Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Tory Burch-endorsed Marco Polo Café cedes to mini burgers on St. Mark's Place

Marco Polo Café at 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue is changing concepts. The Asian-Italian eatery known for the Moo Goo Gai Panini (better than it sounds!) shuttered after the weekend... Already, a Mini Burger sign has good up over the papered windows...



The Marco Polo home page included the following:



Tory Burch, whom the LA Times has called the most influential fashion designer in America, loves the East Village’s Marco Polo Café. She visited the café to meet and interview the owner and chef Ms. Jiang and called Marco Polo Café an "amazing restaurant" and was so impressed at the delicious dishes Ms. Jiang turns out of the kitchen, that she invited Ms. Jiang to her home to cook a special Sunday dinner for her and her family...


I'm told the same owners are behind the new eatery.
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10 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 13, 2010 at 8:20 AM

    I'm sure she's a lovely woman, but the idea that Tory Burch -- a socialite who only started her line of reappropriated Indian tunics and simple ballet flats with (fugly) logo medallions in 2004 -- is "the most influential fashion designer in America" is absolutely preposterous. Lay off the crack, LA Times.

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  2. AnonymousOctober 13, 2010 at 9:33 AM

    Weird -- Marco Polo was still up on Seamlessweb last night. I remember having a long internal monologue about whether or not to order the Moo Goo Gai Panini.

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  3. LisaOctober 13, 2010 at 12:13 PM

    So Ms. Burch is the most influential fashion designer in America? I think Lindsay Lohan would beg to differ.

    Can someone describe precisely what Moo Goo Gai Panini was? I get the general idea, but would like more specifics on what I missed.

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  4. EV HeaveOctober 13, 2010 at 12:52 PM

    @EVGrieve

    Yes, from what I've gathered, that is accurate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. East Village EatsOctober 13, 2010 at 1:01 PM

    Totally ok with me, the bison slider there is the bees knees!

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  6. Ev GrieveOctober 13, 2010 at 1:03 PM

    Now let me try that again, Lisa... Here is a review from NYPress:

    Moo Goo Gai Pan is a basic Cantonese stir-fry consisting primarily of button mushrooms (moo goo) and sliced chicken (gai pan) in a white sauce. For the panini, Magaddino and Jiang opted for shitakes over buttons, which they layer with grilled white meat chicken,Vidalia onions and fontina cheese. An ensemble cast of ingredients makes for an overall well-balanced arrangement—no culture wars here.

    The tender marinated chicken conveys hints of ginger and teriyaki without overpowering the unseasoned bites of simply grilled mushrooms. For their part, the meaty shitakes add texture to the mix, while letting the main protein take center stage. Healthy helpings of Vidalias, softened to just this side of caramelized, provide an important burst of acidity while punching up the sandwich with their natural sweetness.The slight tang of melted fontina cuts through the onions and keeps their sugariness in check. At the same time, the cheese’s nuttiness brings out the same in the mushrooms, rounding out the combination.

    And of course, like any panini worth its salt, the bread holds this one together literally and figuratively. Sourced from Brooklyn purveyor Aladdin Bakers, the flat bread is toasted to the edge of crispiness on the outside, while the soft white inside absorbs the flavors of the onions and cheese.

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  7. LisaOctober 13, 2010 at 1:09 PM

    Thanks, Grieve! Damn, sounds delicious...

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  8. "Wilfrid" (Kim Davis)October 18, 2010 at 2:13 PM

    Since ths summer, Marco Polo has been offering $1 burgers and promoting them heavily. I guess cutting the price of the competition - Mark's Sliders ($2) - has worked for them. Same owner in the kitchen.

    August review:

    http://www.pinkpignyc.com/at_the_sign_of_the_pink_p/2010/08/quick-bites-marco-polos-1-burger.html

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  9. AnonymousMay 3, 2011 at 1:34 AM

    Thank you for your post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. toryMay 3, 2011 at 1:35 AM

    Great post.

    ReplyDelete

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