&Beer is a new pop-up concept on 7th Street

Ravi DeRossi's vegetable-centric Overthrow Hospitality has introduced a new concept on Seventh Street... last week saw the debut of &Beer at 21 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

The 14-seat counter space will host a rotation of pop-ups throughout the year — beginning with Mushrooms & Beer, led by Avant Garden chef Juan Pajarito. 

Per Overthrow:

&Beer will, naturally, offer a diverse selection of beers on-tap alongside bottles and cans curated by Proletariat's cicerone Ramon Manrique Hung, plus a selection of natural wines, paired alongside a mushroom-focused menu consisting of 12 offerings, all featuring mushrooms in various forms. The team has worked with local purveyors like Smallhold and Mushroom Queens to devise the focused menu.

The new spot is adjacent to Proletariat, which moved here last summer from St. Mark's Place. 

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 5-10 p.m.

The 3rd annual Mask-Querade taking place on 7th Street this Oct. 30

East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality group is once again hosting a Trick-or-Treat Halloween festival for children ages 12 and under on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

The third-annual event takes place on Oct. 30 from 1-3 p.m.

Details via the EVG inbox...

Come join the East Village for an afternoon of fun-filled trick-or-treating! Now in its third year, Overthrow Hospitality's Maskquerade offers an afternoon of trick-or-treating to over 1,000 neighborhood children — plus treats for adults, bag-decorating stations and more. 

Hosted on Seventh Street, Overthrow Hospitality transforms the open street into a Halloween scene with the help of a 12-foot skeleton, lifesize dragon, cobwebs galore and more. 

Residents interested in helping out on Oct. 30 can sign find a volunteer sign-up here. Donations are also being accepted via a GoFundMe here. Candy donations can be made directly at Amor y Amargo, 95 Avenue A at Sixth Street, during business hours.

Overthrow has five establishments on this block of Seventh Street: Cadence, Ladybird, the Fragile Flour, Rabbit and Avant Garden.

Here's more about Rabbit and the Fragile Flour, opening next month on 7th Street

Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality has two new establishments opening on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue on Sept. 7. 

A rep for the plant-based hospitality group shared more details about each concept at 122 E. Seventh St. ... 

Rabbit: 

Exploring the world of raw vegan cooking, Executive Chef Xila Caudillo, takes a global approach offering a 13-course tasting menu, aided by hospitality veterans, Lo Serrano (sous chef) and Katy Blank (GM). 

The space explores the opportunities of raw ingredients; complimented by a small but intentionally curated beverage program with low-ABV cocktails, non-alcoholic options including fresh juices and infused-waters, and a curated wine list featuring Latinx winemakers. 

Rabbit seats 12 indoors at the chef's counter. It will be open Wednesday to Sunday, with seatings at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. You can find the Rabbit website here ... and some food pics @rabbit.newyork. 

The Fragile Flour: 

The dessert and wine bar offers plated desserts, wine pours from across the world (from Brazil to Italy), and light savory bites. The 12-seat space ... is led by Pastry Chef Lady Ashton Warren, with wine selections from Overthrow's wine director, Drew Brady. 

The Fragile Flour website is at this link ... and the Instagram account is here. 

No. 122 previously housed Overthrow's Cadence, which moved across the street to a larger space in the spring. The Fragile Flour space was previously slated to be a Cadence annex.

Proletariat and Cadence on the move to larger East Village spaces

Proletariat closed last night after service at 102 St. Mark's Place between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

The craft beer bar is moving to a larger home at 21 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square — the former Porsena space. (Porsena closed in August 2020 after 10 years in business.) 

Ravi DeRossi, the owner of the plant-based Overthrow Hospitality, recently told us that "the new, bigger snd better version of Proletariat" will feature a full dinner menu, with vegan versions of burgers, bratwurst and fried chicken sandwiches as well as "a much larger list of rare, new and unusual beers curated by Ramon Hung of the original location." 

DeRossi said the new space is ready to go — they're just waiting on the liquor license. 

Meanwhile, Overthrow's Cadence is also on the move...

The vegan soul-food restaurant overseen by Chef Shenarri Freeman at 122 Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue also closed after service last night. 

DeRossi told us via email that Cadence is moving across Seventh Street to the space adjacent to Ladybird (The storefront had been serving as a second outpost for Ladybird and was previously several other concepts for Overthrow.) 

The larger Cadence is expected to debut on May 4, he said. 

And what will become of the now-former Cadence space? DeRossi also planned to annex the adjacent storefront. 

"The Cadence space will be turned into a raw vegan restaurant and the space next door, where we were originally going to expand Cadence, will become a vegan wine and dessert bar," DeRossi said. 

Cadence opened in the spring of 2021 and drew praise from Pete Wells at the Times, who gave the place high marks, noting: "In the increasingly crowded world of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, Cadence occupies a niche of its own."

Hellbound: Café de L’Enfer popping up on Avenue A this fall

Café de L’Enfer, an absinthe and champagne cocktail bar, is popping up for the fall starting tomorrow on the second floor at 95 Avenue A. 

Restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality is opening the bar above Amor y Amargo here at Sixth Street ... inspired, DeRossi said, by the original Hell-themed café (Cabaret de l'Enfer!) that debuted in Paris in 1892. 

Café de L’Enfer will be open Wednesday-Sunday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

Updated:

Here are a few interior shots...

Thanks to @vegan.nyx for the tip! And this song for headline inspiration.

Ravi DeRossi is doubling down on Ladybird and Cadence on 7th Street

You're not seeing double at 111 E. Seventh St. — there are now two outposts of Ladybird, the vegan tapas and wine bar, at this address.

And this won't be the only restaurant from Ravi DeRossi’s plant-based Overthrow Hospitality to open a second space on this block between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

DeRossi is also opening another space for Cadence, his hit vegan soul food restaurant that debuted this spring, next door to the current sliver of a location at 122 E. Seventh St. 

He is known for dabbling in various vegan concepts with his chefs. "I really love opening new restaurants and working with young chefs to create these new concepts," he told EVG via email.

However, here, he decided to stick with formulas that are working. 

"Both restaurants are at capacity almost every night of the week. It just made sense to expand them, either that or relocate them to larger venues," DeRossi said. "We have opened three new restaurant concepts [Soda Club, Etérea and Cadence] in the past five months — I didn't have the energy for a fourth right now."

Ladybird II, which DeRossi expects to open (with a new brunch service) in about three weeks, takes over for Saramsam, a Filipino restaurant that debuted last September and quietly closed in May. 

This was the third restaurant that DeRossi tried in the space, following Fire & Water and Night Music. Tony Mongeluzzi, the first chef for Fire & Water, unexpectedly passed away in September 2018. The chef for Night Music left NYC at the start of the pandemic.

"We had a string of bad luck," DeRossi said. "With the success of Ladybird next door, it just made sense to expand. Definitely not the most fun decision but hopefully the smartest decision."

As for Cadence, the new space next door will be ready in about two to three months (they recently applied for a new liquor license). 

Chef Shenarri Freeman has been praised for her creative cooking. This week, Pete Wells at the Times gave the place high marks, noting: "In the increasingly crowded world of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, Cadence occupies a niche of its own."

Saramsam remains closed for now on 7th Street

Multiple EVG readers have noted that Saramsam, the plant-based Filipino restaurant at 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue, has been dark these past few weeks. 

According to an Instagram post dated May 12: [D]ue to unforeseen circumstances, Saramsam will be temporarily closed." 

Saramsam, part of Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, debuted this past September.

Overthrow Hospitality has had an active year, opening three restaurants: Cadence on Seventh Street, Soda Club on Avenue B and Etérea on Fifth Street.

Openings: Soda Club on Avenue B; Jolene on Great Jones Street

Soda Club, the latest vegan concept from Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, is now open at 155 Avenue B between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (First reported here.) 

The restaurant is serving plant-based Italian cuisine and a large selection of natural and organic wines. You can check out the menu here. 

Soda Club is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to midnight. For now, they're only taking walk-ins. 

The previous tenant at No. 155, Donostia, the wine-and-tapas bar, closed in November 2018 after five years in business.

This is the third new East Village from DeRossi this year... joining Cadence on Seventh Street and Etérea on Fifth Street.

Photo by @ericmedsker via @sodaclubnyc

At 54 Great Jones St., restaurateur Gabriel Stulman has changed up concepts for The Jones, his all-day cafe that opened in August 2019 just west of the Bowery.

Starting today, the space is Jolene, which takes its name from Dolly Parton's song.

Here's more:

Inspired by the utterly charming Cafe de Flore in Paris...  Stulman has transformed The Jones into a new classic American bistro, cafe, and bar with partner and executive chef James McDuffee ... That means an extensive wine list, clutch cappuccinos, snackable bites like a "Della" tea sandwich, and satisfying mains like chopped steak frites.

Will update with the hours later. No website at the moment, but there's always Instagram.

Before The Jones, No. 54 was home to the Great Jones Cafe, which never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Meanwhile, the bust of Elvis remains from the days of the Great Jones Cafe...    

Openings: Etérea debuts on 5th Street

Etérea, the latest plant-based concept from Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, is now open (as of last night) at 511 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Per the Overthrow Instagram account:

Etérea is Spanish for "ethereal," meaning "light and delicate, as if not of this world." It communicates our CEO Ravi DeRossi's vision of a tequila and mezcal bar unlike any other in the city, past or present. With deep red velvet banquettes, vividly colorful pillows, and thousands of hanging flowers, we hope the place will offer our guests an escape from the rat race of the city. ⠀

Mixologist Sother Teague from Amor y Amargo is behind the bar menu here ... while Executive Chef Xila Caudillo oversees the plant-based small plates "that honor her Mexican Heritage and SoCal Upbringing."

Etérea is open Wednesday-Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight, with a 2 p.m. open on Saturday and Sunday. You can find the menu here. 

DeRossi's other EV establishments include Avant Garden, Ladybird and the recently opened Cadence.

And previously here... Violet, the restaurant by the Pizza Loves Emily Group and chef/owner Matt Hyland, did not reopen after the COVID-19 PAUSE.

The address has been home to several restaurants since Le Tableau closed in December 2007. Before Violet, there was Goat Town, Seymour Burton, Butcher Bay and GG's.   

Openings: Cadence debuts on 7th Street

Cadence, the latest vegan entry in Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality group, debuted last night at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. (First mention here.)

As Florence Fabricant reports at the Times, the chef, Shenarri Freeman, "is interpreting the Virginia Southern and soul food of her youth through a contemporary plant-based lens."

And...

Here, a compact dining room with a chef's counter and seating outdoors are the backdrop for Ms. Freeman's smoked grits with torched oyster mushrooms, a black-eyed pea and garlic pancake, maple buttermilk cornbread, stuffed collards with Aleppo rice, roasted purple yams with blackberry coulis and toasted marshmallows, and a seasonal fruit cobbler. Plant-based stand-ins are used in place of real dairy, as in the ice cream for the cobbler and the rosemary butter on the grits.

Cadence is currently open for limited indoor and curbside dining. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 5-11 p.m., and Sunday from noon-10 p.m. You can find the menu (and make reservations) at this link.

Image via @cadence.newyork

Reminders: Overthrow Hospitality to give away free meals today

ICYM our post from Monday... Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality is serving free, plant-based three-course meals to anyone in the neighborhood who would like one today from 2-6 p.m today at Amor Y Amargo, 443 E. Sixth St. at Avenue A.  

"It really just comes down to us wishing for everyone in our community to have a hot meal for the holidays," DeRossi said in a statement. "It's not much, but we hope it will bring a little bit of joy to everyone who will partake. I'm excited to spend this day with my team, cooking and serving those who would like a free meal on Christmas Eve."

The notice states that social distancing will be practiced, and masks will be available for those who need them.

Overthrow Hospitality said it has served more than 40,000 free meals to those in need since the beginning of the pandemic.

DeRossi's restaurant group includes the vegan-based Ladybird, Amor Y Amargo, Avant Garden and Saramsam. 

While they are serving free Christmas Eve meals today, DeRossi's restaurants are currently closed until early 2021.

Ravi DeRossi temporarily closing his East Village restaurants; offering free meals on Christmas Eve

Ravi DeRossi has decided to temporarily close his East Village restaurants until January, a pause that started this past Friday.

An Instagram post notes: "It wasn't easy, but we believe a better way to spend these next few weeks is by reassessing, reflecting and recharging. We hope to start the new year with clear minds and prepared for whatever it throws at us!"

His Overthrow Hospitality group includes the vegan-based Ladybird, Amor Y Amargo and Saramsam. 

However, while the restaurants may be closed for dining now, there's activity behind the scenes. On Christmas Eve Thursday, Overthrow Hospitality will be serving free, plant-based three-course meals to anyone in the community who would like one. 

The meals will be available from 2-6 p.m. on Thursday at Amor Y Amargo, located at 443 E. Sixth St. at Avenue A.  

"It really just comes down to us wishing for everyone in our community to have a hot meal for the holidays," DeRossi said in a statement. "It's not much, but we hope it will bring a little bit of joy to everyone who will partake. I'm excited to spend this day with my team, cooking and serving those who would like a free meal on Christmas Eve."

The notice states that social distancing will be practiced, and masks will be available for those who need them.

Overthrow Hospitality said it has served more than 40,000 free meals to those in need since the beginning of the pandemic.

H/T Vinny & O

Signage arrives for Cadence, the latest Ravi DeRossi venture on 7th Street

The sign is now up for Cadence at 122 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue ... this latest vegan restaurant venture from the East Village-based Ravi DeRossi will be a take on southern soul food via chef Shenarri Freeman.

And this is one of several new restaurants that DeRossi's revamped Overthrow Hospitality group has planned in the coming months, a list that includes the pasta bar Soda Club on Avenue B and the Mexican-themed Spider in the Garden on Fifth Street.

He also recently expanded Amor y Amargo on Avenue A at Sixth Street, including opening a cocktail-general store in the corner retail space.

As Eater previously reported, each of his new restaurants is being led by "senior employees within the company who agreed to launch their own projects under DeRossi's new hospitality group."

Here's more from Eater:

Moving forward, DeRossi and [director of operations Drew] Brady wanted to shift the company to add more employee-first initiatives — like seeking out in-house talent first to launch new projects — and encourage more community involvement. 

At Overthrow Hospitality, employees will each be allotted 10 paid hours per month to take part in protests or volunteer at various community organizations. For those who participate, the logged hours convert into wellness credits that the employees can put towards things like buying a new bike or getting a gym membership.

The new direction comes as the group is still weathering the pandemic along with the rest of the city. DeRossi was able to negotiate favorable rent deals on the places that are opening, and he says that launching more vegan restaurants led by veteran team members at a time when environmental and economic crises are colliding is the right way to go.

Cadence will be DeRossi's fourth establishment on the block, joining Saramsam, a Filipino restaurant at 111 E. Seventh St. that opened in September, and Ladybird and Avant Garden. 

Desnuda, the 18-seat ceviche bar, was the previous tenant at 122 E. Seventh St, closing in January after 11-plus years. 

Amor Y Amargo photo last month by Vinny & O

About the Mask-Querade event on 7th Street Halloween afternoon

East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality company is hosting a socially distanced Trick-or-Treat Halloween festival for children ages 12 and under. 

It's happening on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 2-4 p.m. on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

A few details via the EVG inbox...

Children accompanied by a parent or guardian are invited to trick or treat safely and socially distanced, with masks being required. Adults will be able to sit in designated viewing stations to watch children with complimentary mulled wine and spiced cider. 

Costumes are welcome, but not required. Masks and social distancing protocols will be enforced by volunteer community members as well as staggered entrance and exit times for participants.

We are looking for volunteers to hand out candy. If anyone is interested, then please send us an email at Speakup@OverthrowHospitality.com. 

DeRossi owns several restaurants on that block, including Avant Garden and Ladybird.  

Saramsam is a new Filipino restaurant from Ravi DeRossi on 7th Street

Saramsam, a Filipino restaurant from Ravi DeRossi, is now open at 111 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. Here's more about it:

Saramsam means "casual dining" in Ilocano, the third-most spoken native language of the Philippines. Hailing from the city of La Union, Executive Chef Raj Abat says he wanted to create a restaurant that was Filipino down to its core — in its warm hospitality, nostalgic ingredients, and informal, communal style of dining. The twist? As part of proprietor Ravi DeRossi’s plant-based Revolution Hospitality Group, we serve Filipino cooking that’s entirely meat free.

[T]o create the menu, Chef Raj looked directly to the flavors of his own childhood — the funk of fermented bagoong shrimp paste, the sour tamarind of sinigang soup. From a plant-based sizzling “sisig” to an adobo of roasted mushrooms, we’ve got something for Filipino food experts and newcomers alike to discover.

You can find the menu and other details here. Saramsam is open for sidewalk dining Wednesday from 5-11 p.m. and from noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday. 

 

This is the third concept that DeRossi has tried in the space, following Fire & Water and Night Music. His other establishments include Death & Co. Ladybird and Amor Y Amargo.

Before this space at No. 111 was converted for restaurant use on Seventh Street, it was the Village Style Vintage Shop until the fall of 2016.

A look at the larger Amor y Amargo on A; plus Soda Club signage arrives on B

As previously reported, East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi is turning 95 Avenue A into an expanded Amor y Amargo... the gates were up the other day here on Sixth Street, offering a look at the new signage in progress...





No. 95 previously housed three of DeRossi's establishments: Honey Bee's, Amor y Amargo and Mother of Pearl. Honey Bee's and Mother of Pearl closed to accommodate the larger Amor y Amargo, which will now also include a full food menu.

Amor y Amargo debuted in 2011 with just a handful of seats, and quickly became celebrated as the country's first bitters-based bar.

In other DeRossi developments, signage recently arrived for Soda Club here at 155 Avenue B between Ninth Street and 10th Street...



Soda Club will feature fresh-made pasta and "over 100 natural and inexpensive wines." No word on an opening date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
• Mother of Pearl and Honey Bee's close to make way for a larger Amor y Amargo on Avenue A

• Ravi Derossi has Soda Club in the works for Avenue B

Ravi DeRossi plans vegan Mexican restaurant for former Violet space on 5th Street

[Photo from July 30]

East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi has plans for a vegan Mexican restaurant at 511 E. Fifth St., the former Violet space between Avenue A and Avenue B.

DeRossi is on tonight's virtual CB3-SLA agenda for a new liquor license for the address. According to the questionnaire for public viewing at the CB3 website, the working name is Spider in the Garden. (The space has a garden in the back, which a previous tenant, GG's, would use to harvest several ingredients.)

The proposed hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, with a 1 a.m. close on Friday. Proposed weekend hours: Noon to 2 a.m. on Saturday and noon to midnight on Sunday.

Reps for DeRossi did not respond to an email seeking more information about this venture.

DeRossi's other EV establishments include Avant Garden, Ladybird and Amor y Amargo.

Violet, the restaurant by the Pizza Loves Emily Group and chef/owner Matt Hyland, did not reopen after the COVID-19 PAUSE.

The address has been home to several restaurants since Le Tableau closed in December 2007. Before Violet, there was Goat Town, Seymour Burton, Butcher Bay and GG's.

Mother of Pearl and Honey Bee's close to make way for a larger Amor y Amargo on Avenue A

Changes are afoot at 95 Avenue A, East Village restaurateur Ravi DeRossi's complex of eating and dining establishments in the corner space on Sixth Street.

No. 95 housed three businesses: Honey Bee's, Amor y Amargo and Mother of Pearl. However, according to materials on file with Community Board 3, the spaces will be converted to accommodate a larger Amor y Amargo.

DeRossi is on CB3's SLA virtual docket tonight for the following changes at No. 95:

• Honey Bee's, Amor y Amargo and Mother of Pearl Room (Cien Fuegos LLC), 95 Ave A (op/alt/change method of operation: change current concepts of Honeybee's, a vegan Texas barbeque whiskey bar, and Mother of Pearl, a vegan tiki bar, to Amor y Amargo, a bitters bar).

A rep for Derossi Global confirmed the restructuring, and confirmed that Mother of Pearl and Honey Bee's have closed.



The expanded Amor y Amargo operation will now also include a full food menu.

Amor y Amargo debuted in 2011 with just a handful of seats, and quickly became celebrated as the country's first bitters-based bar.

Mother of Pearl opened here in July 2015, replacing another DeRossi venture, Gin Palace. Honey Bee's opened in May 2019 in the space that was Cienfuegos for 10 years.

DeRossi is known for switching up concepts in his restaurants either after a successful run or more quickly if the space doesn't pan out. In this case, the DeRossi rep said that the restructuring was "in response to COVID-19 and the new world we’re entering."

And 95 Avenue A is not the only DeRossi restaurant on tonight's CB3 agenda: He's changing the menu at Night Music:

• Night Music (Derossi Asia LLC), 111 E 7th St (b/alt/change method of operation: from a vegan Indian restaurant to a vegan Mexican restaurant)

Night Music, on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue, opened last September.

At the beginning of the pandemic in NYC, Mother of Pearl distributed free school lunches during the week. DeRossi also distributed free vegan meals from Avant Garden on Seventh Street.

Avant Garden continuing to offer free meals to those in need

[Image via @avantgardennyc]

As a reminder... Avant Garden is offering free plant-based meals to anyone in need ... this happens Wednesdays through Sundays, 4 to 9 p.m., here at 130 E. Seventh St. just west of Avenue A...



In March, Ravi DeRossi's East Village restaurants were giving out free lunches to NYC school kids.

Ravi DeRossi's East Village restaurants are giving out free vegan lunches to NYC school kids

Starting today from noon to 2 p.m. Pick up at Mother of Pearl, 95 Avenue A, Avant Garden, 130 E. Seventh St. and Ladybird, 111 E. Seventh St.

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