Pardon My French team bringing Moroccan cuisine to 4th Street with Chouchou

The owner and executive chef of Pardon My French on Avenue B are behind this Moroccan venture that officially debuts tonight at 215 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Here's a description via the Chouchou website:

The restaurant offers a contemporary take on classic Mediterranean favorites with the menu featuring Tagine lamb, spiced couscous, Moroccan pastries and fresh tangy salads.

Florence Fabricant had this to say in a mini preview in The New York Times:

[Executive chef David] Pegoli, who also worked at Luksus, has created a menu of six couscous preparations, as well as four tagines, including a lobster version, served in a collection of the elegantly embossed ceramic vessels of the same name.

Traditional tajines, couscous and pastries are prepared just as they should be by meticulous chef David Pegoli who imports all his spices from Morocco 🔥🤤 . . . . #eeeeeats #eatingnyc #tastingtable #newforkcity #eaterny #forkyeah #nycfat #devourpower #hungry #westvillage #nyc #newyorkcity #onemoredish #moroccan #morocconyc #moroccanfood #couscousnyc #eastvillage #opening #restaurantopening #couscousmarocain #tajine #couscous

A post shared by CHOUCHOU NYC (@chouchounyc) on Feb 22, 2017 at 2:00pm PST

CB3 originally recommended to deny the applicant's bid for a full liquor license for the space last September... in part because of the proposed 4 a.m. closing time on a side street that already had 18 full on-premises liquor licenses within 500 feet. The local block association was also against the full license. (The PDF of the official minutes are here.) The SLA website shows that there is an active license here for Restaurant Wine.

Until May 2016, the address was home for 13 years to the Italian restaurant In Vino.

You can find Chouchou's menu here. Chouchou is open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight.

In Vino closes for good on East 4th Street after service on Monday

[Image via Facebook]

After 13 years of serving Italian fare on East Fourth Street, In Vino is closing on Monday night.

The rustic restaurant, which opened in 2003, is owned by East Village resident Keith Beavers. (Updated: See the comments with more from Keith.)

A rent increase is not behind the closure — just a financial issue. "Weekday business just hadn't lived up to what it has been in the past," In Vino manager Dana Worstall told us via email.

As In Vino preps to close, starting tonight, wine glass pours will be $5 and bottles will be 50 percent off. In Vino, at 215 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. is open 5-11 p.m. weekdays; until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Drv-In moving to the East Village?

Saw the following item in BizBash yesterday about Grand Opening's expansion away from its current digs on Norfolk Street:

The folks at Grand Opening, the small Lower East Side venue with a rotating roster of quirky activities, are expanding their offerings—both indoors and outdoors. The fall and winter concept was Drv-In, an intimate screening room outfitted with a 1965 convertible four-door Ford Falcon. This summer, the same concept (and the same car) moves to a larger, permanent venue in the East Village. The new Drv-In has a reception area and concession stand, and while the car still only seats six, the space can hold as many as 15 guests. For a bigger group, the company’s new summer drive-in series, Cars Under the Stars, takes over parking lots around the city.

According to the link for the new Drv-In supplied by BizBash, the address is 215 E. 4th St., which also happens to be the address for the very-much-still-open wine-and-tapas joint In Vino.


Or maybe the new location is the vacant storefront to the west of In Vino. Though that place still has a "For Rent" sign above it.