Sunday, November 23, 2014

Big word alert: From the front lines of the Avenue B brunch war



An EVG reader noted the arrival of sidewalk graffiti outside bonkers brunch spot Poco on Avenue B and East Third Street …



Per the reader: "I had to look up the word but sums it up about right. Haha."



Also…



…there's a similar message across the Avenue outside Mama's Bar…



One fed-up neighbor describes Poco as a "horror show."

"Poco is constantly crowding the sidewalk, and attracted people from many different areas to come and have a free-for-all of drinking and not realizing that we actually live here," the neighbor said.

Poco's website advertises that it has the "Best boozy brunch on the island."



34 comments:

blue glass said...

all that's missing is the santa costumes!

Big Brother said...

Apparently everyone's contribution to the neighborhood these days is booze. Bunch of alcoholics.

Nic Fit said...

So people are drinking alcohol at brunch. Okay. I'm old enough to remember another establishment on that block known as Save the Robots which opened three nights a week at 4am. Drinking, smoking and drug use was allowed/encouraged. And the world didn't end.

Anonymous said...

Why can't the police do anything about this? Aren't these people breaking any laws?

Crazy Eddie said...

Nice frigging skirt. Are there any cool people in the EV anymore?

Giovanni said...

I have two words: Wood Chipper

Anonymous said...

@ Eddie

None of the people who frequent Poco for brunch actually live in the EV

Nic Fit said...

"Why can't the police do anything about this? Aren't these people breaking any laws?" Last time I checked, brunch is not illegal in New York. Jeez, when did the East Village become a neighborhood of whiny Puritans?

koolnerd123 said...

here here Nic Fits! Anytime Save the Robots can be lauded is a good time! Oh the days ( sunrises actually) heheh!

Crazy Eddie said...

No puritans here. It’s just the self-entitlement stink that oozes from this not very attractive crowd. You can smell it a block away. And by attractive, I mean mind and body, the total package.

NOTORIOUS said...

Not a Puritan but I never saw the need to get Jersey Shore day drunk and act like a wooing asshole in public. And be honest, nobody would give a shit about things like Drunk Brunch and Santacon of these people weren't attracting so much negative attention to themselves.

IzF said...

Hey Giovanni: Douche Bag Chipper

Anonymous said...

People should return to the god old days. Next time they're noisy you dump a pail of water out your window on their heads.

Scooby said...

There was a time when you would go out, get sideways, maintain yourself, show respect for the neighborhood you were drinking in and go home without being a nuisance. Gotta agree with NOTORIOUS - if these fucktards didn't attract attention to themselves by their narcissistic antics all this wouldn't be an issue.

Anonymous said...

Drunk + noisy = The illusion of having a life

Anonymous said...

And the masses of douchebag follower losers that flood in to crowd the sidewalk outside that trashy place are at it again today. I almost got hit going around them and get their stink eye glares. Fuck outta here.

Giovanni said...

Seriously, someone should post a video of this place and others like it wih all the bottomless booze BunchBros and Brunchettes, the roar of the crowd is constant and very loud. And the funny thing is thing is that even though everyone is talking, in reality no one is saying a damn thing.

Scooby said...

Anonymous 3:34 - EXACTLY.

Anonymous 3:37 - EXACTLY - "Fuck outta here"

Giovanni - EXACTLY - "everyone is talking, in reality no one is saying a damn thing"

Alcohol is so prevalent because it gives the illusion of having a goood time. It is also so prevalent because somewhere in people's subconcious they all know thier life is empty yet full of self-inmposed stresses of aquiring material goods (band aids for the ego) with no real income, getting into staggering debt to live a life they see on the modern day equivalent of "Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous" - reality shows, no real connections to people, no real friends and no hope for a satisfying life. Psychology lesson done for today...

Makeout said...

Haha Crazy Eddie! Poor thing must be color blind!

Anonymous said...

Giovanni, Why should someone else do it? Why don't you do it?

Unknown said...

um, we live in new york. remember crack? look at the murder numbers compared to 24 years ago. stop complaining about living in the metropolitan capital of the world.

Anonymous said...

Starting a comment with "um" = douchebag alert

Scooby said...

Ivan - gotta ask what ANY of that has to do with drunk children making asses of themselves, not respecting a neighborhood and being nuisances?

And this place is well on its way to resembling suburbia and AnyCity, usa - hardly "the metropolitan capital of the world". That title is gone (along with the balls this city had for the 20th Century).

Anonymous said...

I used to feel like the East Village was a neighborhood, now it feels like a Dave & Busters.

NOTORIOUS said...

"someone should post a video of this place and others like it wih all the bottomless booze BunchBros and Brunchettes"

Isn't that what Gothamist's sole purpose is?

Scooby said...

What the fuck is "um" - a brainfart?

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, the dichotomy of the old days = bad, and the East Village today = progressive.

Thing about Save The Robots was that the unruliness was contained inside. And even when they did block the sidewalk, which they hardly did, it was 4 o'clock or wee hours in the morning, where there were hardly anyone out. Plus, Save the Robots was the only business in the block and blocks that would cause such nuisance in the sidewalk, again, which it hardly did, since the impropriety was inside; hardly spilled-out on the streets.

Nowadays, from 3rd Ave., to Ave. C, the businesses in its streets are mostly either bars, restaurants, or other business disguising themselves to be anything but a bar, almost right next to each other offering booze and boozy brunch whose most patrons aren't from the neighborhood and oblivious to the fact the EV is a residential neighborhood And even when they are aware that people do live here, they simply just don't care. It's called respect and courtesy. Save the Robots may have been a drug addled place but at least the patrons were respectful,maybe not to themselves and their body, but at least of others in the neighborhood. Anyone who says otherwise, either took too much drugs and have mushed their brains or wasn't even here when Save The Robots was in that block.

Today, it's so hard on the weekends, or even weeknights for that matter, to just go for a walk whether to run errands or just to clear one's mind or to think without being pestered by these boozy brunchers being obstreperous. Used to be that walking around was a joy, pleasure and luxury. Now, it's hellish. Thus the reason why people hardly go out and become shut-in. Has nothing to do whether brunch is legal. Missing the point. Obstreperous, clueless, and hopeless.

Anonymous said...

blame the community board

poco is ok but no to The Cock.

go figure..................

Unknown said...

I would like to know when this photo was taken and why people have to make stupid ass comments regarding the people in the photo being that I am one of those people in the photo along with some friends. @Crazy Eddie Also I wonder how many people commenting on this thread are gentrifiers themselves. I would esp like to to know bc I'm actually from the Lower East Side - born and raised.

Crazy Eddie said...

Lee, then you and your crew are the exception to the rule of the crowds that I have seen there. And if you’re a local, like me, you know that everyone gets woofed on. My best friends abuse the shit out me.

Jim Beam ... said...

You guys don't like this shit? Then contact the New York State Liquor Authority and read them their own rules:

http://www.sla.ny.gov/register-a-complaint

http://www.sla.ny.gov/unlimited-drink-specials

http://www.sla.ny.gov/node/390/pdf

The ABC Law prohibits from selling, serving, delivering or offering to patrons an unlimited number of drinks during any set period of time for a fixed price. The law also requires that licensees prohibit party organizers, promoters, etc., from engaging in this conduct in the licensees’ establishment. The statute also prohibits licensees from creating drink specials which, in the judgment of the Authority, are attempts to circumvent the law. This includes offerings of free drinks, or multiple drinks for free or for the price of a single drink, or for a low initial price followed by a price increment per hour or other period of time. The SLA does allow 2 for 1, half price and other such specials where the price of a drink is not lower than one-half of the premise's normal or regular price for the same drink. Section 117-a does not apply to private functions not opened to the public, such as weddings, banquets, or receptions, or other similar functions or to a package of food and beverages where the service of alcoholic beverages is incidental to the event or function. If you have questions about whether a particular drink special would be a violation of Section 117-a, or whether a particular event is exempt from the statute, please contact the Authority’s Office of Counsel.

Sh!t YELP Says said...

What do their customers say on Yelp?

Food: completely unmemorable. I had the Poco Benedict, expecting a new twist on one of my favorite brunch entrees. What I got was a decently poached egg with some chorizo chunks sprinkled on it. Contrary to the description, there was no trace of the pimento hollandaise sauce, and I mean nothing. I love sauces, and perhaps I should have asked for some more on the side, but seriously there was literally none on the dish as it was served. To be fair, I did not try the Lobster Mac and Cheese, which has some folks, including friends of mine, raving, but a basic like benedict should be a slam-dunk and it was not.

LOUD: I realize there may be nothing to be done about this except changing the wall coverings, but the downstairs room was DEAFENINGLY loud. We're talking stadium/runway-tarmac-at-JFK-at-takeoff loud. I've never understood why you would want to sit, literally YELLING at the other people at the table with you, but that's what people were doing. Thankfully, I didn't have a hangover because that would have been completely unbearable.

Bottom line, I don't get why people make reservations or line up for Poco, and I mean at all. It's nothing at all to write home about. The bottomless drinks are fine and fresh and they're always refilling them, but there are literally dozens and dozens of other places that do the same thing and have better food. Perhaps I just hit an off day, but to me, skip it and go to Essex.

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This place is the worst. We made a reservation for 4 people, and when we arrived they made us wait 25 mins before telling us that they didn't actually have space for us. Management here is clearly incompetent; as was evidenced by the multiple groups clogging the entrance waiting to be sat at their reserved tables. It wasn't just my group that was getting poor service.
Following their inability to seat us at our reserved time, we were told we could wait 60 mins for a table. So we left without eating. Will never go back here.

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Ok in the words of the current vernacular: is this place good or nah?

I give it a big ass "or nah". The mimosas are decent. The service takes FOREVER and the folks at the front are quite rude. We ordered the lobster Mac n cheese and that was the ONLY redeeming factor for good food. My friends all ordered eggs Benedict and no one was impressed. I ordered "the cure" with chicken added. Another current vernacular to describe this piece: I wasn't ready! The chicken was cold and I just didn't realize that part but it just wasn't a tasty brunch.

One other redeeming factor is that our waiter was a hard working man who handled all of the tables alone. Props to him.

One star for a lackluster Sunday brunch.

--------

Not only did they seat us 15 minutes later than the time they first gave us, but we saw multiple similar sized parties get seated before us. Our server was so overwhelmed, he had no help in re-filling drinks, getting food out, etc, to all of the outdoor seating.

My friends and I were disappointed in all of our meals. The lobster Mac and Cheese we ordered for the table was pretty good, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

The food was blah, the drinks were blah, and the service was bad. It's not worth the bottomless drinks.

No Thanks Bro said...

Filed my complaint!

http://www.trans.abc.state.ny.us/JSP/complaintreg/ComplaintRegistryPage.jsp

POCO
33 Ave B
New York, NY 10009

Neil said...

3rd and Brunch