Nowon debuted last week at 507 E. Sixth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. This is the first restaurant for Chef Jae Lee, who is serving non-traditional Korean fare here in the 34-seat space.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by before the grand opening, and watched Lee create, plate, taste and share his royal kimchi rice dish (dry aged ground beef, egg, bean sprout and seaweed) ...
Lee previously helmed the kitchen — a pop up called Him — at Black Emperor on Second Avenue between 12th Street and 13th Street, where he was responsible for the popular guest menu. His dry aged double cheeseburger with kimchi mayo and dill pickles, which Gothamist called "one of NYC's greatest burgers" when served at Black Emperor, is available here too, though only from 5-7 p.m.
He also served as the executive chef of Rice & Gold at Hotel 50 Bowery.
Nowon, named for the residential district of Seoul where Lee is from, pays tribute to the culture of Korea as well as his family.
Nowon is currently serving dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and until 11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. A weekend brunch service is in the works in the months ahead. (Also coming soon: the liquor license, with beer, wine and soju cocktails.) Find more details at the Nowon website ... and Instagram account. And here's a copy of the menu.
Nowon has been packed each evening, whereas August Laura (corner of 6th St. and Ave. A) has very little traffic. Anyone know why this is?
ReplyDeleteRavi De Rossi, who owns several restaurants in the EV, told me he looked at the space and passed. The rent: $30k/month. He pays $16k across the street for two restaurants.
Nowon is getting a ton of press/buzz in the food world -- the "Him" pop-up was a huge success and Jae Lee's star is rising. I think that's the reason why it's packed will August Laura is less so. I'm looking forward to getting a burger there soon, I'll probably go on a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday when the crowds aren't as bad
ReplyDeleteIt's all about press.
ReplyDeleteI reached out to the owners of August Laura multiple times (10? 12?) dating back to before their appearance at CB3 last December. Some times they responded, some times they didn't. When they did respond, they didn't provide much information... or promised to tell me more later. I had simple requests: menu items, live music schedules, name of new establishment, opening date. Not exactly seeking phone records from the Kremlin here. I only learned the name August Laura via Instagram. I eventually stopped trying. They showed very little interest in any kind of coverage — at least from me.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Jae Lee personally reached out to me via Instagram. He shared an early Nowon coming-soon post from EVG on his Instagram. He was all for a visit from Stacie Joy, let her come into the kitchen, was generous with his time, etc. He does have a PR firm working with him to get stuff out to media outlets. They were easy to work with too. Too often, agencies will just focus on the big sites — we got our client on Thrillist and Grub Street, no need for a neighborhood news site! Anyway, Jae really likes the East Village and wants to be part of it. I can't always say that about other bar-restaurants that open around here.
August Laura doesn’t have anyone in it because of the high prices, generic fare, and total rejection of what made Sidewalk Cafe great.
ReplyDeleteI love you EVG!
ReplyDeleteIf you can't respect and brush off the locals and natives, why should they patronize your place, August Laura.
ReplyDelete“Conceited people never hear anything but praise.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Thanks for this post, I will definitely give them a try!
ReplyDelete