a detail surely meant only to give restaurant critics a hook, "Chubo" means "professional kitchen" in Japanese, one of the most unprofessional restaurant names we've ever heard. N.B.B. Citysearch sez midweek at Chubo is one ingredient Wednesday. Hmmm...

NYMag on WD-50

Let the tidal wave of "professional" WD-50 reviews commence with this rather bland take from New York Magazine. What, no comped gooseberry tart?

Capitale Review

Our summer intern hasn't arrived at Below 14th yet, so we're running a bit behind in noting that William Grimes made it down to Capitale and gave it two stars. Our thinking is that's at least one star less than what the owners had in mind, given the extreme opulence of the place.

DJs Wanted

The good guys at Verlaine (Rivington @ Essex/Ludlow... our house bar—literally) recently finished construction on an elevated DJ booth. Co-owner Gary emails, "Now all we need are a few good dj's. I would appreciate any suggestions or if you run into anyone, send them in with a disk." OK, kids, you know what to do. Meantime, any LES/EV DJ nights people are enjoying as the weather warms?

Open and Shut

Trusty correspondent Jennifer L. reports from the ever-active two-block stretch of northern Clinton Street that the papered-over joint between WD-50 and 1492 will become Crudo, a raw bar. "Good gravy," she reports, we hope not literally... Any guesses as to which local establishment this might be? [thanks, mg]... UPDATE 5/20: Another very trusted correspondent emails: "The little place between Fresh Food and AKA (I can't remember the number, but you can tell if you walk by, the renovation is almost done) is going to be a saki/dumpling bar by the very interesting Marja Samsom of Kitchen Club fame. Yes, this is different than Crudo across the street. Should be open soon."

WD-50 Update

With its 50th post, the WD-50 thread achieves perfect circularity.

Nightlife Nadir

Dear God. The NY Post, continuing its recent fixation with the Below Houston universe, unveils a special section today that includes their picks for Top 10 Bars & Clubs. Its #1 choice? The Surface Hotel, which may open sometime this year if Jesus decides to intervene personally. The sad part? That's their most inspiring pick. Doing our dirty work for us, friend and fellow gutter crawler MBS weighs in with his takedown of the joints...

MBS Thoughts on New York Post's top ten list of downtown bars and clubs

1. Surface Hotel Giving top honors to a bar that's not even open yet -- that kind of premature ejaculation to be ahead of the curve is everything you need to know about downtown. My album of 2003: Richard Ashcroft's stunning comeback album, which he hasn't even begun to put together in his head yet.

The Post reports: 'management promises that the neighborhood residents will get priority reservations at the restaurant.' As if we weren't forced to suck up to Lockhart Steele already -- now we all have to kiss his ass by simple virtue of his random proximity to the venue. Save me a bullet too.

2. Pussycat Lounge I recall those salad days of my youth when Billy's Topless was the place where white-souled white boys (sometimes accompanied by their white GAP cotton underwear female friends) could take a walk on the sleazier side of life without relinquishing their faux-non-concieted superiority. This looks like the same deal. But here the scantily clad dancers are on the floor below. As long as you can bring your drinks downstairs while retaining the ability to travel freely back and forth, then hey, it's all sound as a pound.

3. Slipper Room What's up with the popularity of burlesque among the white, college-educated "But where are you really from" crowd? Can anyone really get majorly turned-on watching a late-twenties girl who was quite possibly in my history seminar and a former theater geek from the suburbs of Western Pennsylvania perform racy numbers for their posse of 'good friends', most of whom live in Brooklyn now. False hedonism = Anxiety-ridden generation.

4. Mission I had a drink here opening night with Lockhart, before they had kicked-off Bubble Yum Wednesdays, billed as "a mix of old-school classic house and rock, plus a Pierre de Krengel inflatable art installation." For sure it won't suck now.

5. Soho Grand Didn't I see some ridiculously done-up 29 year old girl having a nervous breakdown over by the leather couches one night? She was wearing a big smile at the time and listening to a well-dressed man sitting closely beside her.

6. Bauhaus The Post article begins: "Created by two FIT grads..." All I need to hear. I'm sold.

7. Pianos It's the typical Lower East Side success story, explains The Post: "Bar opens, caters to hipster crowd, becomes too hip for itself and thus becomes ironic -- T-shirts sporting the slogan 'anywhere But Pianos' have already been spotted among the faux-hawk set." Huh? What? It's wank central. Fuckin' perilous.

8. Adultworld Accompanying photo of hot girl flirting at bar with Lockhart-type makes me wonder if place appeals to secret demographic: buttoned-down hipster proves laid-back cred, faux-sexual workaholic gives appearance she's up for anything.

Eric Rasmussen, the owner, who also created Idlewild (that's a little too telling), claims that the idea of the club was to "try and recreate the illegal atmosphere of the '80s." Yes, but without the hinderance of really good drugs.

Sin-È Scoop

A bunch of folks, Grant and Greg among them, have inquired whether new Attorney Street garage music venue Sin-È bears a relation to the old Sin-È on St. Mark's Place. Grant: "As a joint, it was chill, small in a cozy way, with fairly notable folksters, rarely dipping into the vast pool of recent-ex-buskers. I never saw the version in Williamsburg, but apparently they spent a crapload of money developing the space, then the neighbors (ie, the community board) shut them down." We recently chatted up Sin-È's owner, Shane, a hell of a nice guy, and he filled us in.

The current Sin-E is indeed related to the previous two, the East Village original that closed in 1995, and the Brookyln fiasco ("That didn't work.") More recently, he opened (and still operates) Arlene Grocery on Stanton. Why another venue? "Because this is what I do." Why the resuccitation of the name? "It's not an attempt to be what the old Sin-È was. This is a different thing now. But it felt appropriate to bring back the name." Which means? "That's it."

Remember When

MG emails: "I was noticing the plywood sheath around the restaurant site at Rivington & Ludlow (NW corner), and I was trying to recall the names of all the places that had occupied that corner. I came up with (in reverse chronological order): Noblé, Casa Mexicana, the Corner Lounge (?), something something, and Navia's Diner (circa 1998). Can you think back any farther? Does Navia Nguyen, the sometime model and proprietress of that horrible vegetarian diner, still live in that building? Any idea what's going in there now?" Anyone with better memories than ours? Regardless, we await the next restaurant on this cursed site. May it have as many empty tables as its predecessors.

Local 138 Closing?

File under "shitty way to start the week"... We're hearing rumors that Ludlow Street stalwart bar Local 138 is facing the end of a too-short five year lease and has only a few weeks worth of life left. Though this info is unconfirmed as of press time, we'll be stopping by this week to dig deeper into this sad tale.

WD-50 Review

There was commotion in the kitchen such that chef Wylie and his 'burns made it all the way from its cavernous depths to the open portal separating it from the dining room. Yes, it was Saturday night at WD-50, and Daniel Boulud was not only in the house, but sitting a table away from us. We envied his table their chef's tasting menu (alas, not a menu option at this point), but felt no less wowed by the plates set in front of us. Descriptive prose would spoil the surprises, so let me just note that the oysters appetizer is a must, if only to screw with everything you thought you knew about how this shellfish can be eaten. Each dish set before our party surprised, and each was delicious. The prices establish a new high-water mark for the neighborhood, but for that one special meal, this is one special place.

Adultworld Review

A mere four months after the fact, Citysearch names Adultworld their bar of the week. But our two recent visits to this microclub (imagine a more bare-bones Abaya) have proved so painful that, alas, it has been moved to our banned establishments list for miscellaneous crimes against nightlife (our previous enthusiasm notwithstanding).

No Bones at Supper

Jordan emails regarding an unfortunate experience last night at perennial Below 14th fave Supper: "I needed a lamb or veal shank bone to briong to my parents' Passover seder. I called around to a few places to see who was serving veal chops. After some places said no, I called Supper and was informed that the lamb special was being served. "This may be a weird question," I said, "but is there a bone in that?" "Yes, there's a bone in that," she answered, with a touch of attitude. So, off to Supper we four trekked. We were seated quickly (a relative rarity) and our waitress read the specials. When she described the lamb, she made a point of saying, "No bone." I was crestfallen. After we ordered, I asked "Is there any way I can get a bone?" After the entendre sunk in and then passed, I explained that I needed a bone for the seder plate. She told me there were no bones to be had. Couldn't the chef just give me one? No, there are no bones in the restaurant. I found this hard to believe, but let it pass. Then she offered the bone from the orata (fish) special, which I politely declined. And the melting pot continues to bubble.... Incidentally, I had the smoked trout appetizer and the veal scallopine. Both were excellent."

Ken on WD-50

Ken weighs in on WD-50: "Stopped by WD-50 on Friday around 10 p.m. There were about six open tables and a bunch of people standing around the bar. The hostess told us that we could wait 20-30 minutes to eat at the bar or 45-60 minutes for a table. The arrogance reminded me of 71 Clinton when it was new, which is to where we quickly crossed the street. The host at 71 was beyond the call of duty friendly and we had a great meal. While more expensive than my usual go-to establishments, I am happy to frequent 71. As spring approaches, get their shrimp."

WD-50 Opens

In case you missed it... WD-50 is open, says Daily Candy. (By the by, it must be noted, The Candy seems to have used our most recent update photo to illustrate their point. Odd, considering all of the other interesting options also available at no apparent cost). Full report (on the restaurant, not the photo scandal) when we force our way in sometime in the next fortnight. Meantime, a pretzel to the first Below 14th reader who emails us a review after having partaken. UPDATE: The good folks at Daily Candy have acknowledged the photo slip, and have promised to mail me "a surprise." Further updates as events warrant.

Sine-E Opens

Well sure as shooting, as was rumored there is indeed a new place for live tunes on Attorney Street. Bearing the cryptic moniker Sin-È, the place opened last weekend. Live music seven nights a week in a renovated garage that can hold 225 folks. Here's the sked for the next week. [tip o' the shot glass to Neal P.]

Page 6 on WD-50

So Page 6 says WD-50 is opening tonight [via gawker]. Our sources say "Thursday." (A soft opening had been whispered for last night, but did not materialize.) So which night will it be? It's going down to the wire...

Bar 169 Review

It's always been a wonderfully chill spot, but after a few great nights there recently, Bar 169 (East Broadway @ Essex) has ascended to one of the top spots on our go-to go-out list. (For complete list, send $9.95 to cover shipping and handling.) A divey joint, with a good pool table (naturally), it somehow transcends the utter diviness of, say, Blue and Gold. It's far enough off the beaten path that few people just stumble in. Usually, it's just a very good bar, but thanks to a rotating crop of DJs, the vibe is more upbeat, and after midnight on weekends a portion of the place informally gives way to dancing. Now we see in this week's Voice that the DJs who created Direct Drive at Baktun are moving in for a Saturday evening residence. Hopefully, crowds won't overload the place, because this could be fun.

Taste of the LES

I'll be out of town, but Thursday's Taste of the Lower East Side event looks intriguing. Proceeds support Grand Street Settlement.

Out and About?

Tonight seems like a good night to be out and about, in search of new experiences. This tip brought to you by your friends at Below 14th. That is all. Alas, no.

Scenes from the Smoking Ban

Scenes from Week One of the Smoking Ban... At a cool Rivington bar whose name will not be revealed here: The Magician, the bartender telling a patron, "You know, if you smoke in the back room, I probably won't notice. But don't get used to it. This isn't going to be one of those smoking bars."... A posse of two dangerously upbeat women asking patrons of the Keltic Lounge on Ludlow, "Would you like to sign a petition to Ban the Ban?" Patron [genuinely excited]: "Oh, yes!"... Late Saturday night, outside Verlaine on Rivington Street, one of the affable owners describing the new hell of his job since the police had stopped by the night before and informed them that the cigarette butts gathering like blown sand on the sidewalk outside are the responsibility of the bar to clean up... NoAss O'Barkeep at Grace in Tribeca telling a patron who asked ever so politely if she could smoke, "Are you kidding me? Are you trying to make my life impossible? Listen, just go outside." UPDATE: JVG weighs in with a passel of ill-informed pro-ban vignettes, while Aaron sees some downsides.

WD-50 Progress Update

WD-50 Progress Update... Our little April 1 ha-ha netted one victim. Wee-hula! The real word is that we're seven days away, with opening set for April 10. A little birdie whispers that private tastings begin tonight.


On: 4/2/03 | Status: Doors and windows set, lights installed, but still lots of debris to haul away.

Mission Brings Class

Nice to see Mission is bringing a little class to the neighborhood. Open bar, natch.

WD-50 Progress Update

WD-50 Progress Update... Finally, just in time for spring, Wylie & Co. have thrown open the doors at their new Clinton Street restaurant. The results are even more impressive than one might have anticipated.


On: 4/1/03 | Status: Open for business! | N.B.: Private parties only until July.

Schneider's Location Confirmed

Brace yourselves. We can now confirm our February supposition that the plywood facade on the southeast corner of Rivington and Norfolk will house new Keith McNally German-Jewish restaurant Schneider's. Is this the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning?


On: 3/18/03 | Status: Very orderly. | N.B.: Trend-hoppers and fashionistas are advised to start lining up now.

Neighborhood Notebook

Neighborhood notebook from a gorgeous evening... Clinton doings: Tonight's the opening of Salt Bar (Clinton @ Stanton), a cool looking new joint from the woman behind Soho's Salt. The idea here is a pared-down menu in a paired-down space. The dishes are ambitious... Also somewhere on New York's hippest three-block stretch, we hear another new restaurant in the works will feature cuisine from LES suppliers and carry the name Local... Italian on Orchard: Opening between Houston and Stanton is a homey Italian joint called Basso Est that means "Lower East" in Italian. NYMetro has the scoop... Garage rock: On Attorney between Houston and Stanton -- one of the most unique area blocks, in that it's all garages -- word has it that the owners of Arlene Grocery are converting one of them into a new live music venue. Alas, our poking around didn't turn up anything. What's the scoop?... Reader mail: Toby L. emails from London: "I used to live in New York. I'll be there to visit for just a few days in April, and the one big question I have to ask before I get there is: Will WD-50 be open by then?" Well, obviously, it missed its March 15 opening date (beware the ides), and frankly it looks nowhere near done. May? June?... Puma-forsaking Felix Salmon emails, "Why is Chico replacing his Selena mural on Houston & B with one of the Pope? Does he know something about JPII's impending demise that we don't?"

People Opening

Openings, openings. We've noticed increased patronage at Dish as of late -- nearly a full house at prime time last night -- which may bode well for People, a new bar/lounge/restaurant opening a few doors down on Allen St. @ Stanton/Rivington. We chatted up the proprietor, who informs us that the place "will be open in a week or a week and a half," and will serve Asian food. Look for the awning with an unfortunate logo of letters that look like, uh, people.

Mission Review

Shep and I finally hit Mission last night, crossing the virtual picket line we'd erected for ourselves a few weeks earlier. (What's a little moral ambiguity on a cold night too late in the winter?) We knew from the second we stepped through the door into a spinning "Mission" logo projected on the floor that we'd entered into another world... the Upper East Side. The space is velvety and comfortable, in that uptown way, and the bartender was fake friendly, in that uptown way. One difference from the uptown scene: At midnight, we were the only two people in the place. We filled the void by envisioning the room six months hence when Mission has been discovered by its target demographic (guess who) and the place is wall-to-wall people. And we wept. (N.B. Citysearch user review: "Mission adds flava to the hood. Destined to be the Bowery's hippest neighbour, don't pass this one up - next door is the real Bowery Mission for added cred." 'Nuf sed.)

Whiskey Ward: Smoker's Haven?

No use putting it off any longer... the smoking wars are coming. Have you chosen your haven yet? One idea: Whiskey Ward (Essex @ Rivington/Delancey). "I can't afford to be known as the bar that calls the police on its patrons," owner Sandee Wright tells The New York Post. Also, the music is so loud at WW that the Police won't want to come in anyway.

Capitale Influx

Jacob C. emails us this Capitale influx: "I live across the street from Capitale and talk with members of a local Itallian Social Club over beer from time to time. Members of this ISC have a vested interest in things that happen in this neighborhood, and thus have had many dealings with the owners of Capitale. Anyway, such sources have informed me that the current rent on the place is FOURTY THOUSAND FUCKING DOLLARS A MONTH. Problems are compounded by the fact that the neighborhood community bar laws refuses to issue a public liquor license to a place within 1000 feet of another licensed establishment; M Bar (formerly Masat) is within this range. Even were they able to somehow obtain a liquor license, a caberet license would be impossible (the community board won't let it happen, not to mention the members of the ISC). I still resent the fuckers for the month I was forced to inhale bleach when walking passed their external restoration process, so I'm all the more ready to see them fall in a mire of back rent and no-longer-trendiness."

Capitale Review

Few things in life are as glorious as a profoundly botched press event. So it was with wings on our feet and malice in our heart that we headed south yesterday eve to Grand Street and Bowery, home of the former Bowery Savings Bank and now hotspot du moment Capitale. The event: a press gig titled D.C. After Dark. The idea was to promote nightlife in Washington, D.C. by hosting an event on the Lower East Side of Manhattan (don't ask). As a draw, they'd bused in Thievery Corporation to DJ an "exclusive set." That this whole event was held the self-same day Capitale's owner, David Marvisi, hit the front cover of the Village Voice in a fantastic takedown article, was just one of many beautiful subtleties we noted. Yes, the Thievery boys were there, looking like they wanted to light themselves on fire. And in a lucky bonus (credit SA), we scored a tour of the entire premises. Conclusion: MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT HERE. Big moolah. And it's beautiful -- dance areas, private dining rooms, bank vaults cum wine cellars (see pics) -- all carefully done to avoid altering Stanford White's historically protected 1893 design. And yet... something isn't right. We can't just put our finger on it. We'll need to return, but so far, Capitale has only been accessible for private parties ("We're doing ten a month," our source claimed). In any case, we love the smell of apocalypse in the morning -- and at Capitale, it hangs in the air even deep into the night.

PR Wave for WD-50 Begins

The Times launches the PR wave for WD-50 with a great article today about Wylie Dufresne -- who, come to think of it, does look like he'd fit right in with Widespread Panic -- and friends. Highlights: Menu will list ingredients only (sample: "oysters, Chinese sausage, green apple, pistachio")... Prices will be more expensive than 71 Clinton, averaging $25 for entrees... Green salad? There will be no green salad... "I'm not trying to be a jerk," Mr. Dufresne notes... Opening day set for March 15. (N.B. Six months later than original plan.)

WD-50 Progress Update

The WD-50 Progress Update from the lens of Brad W.


On: 2/18/03 | Status: Windows in! | N.B.: Snow.

Tenement Redemption

Ah, Tenement. Mocking the botched opening of this Ludlow eatery has become a cottage industry around here. Last night, when pondering the question, "Where can I grab a quiet bite to eat, alone?" thoughts naturally turned to the vast expanses of empty dining territory in this three-story wonder. Sure enough, when we walked in around 8, we found a few folks chilling by the bar but no one dining. The manager couldn't have been friendlier: "Sit anywhere." We sat. And ate. Scallops to start that were nothing special, but great mac and cheese. A party of six women across from us looked like they were having a blast. By the time we left, the place was half full. Tenement, we repent. You deserve better. We'll be back, maybe even with some friends.

Mission Opens

Back in 1997, Shep wrote a seminal article titled Velvet Ropes on Avenue A that chronicled with no small amount of fear and loathing a landmark event: the first doorman establishment in Alphabet City. (Trivia buffs note that it stood on the site of the current Tapis Rouge, a lounge that, as we would have said back then, puts the ass in class.) Half a dozen years later, the ropes have come to the lower Bowery with Mission, a new bar/lounge/DJ space opening across the street from Pioneer at the intersection of Bowery and Rivington. Given the heritage of the owners (Orchard's B&T haven Rivertown Lounge, among others), we know the place is going to be cheesy and packed to the gills, even if in its nascent state it appears cool and chic. But a new low has been reached with the name, which echoes that of the Bowery Mission located just a few doors down. An upscale hipster club wryly mocking one of the city's oldest organizations for the homeless... Now that's chill.

Congee Village Hijinks

It was cold last week and we wanted to order in Chinese food. Where better to order from, we reasoned, than LES landmark Congee Village (Allen @ Delancey/Broome), a porridge heaven the Village Voice termed "New York's best all-around Chinese restaurant." Alas, we couldn't find a menu -- but we did have our cable modem fired up. Do they have a website? Oh yes! And it's not just any website, but a flash paradise of swirling leaves, resonant gongs, chill tunes, and interactive menus. We surfed to our heart's content before realizing the site lacked only one thing... the phone number. [Postscript: later, much later (as in, actually, this morning), we found the phone number way back on the 'select html/flash' homepage. It wouldn't have mattered: we tracked down the digits from the friendly folks at Sprint PCS only to learn that CV wasn't delivering at all last week because of Chinese New Year's.]

WD-50 Progress Update

The weekly WD-50 Progress Update from Clinton's own Brad W.


On: 2/4/03 | Status: Slate floors going in. | N.B.: Skylight.

Odds and Ends Notebook

Odds and Ends... New LES resident and faithful scribe Margit, the managing editor of AOL Digital City New York, emails us this tip from this week's NYMag Intelligencer: "Rumor has it that Keith McNally, of Pastis and Balthazar, will open a German Jewish restaurant, tentatively named Schneider’s, on Rivington Street this summer." Wow. No word on location, though maybe this is what's going on under all that plywood on the corner of Rivington and Norfolk... The Manhattan User's Guide finally hits the web [via gawker]. Dare we pray that it will become "Daily Candy with a brain"? Here's hoping, even if the recent review of The Tasting Room (1st St. @ 1st Ave.) makes the absurd claim that "to eat at the Tasting Room is to enjoy the work of the most underexposed, underrated chef in town." (Recall that the Tasting Room prompted one of William Grimes' funniest reviews ever: "It would be a lot easier to like the Tasting Room if I did not feel that I had to love it.")... We'd be remiss not to link one more NY Mag article about a party at grimy hangar Idlewild (Houston @ Eldridge) which, the promoter is quick to point out, "is not an orgy."

New York Magazine Best Bars

New York magazine trots out its 50 Best Bars report today, begging the question: which makes us cringe more, their picks or their prose? (Sample line: "If New York is a martini, then alcohol is the olive.") We note five LES joints on the list: Pianos ("best new overcrowded hipster bar"); Essex ("best sloppy drunk brunch spot"); Punch & Judy ("best new wine bar"); SX137 ("best high design on the Lower East Side"... uhrm); and The Magician ("best bar to take over with 20 friends"). We'll be seen nowhere near any of these bars for the next 30 days, alas for The Magician and Punch & Judy, which deserve better.

WD-50 Progress Update

A new Below 14th feature, courtesy of alert photog Brad W.: The weekly WD-50 Progress Update. Some may ask, why all the hype? Time Out provided the answer back in September (a more naive, carefree time when WD-50's opening was set for October).


On: 1/28/03 | Status: Lots o' boards. | Outlook: Summer solstice.

Three OPEN/NOT OPEN Updates

Three OPEN/NOT OPEN updates today. Venue: WD-50. Status: NOT OPEN. Plywood is still covering the front, and a peek inside makes it apparent that there's still weeks to go before the doors open. Venue: Rice to Riches. Status: NOT OPEN. The world's most elaborate rice pudding emporium is still closed, but they've added full-motion flat-panel screens behind the counter to serve as menus, plus a giant photograph of rice in hyperspace (yes, rice in hyperspace) by the door. You can't make this stuff up. Venue: Tenement. Status: OPEN*. Why the asterisk? We've learned Tenement's dirty little secret, and now we understand why the place is deserted at 10pm on a Friday: No liquor license. Ooof.

Brad Launches Mooza Eulogies

Reliable correspondent Brad W. emails: "Can I officially launch the Mooza eulogies? My date and I arrive without a reservation, but it's a Tuesday in July, so no big deal. We approach the hostess about a table for two. She seems befuddled, so she gets a manager. The manager tells us 'five minutes' and invites us to the bar. Fifteen minutes later, while reviewing the array of obviously empty tables, I ask the manager how things are going. 'You're the party of twenty, right?' 'No, I'm the party of two from 20 minutes ago.' 'Oh, give me five minutes.' Another fifteen minutes goes by, so we leave. The party of twenty hadn't been seated at that point either. Mooza, we'll miss you!!! But as Homer Simpson pointed out, trying is the first step towards failure." And this was a good day at Mooza.

Paul's Boutique Update

Fresh news still backlogged, but first a few follow-ups. Gawker linked to our Paul's Boutique post, which makes us realize we need to be more exact with our command of the language. It's the decor, not the cuisine, that's Jewel Bako meets Butter. (The menu when it was R99 was best described as "really good hangover food"; here's hoping for more of the same.) Coincidentally, this morning we received an email from Allen, the owner's brother. "I was looking for information on my brothers new restaurant Paul's Boutique. I am in Texas and have not seen pictures yet of the finished product. I went down for twelve days and helped my brother with renovations. He is the new owner and closed for renovations shortly after purchasing it. His name is Jack. Go in and say hello if you get a chance." Jack, welcome to the LES!

Mooza Becomes Cafe Lika

We're not the type to bask in schadenfreude (well, actually... ), but we'd reserved a special side of it this morning to trumpet the demise of Orchard Street eatery Mooza (Orchard @ Houston/Stanton). [We're also not the type to say told-you-so (well, actually... ), but we called this one a few months back.] Mooza, blessed with the best back garden in the whole LES if not all downtown Manhattan, suffered from that winning combination of freakish service combined with nearly inedible food at prices above what you'd pay at, say, AKA Cafe or Paladar -- places where you can actually digest your meal. So such sweet joy to find Mooza gone, replaced with a joint called Cafe Lika. But upon further investigation... O wretched life! Lika trumpets the fact that it's part of the Yaffa/Simone Cafe Axis of Evil, but as an article from the Gotham Gazette points out, Mooza was owned by the very same people. And so, alas, the apparent death of Mooza turns out to be nothing more than callous rebranding. Let the second deathwatch commence!

R99 Becomes Paul's Boutique

Lots of neighborhood news to catch up on this week. Let's start closest to home (well, my home)... Tiny brunch haven Rivington 99 (Rivington @ Ludlow), closed for the last month for renovations, has remade itself rather dramatically. Think Jewel Bako meets Butter, all in a 20x20 space. The menu appears blessedly unchanged, but they've gone and tarted up the name. In honor of the Beastie Boys album of the same name (cover art for which was shot on this very corner), it's now known as Paul's Boutique.

Francesco Reviews Dish

We promised to try Dish (Allen @ Stanton/Rivington), but alert reader Francesco V. beat us to it. "I ate there last night, in an almost empty restaurant... Make that an empty and freezing cold restaurant. We had to retreat from a table at the front of the house, simply for want of warmth, and several other diners followed us back. But no warmth was forthcoming -- no heat radiated from the kitchen at all and even the atmosphere lacks warmth. The food managed only 'lukewarm', in every sense of the word." Sounds great! We're more excited than ever to give it a go!

2002 LS.com LES Awards

For archival purposes: The 2002 LS.com LES Awards, featuring food and drink references and other tidbits of Lower East Side goodness, were announced a few days back in the main blog. Read Part I (Food & Drink), Part II (Neighborhood, Miscellany and The Future), and the reader response.

Media Bistro Does Tenement

Dear God, Media Bistro made it into Tenement before I did.

Chill Wind Blows at Tenement

A chill wind blows at Tenement, the new Ludlow joint we were keen to try out tonight as a refuge from the snow. AAP called the number listed this morning and seemed to have woken someone up: "Yeah, this is Tenement. But you need to call another number for reservations." So she did. No answer at that new number. No answer all afternoon. With daylight scarce and time a-waisting, she calls the first number back and is greeted thusly: "Hello, Liz? I mean, Tenement?" "I'd like to reserve for dinner tonight." "We're all booked for Saturday." "Um... okay, but I'm calling about dinner tonight." "Well, you need to call this other number to reserve." "Yes, I already did that. No one's answering. Do you think it will be a problem if we just come in around 8pm?" "Well, probably. The kitchen is closed."

Soy Review

Bitter cold nights are all about ordering in. Bless the arrival of Soy, a tiny little LES spot that opened last February. Hidden away on an untrammeled block of Suffolk (between Delancey and Rivington, just a few steps away from a Burger King), Soy eluded me until this fall when alert reader Dara L. emailed to suggest I check it out. It's sort of a Japanese version of the ever-glorious Rice, but with far fewer tables -- and far fewer patrons. The food warms the spirit, and the proprietress is wonderful. Patronage highly recommended.

Pub Crawl Report

Pub Crawl Report from Friday night in the LES/EV with SA, MB and CB. Started at Belly, a new wine bar on Rivington (between Suffolk/Clinton) with an appealing opium den/dive vibe. What killed it for us were two big parties (both of the suit-and-tie ilk, strangely) infringing on our space... So we walked a few blocks to El Patio, a Stanton hipspot (between Clinton/Attorney) still obscure enough not to merit a Citysearch listing. Another edgy decor vibe: tiki lounge meets dive. The real thatched-roof ceiling gave us pause when they lit up our scorpion bowl (straws and all) -- at least the insurance fire in three years will seem more plausible that most. But the DJ was too loud for our mood, and again party folks bent on dancing intruded, so it was off to Avenue C... Never fails to amaze how the place has picked up since I vacated the legendary 619 East 5th in 1998... After rejecting Zum Schneider (too full) and The Porch (too empty) we settled in for the night at Lava Gina (Ave. C and 7th St.), solidly my favorite of the current Ave. C bar scene. Just trendy enough to be fun, but not too trendy to be overrrun, this dual-personality drinking spot hits a wonderful mood post-1am.

Updates Notebook

Updates... The big question has been answered: it's a rice pudding emporium.... New Ludlow velvet-roper Pianos has added an obnoxious faux "New and Used Pianos" sign, dropping it a few notches below our previous estimation... New York Magazine has the scoop on Tenement, which we noticed last month. To our eyes, it appears to still be under construction... From the same story, General Store on Ave. B looks like it might be worth a shot... Word from Below 14th sources is that Wylie Dufresne has stage fright and won't open WD50 until everything's just perfect, so it could take longer than we thought... SA alerts us that New York Mag handed out chef awards last week, including one for Scott Conant at L'Imperio, where we dined well last night just a stone's throw from Phil Donahue. I had capretto for the first time... Reports from several companions indicate that the food has not improved at Apizz since we dined there in September. Pity...

Plywood

Plywood. Already used as interior decor by one nearby bar, the oddball SX 137, it's covering the facades of dozens of storefronts on the Lower East Side. Whether they become bars, art galleries or trendy boutiques, get ready for the next discursive wave of openings. None, however, is more eagerly awaited by Below 14th than the plywood storefront at 50 Clinton Street, which I passed tonight after parking my vehicle way over on Ridge. In about a month's time (by my estimate after peeking inside), the plywood