Carnitas Ramírez celebrating 1 year in the East Village on Sunday

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Carnitas Ramírez is celebrating its 1st EV anniversary on Sunday. 

The sibling to Taqueria Ramírez, the celebrated Greenpoint establishment, has built an enthusiastic fan base here at 210 E. Third St., just east of Avenue B. 

The restaurant received "Critic's Pick" status with a two-star review last fall in The New York Times ... and the paper later named it one of the city's best 100 restaurants. 

I recently checked in with co-owners (from left) Yvon de Tassigny, Giovanni Cervantes and Tania Apolinar...

I came back later to catch the fourth owner, Kari Boden...

I asked what these 12 months have meant to them... they chalked this quote up to the whole team, as it's a group effort: 

This past year has been a joyful experience; we have created a new family from the people we work with and a new home in the East Village, which has welcomed us with open arms since the beginning. ... With gratitude, we can say that we have done some of the work to bring the best Mexican food to NYC, but there's still a lot to do! And we feel excited about that. It's been a wonderful year, and we are looking forward to many more! 

The anniversary afternoon begins at 2 p.m. with a special menu and music...