Kurve loses its Michelin Star, among other things

Last week!



Now!



Which is all really confusing. Last Tuesday, Kurve employees hung the star, which really belongs to Kurve owner Andy Yang's Rhong Tiam on LaGuardia Place. So it was shady to put the star up here, of course. However, Kurve is now going to become another outpost of Rhong Tiam, according to food editor Bret Thorn. (Via Eater.) So why not just leave up the star...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Also at Kurve, a hanging

A krazy few days for the former Kurve!

Kurve, the favored spot for privileged teens to prowl, had a krazy few days... So for those keeping track of the komical thai eatery at Second Avenue at Fifth Street, here's a recap...

Tuesday!



Wednesday-Thursday!




Friday!



Sunday! The buffet is back! And Kurve is now known as Rhong Tiam East.



And there's now wi-fi and Butter Lane cupcakes...



Top photo via Eater.

March Madness! Takers for the former Kurve, Tonda and Aces and Eights spaces; music returning to old Mo Pitkin's?

Here we go with the docket for the SLA & DCA Licensing Committee, Monday, March 14 at 6:30 pm — JASA/Green Residence - 200 East 5th Street at Bowery



And here are some items of interest from the agenda (the whole shebang is here):

• Review of 2010 goals and accomplishments/committee goals for 2011

• Resolution to SLA regarding undue burden on Community Boards of waivers for 30-renewal notices, and undue burden to businesses of penalty of closing businesses if renewal is late.

Applications within Resolution Areas

• Table 12 (188 Ave A Take Out Food Corp), 188 Ave A (wb)

Oh boy ... this didn't go so well last time... in September...

• Coyi Café, 42 Ave B (wb)

• 34 Avenue A, corp to be formed, (Aces & Eights) (op)

CB3 said No to Jevan Damadian, the owner of the former Aces and Eights space, during the November meeting. He was looking to open a tapas bar ... with no beer pong. The rumors have a former associate of Phil Hartman's at the Two Boots empire opening a music venue here. A return to its previous Mo Pitkin's roots?

Sidewalk Café Applications

• Café Cortadito (Café Cortadito LLC), 210 E 3rd St

The Cuban eatery near Avenue B is looking for some sidewalk tables...

• A&D Wine Corp, (Wine Bar), 65 2nd Ave (alt/increase number of tables and chairs from 6 tables and 12 chairs to 10 tables and 22 chairs)

• 157 Brick Oven LLC (Plum Pizzeria), 157 2nd Ave

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades

• 4AB LLC (Tonda), 235 E 4th St (tran/op)

A-ha! All this explains the crazy non-hours of operation of late.

• Le Cave LLC, 64 E 1st St (alt/op/correction of original application)

Hey now! During January's meeting, one of the owners of LaVie, the hookah-flavored club at 64 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, called Susan Stetzer a "racist." How can they top that?

• Woody's (Prince 28 LLC), 31 2nd Ave (alt/op/adding second bar upstairs and other work)

• Sa Aming Nayon LLC, (Wai Café) 201 1st Ave (wb)

Something amiss with the Wai? Cafe?

• 133 Essex Restaurant LLC, (Mason Dixon) 133 Essex St (op)

Maybe they're just moving their mechanical bull?

New Liquor License Applications

• Lucky's Famous Burgers (Lucky Burger Houston LLC), 147 E Houston St (b)

BoweryBoogie has been covering the return of Lucky Burger to the East Village.

• Corp to be formed, (Kurve) 87 2nd Ave (op)

Corpse to be formed? We're curious to see what happens with the old Kurve/Rhong-Tiam space.

• Aegis Atlantic LLC (Peet’s Coffee/Preserve 24), 175 E. Houston St.(op)

Interesting... A Peet's Coffee & Tea shop is slated to take over this space on Houston at Allen ... this space that includes the Foam & Futon Center has been on the market ... And maybe Peet's will change the name from coffee and tea to beer and whiskey... ?

Yes! Plant saved from certain cruel (crueler?) fate at Kurve!

First, my apologies for the lousy photo. It was dark out when I passed Kurve on Second Avenue at Fifth Street last night. (Uh, being night, it would be dark!) And no way could I use the flash, and alert the 38 people working at the Starship Thaiper...and risk being pelted with foie gras torchon (with red currant jam) and spicy king salmon tartare....

Anyway! The plant has been saved! It has apparently been picked up!



Previously!



And previous to that previously!



Thank you to all of you who helped make the rescue a reality! Another Michelin Star for them!

Previously on EV Grieve:
Despite hard-hitting expose, plant at Kurve worse off than ever

The Rhong Tiam dilemma: Stay (and remodel) or go

[Photo via]

Grub Street has the official word on what's up with Kurve/Rhong Tiam on Second Avenue and Fifth Street:

"Andy Yang tells us he has closed the East Village outpost of Rhong Tiam. “It was a miscalculation,” he says of its predecessor Kurve, with its infamous Karim Rashid design." (Above!) He's also considering whether to remodel it (bringing the kitchen upstairs) and reopen it with a less off-putting décor, or to simply let go of the space, Grub Street notes.

What do you think? Remodel or let it go?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Kurve/Rhong Tiam's long, strange trip is apparently over

Kurve/Rhong Tiam's long, strange trip is apparently over

Oh my what a wacky few years here on Second Avenue and Fifth ... where Kurve became Rhong Tiam East... the potted-plant neglectors here have been "closed for operating" illegally ... battled local taggers... given themselves a Michelin star...

The location is seemingly closed now... Let's start with Friday evening.



I walked by several times later and never saw any private parties inside. Unless it was off-site....




And people were stopping by to eat...



Yesterday, the place looked pretty dismantled...and the phone was not in service.




And all last week, there were offering 25 percent off...



To be honest, I actually called for delivery one night last week. Was curious about their food. However, I was told the special was reserved for people who would eat in the restaurant... not for people who wanted it to go or delivered...

Oh, also on Friday, a photographer and her subject were using the wall for whatever this was...



All Kurve Koverage.

How dry I am: That forgotten little plant at Kurve

Whenever I walk by the kraptacular Kurve on Second Avenue and Fifth Street, I see the sad little plant that has apparently been forgotten by the Thai Troopers behind the window screen.





The poor little thing. Just needs a little soil. Some water. Some Pad See Lew. Something.

On the CB3/SLA June docket: Takers for Barbao, Sin Sin, Kurve — and 34 Avenue A, again

The June CB3/SLA agenda is out... (it should be on the CB3 website shortly) ...

SLA & DCA Licensing Committee
Monday, June 20 at 6:30 pm — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. 5th St. at Bowery.

Among the items of interest:

Applications within Resolution Areas

• To Be Determined, 14 Ave B (op)

The East Village Brewery & Beer Shop, who borrowed the Prime Meats menu, is back on the docket.

• To Be Determined, 34 Ave A (op)

More activity on the former Mo Pitkin's/Aces & Eight space. And still no idea who is behind the venture... just yet.

• JujoMukti Tea Lounge (JujoMukti Inc), 211 E 4th St (wb)

• The Saint Mark's Red House (TTD& G LLC), 115 St Marks Pl (wb)

This is Barbao, which, as you're painfully aware, has been closed of late. I guess we know why now.

• MAT NA Bar and Grill (6 St Marks Restaurant LLC), 6 St Marks Pl (wb)

Looks like something for the shuttered Cafe Hanover eatery that was once Mondo Kim's.

Sidewalk Café Applications

Bistro Nomad (78 Second Ave Sandwich Shop, Inc), 78 2nd Ave (alt/expansion of sidewalk café to 10 tables and 21 chairs)

New Liquor License Applications

• Company, 242 E 10th St (op)

Hmm...

• Café 81, 81 E 7th St (op)

Hmm...

• Karczma (Karczma NY Inc), 178 2nd Ave (op)

This is Pangea's address... We're find out what this is all about...

• Empellon, 105 1st Ave (op)

This is the address of Counter. wd~50 pastry chef Alex Stupak received the OK from the CB3/SLA last November for a "fine-dining Mexican restaurant."

• Luzzo's (Luzzo's East), 211-213 1st Ave (op)

• Bar Veloce (175 2nd Ave Corp), 175 2nd Ave (op)

• Slices Group, Inc., 248 E 5th St (op)

This was once home to Sin Sin. According to reports, the landlord's son wanted to open a bakery here. Slices Group? This sounds more like pizza. Or bacon!

• Cooper Craft & Kitchen (Trim Castle Corp), 87 2nd Ave (op)

It's the former Kurve/Rhong Tiam space that the Dempsey's owner wants to turn into a craft beer-focused restaurant. The East Fifth Street Block Association had been opposed to this license. Read that here.

Mary Ann's seized; Fifth Street and Second Avenue a jinxed location for eateries?

As Eater first reported last night, Mary Ann's on Second Avenue at Fifth Street has been seized...




Tough corner these days, apparently... as you'll recall, the Moonstruck Diner on the northeast corner briefly closed in February... And on the northwest corner, Rhong Tiam East/Kurve...and we don't even know where to begin... Kurve was briefly shuttered last November

Also at Kurve, a hanging

Last evening, Kurve employees were putting something up in the window...



...hmmm...The Michelin Star Award? For what?

Former Kurve space kleaned out

The city issued the permits last week for workers to renovate the former Kurve/Rhong-Tiam space on Second Avenue at Fifth Street. And workers quickly cleaned out the former thai eatery, which you can see for yourself now that they removed the paper on the windows...



Now!

The new operators of the space were on the agenda for this month's CB3/SLA meeting listed only (and mysteriously!) as "corp to be formed." However, they were a late scratch from the docket.

Proposals for Kurve and Tonda spaces off tonight's CB3 docket

There are several scratches for tonight's CB3/SLA meeting...

Including two high-profile spaces that we were curious about:

Alterations/Transfers/Upgrades
4AB LLC (Tonda), 235 E 4th St (tran/op)

New Liquor License Applications
Corp to be formed, (Kurve) 87 2nd Ave (op)

The meeting is at 6:30 pm — JASA/Green Residence - 200 East 5th Street at the Bowery.

One year later, Kurve/Rhong Tiam East decides to paint over the tags

The first tag appeared on the Fifth Street side of Kurve last April... since then, a few more have been added... and it looked like this...



Now, though, the paint came out...

Despite hard-hitting expose, plant at Kurve worse off than ever

Flashback to Nov. 9!

How dry I am: That forgotten little plant at Kurve



Now! The poor thing has been kicked over!




Next time you're there ordering, say, the coconut galangal soup and kurobuto pork belly with rice porridge, please ask your waitstaff to kindly pick up the plant....

Report: craft-beer-focused bar-restaurant coming to old Kurve space

Grub Street gets the word on what's coming to the former Kurve-Rhong Tiam space on Second Avenue and Fifth Street: a craft-beer-focused bar-restaurant. And it's from the team behind Dempsey's and Sláinte. And don't call it an Irish pub! "The food will be in the American comfort-food mode with some twisted-up Irish dishes mixed in for good measure," owner Tom O'Byrne told Grub Street.

They're just one of the 40 items on next month's CB3/SLA docket.

So long spaceship windows! Rolling out the barrel at the Cooper Craft and Kitchen

Over on Second Avenue and Fifth Street, work continues on the former Kurve/Rhong Tiam space...

And workers have now replaced the space-aged windows...



...with rather normal-looking windows...

And on the inside? EV Grieve reader Sy on 5th Street got a glimpse. Very barrel-ly!

Meanwhile, Bobby Williams got a look at the front...

As previously reported, the space will be a craft-beer-focused bar-restaurant called Cooper Craft and Kitchen from the team behind Dempsey's and Sláinte. They got a full liquor license approval back in June.

Bonus photo of the former curvy Kurve windows!

A short history of tags outside Kurve/Rhong Tiam East/that crazy looking Thai place on Second Avenue and Fifth Street

Last April, Eater noted the arrival of the first tag on the Fifth Street side of the eatery formerly known as Kurve...



Since then, the place has started to attract a few more street artists...






And earlier this week we welcomed the latest member of the street-art family here...




And maybe in a few more months...


[Photo via CityRag]