Buka bringing Nigerian cuisine to 1st Avenue

Photos by Steven

The Brooklyn-based Buka is bringing its homestyle Nigerian cuisine to 137 First Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street ... 

This will be a second outpost for Buka, which has a new location on Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy after launching in 2010. (This piece at Eater offers more details about what to expect from Buka.)

Per the Buka Instagram account, this East Village spot is expected to open on Oct. 1 with hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can find a menu here.

The space was previously home to Drunken Dumpling, which debuted in the fall of 2016 and received favorable press for its gigantic soup dumplings created by the mother-son team here. The restaurant was closed for a good part of the pandemic, reopening back in November before going dark again in the spring. 

Openings: Monsieur Vo on 2nd Avenue

Since opening on Sept. 13, several EVG readers have shared positive comments about Monsieur Vo at 104 Second Ave. at Sixth Street.

As previously reported, this is the new restaurant from the husband-wife duo Chef Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo, owners of Madame Vo on 10th Street. As a restaurant rep tells us: "Monsieur Vo is the team's love letter to the Vietnamese men in their lives — including fathers, uncles, brothers — and the dishes they love to eat." 

And here's more about what to expect: 

Monsieur Vo is inspired by Saigon's constantly evolving gastropub culture and its roots in the Vietnamese tradition of ăn nhậu, which has been described as festive dining and drinking for no specific reason. 

"Our dads could both really cook, and they always got creative with whatever ingredients they could find in America," says Ly, who growing up, remembers his father working long hours in NYC restaurants. "A lot of our menu comes from the dishes my dad would make while drinking and smoking with his buddies. He's a little bit over-the-top — he loves the finer things in life — so everything at Monsieur Vo is big and bold as well." 

While the flagship Madame Vo is known for classic homestyle dishes like noodle soup, wings, and eggrolls, Monsieur Vo’s menu goes beyond soups to focus more on shareable small plates, noodle and rice dishes, and large-format meat and seafood dishes.  

You can find the menu here. And see some food pics via the Monsieur Vo Instagram account. 

Monsieur Vo is open daily, from 5:30-10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 5:30-11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. 

The Second Avenue address was previously their spinoff Madame Vo BBQ, which debuted in 2018 ... though it didn't reopen after the PAUSE of March 2020.

"The pandemic was really hard for us as restaurateurs," says Yen Vo. "We had to close one restaurant because the food wasn't delivery-friendly and it was hard to stay open. But we've transformed the space with a redesign and renovation and an entirely new concept."

Madame Vo opened in early 2017 at 212 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

Signage alerts: C as in Charlie on Bleecker; Íxta on the Bowery

Signage is up now for C as in Charlie at 5 Bleecker St. just west of the Bowery.

Childhood friends and hospitality vets David Yun, Steve Choi and Eric Choi are reportedly behind the Korean tapas restaurant that will have a Southern twist, such as Korean fried chicken with collard greens.

For now, there's an Instragram account and a placeholder website for C as in Charlie, which has an August opening date.

The homey Japanese restaurant Bessou closed here last month after six years in business. According to the Bessou Instagram account, the owners couldn't come to terms on a new lease with the landlord. 

Meanwhile, nearby, even more brandage arrived for Íxta, the upscale Mexican cantina at 299 Bowery between First Street and Houston... there's a sign above the door as well as an awning noting a mezcal bar ...

No word on an opening date.

Daniel Boulud closed DBGB here in August 2017 after an eight-year run. 

Openings: Dhom on 12th Street

Dhom recently (July 8) debuted at 505 E. 12th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B. (Thanks to Vinny & O for the photos!)

Soulayphet "Phet" Schwader and Nick Bradley, whose credits include Tribeca's Khe-Yo, are behind this Southeast Asian cafe and cocktail bar.

Hours: 

Monday-Wednesday — 11 a.m. to midnight 

Thursday-Saturday — 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. 

Sunday — 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. 

You can find the all-day cafe menu here. And some food pics on Instagram. 

Mace, the high-end cocktail bar, left the address in the summer of 2020.

Little Kirin announces itself on St. Mark's Place

Photos by Steven 

Workers installed the signage for the new tenant at 81 St. Mark's Place just west of First Avenue yesterday.

Little Kirin will offer a variety of quick-serve sandwiches and snacks. Or has the shop's Instagram account put it: "Badass Asian Food x Culture x Happiness x Vibes."

The Little Kirin team operated at the Greenpoint Terminal Market last fall as they waited to open their first storefront. They hope to debut at No. 81 by the end of the month.

The previous business here, Cafe Rakka/Rakka Cafe, which dated to the late 1970s, quietly closed in the summer of 2021. 

HAGS sets July 20 opening date on 1st Avenue

HAGS, described as a restaurant "for Queers and everyone else," is opening on July 20.

The owners, chef Telly Justice and sommelier Camille Lindsley (partners in business and life), made the announcement on Instagram last week... and the first round of reservations for the tiny space at 163 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street went live on Friday.

For now, HAGS, an acronym for Have A Good Summer, offers several options for tasting menus (vegan AND omnivore). And on Sundays, HAGS will offer a "pay what you can" menu (no reservations on Sundays — first come, first served).

In addition to some quality food and drink, the HAGS website states: "we serve radical luxury, unapologetic joy, community and optimistic change."

You can follow the HAGS Instagram account for updates. 

Our previous post has a roundup of some of the positive press HAGS has received this year.

Thanks to Steven for the photo.

More burgers for the former Black Iron Burger on 5th Street

There has been a lot of activity recently at 540 E. Fifth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... the former home of Black Iron Burger.

New owners are taking over the space... and they will appear before CB3's SLA committee on July 13 for a new beer-wine license for the address (Black Iron also served beer and wine)...

We don't know who the applicants are just yet (the questionnaires haven't been posted online). However, we're told they will have a menu similar to Black Iron Burger — milkshakes, fries and burgers.

Workers have cleared out the inside of the space, which had been used for storage in recent years (photo below by Stacie Joy)...

Black Iron "closed for renovations" in July 2019 and never reopened.

The East Village location of BIB was the first for the brand, opening in 2008 (with new ownership taking over in 2013). The three other outposts remain open.

Openings: Emilia by Nai

Chef Ruben Rodriguez unveils his third East Village project today with the opening of Emilia by Nai at 174 First Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street.

Per the Emilia by Nai website: "A minimalist farm-to-table restaurant — where Rodriguez pays homage to his Grandmother Emilia, for her untraditionally kept garden in Galicia and her love for coffee."

The coffee portion will come during the day as the team behind the Coffee Project NY on Fifth Street (and other locations) will be running a daily cafe service between 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The restaurant will be open then from 5-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, with a 11:30 p.m. close on Friday. And Saturday: 1-11:30 p.m. ... and Sunday: 1-10 p.m.

You can find the menu here.

This is a return to the address for Rodriquez, who ran Nai Tapas Bar here until a move to Second Avenue in 2018.

Rodriguez also operates Amigo by Nai at 29 Second Ave. between First Street and Second Street.

Openings: Birria LES on St. Mark's Place

Photo by Steven

Birria LES debuted back on Saturday at 34 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (Arrival first reported here.)

This location will have more room for indoor seating to enjoy their tacos, mulitas and tostadas than the outpost that opened on Rivington Street last spring. You can find their menu here.

They are open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; with an 11 p.m. close Thursday and Sunday; and a 4 a.m. close Friday and Saturday.

Birria LES took over the storefront from Japanese chain Ramen Setagaya, which shuttered earlier this year.

What to know about HAGS, a queer and trans-led dining destination opening on 1st Avenue

From the outside, there doesn't appear to be much happening on the plywood-covered storefront at 163 First Ave. just north of 10th Street.

Inside the small space is a whole other story, where HAGS, one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of this spring, is preparing to debut in the weeks ahead. 

HAGS describes itself as "an intimate restaurant in NYC by queer people for all people." In addition to some quality food and drink, the HAGS website states: "we serve radical luxury, unapologetic joy, community and optimistic change."

The restaurant via chef Telly Justice and sommelier Camille Lindsley (partners in business and in life) has received a good deal of press this year... here's a sampling to bring you up to date:

• HAGS Will Be Queer First, and a Restaurant Second (Eater)

• HAGS Wants to Be NYC’s Best Version of a Queer Potluck (The Infatuation)

• This Intimate East Village Restaurant Opening Soon Is By Queer People, For All People (SecretNYC) 

You can follow the HAGS Instagram account for updates. 

This space was last home to David Chang's Fuku. 

Openings: Little Myanmar brings Burmese cuisine to 2nd Street

Photos by Stacie Joy

Little Myanmar, serving Burmese cuisine, is now open at 150 Second St. at Avenue A. 

Eater had the scoop about Little Myanmar's arrival:

The lauded underground Burmese spot Yun Cafe — famously wedged among a row of shoebox-sized businesses inside the Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street subway station in Jackson Heights — is expanding aboveground. 

The family behind the operation — married couple Thidar Kyaw and Tin Ko Naing handle the cooking, while their daughter Yun Naing is the business manager — is opening a rare Manhattan Burmese establishment called Little Myanmar ... with a full-blown kitchen that expands on Yun Cafe's existing repertoire with tangy noodle soups, steaming hot curries, mala skewers, and baked cassava cakes.

Eater has more on the family here, including the fact that their convenience store burned down in March 2021 in a fire that destroyed six businesses in Jackson Heights.

Little Myanmar, which includes five tables for in-person dining, is open daily from 3-9 p.m. for now. You can follow them on Instagram via this link or call them at (917) 475-1183.  

Openings: Viva Cucina on 2nd Avenue

Viva Cucina debuted last week at 85 Second Ave. on the SW corner at Fifth Street. 

The Italian restaurant, with vegan and vegetarian options, is an offshoot of Cafe Viva Gourmet Pizza on the Upper West Side. Justin and Lenny Iracani are running the EV outpost. 

This is also a return to the East Village for the family, who ran Viva Herbal Pizzeria at 179 Second Ave. until it closed in early 2014. 

So you can find some pizza here (with gluten-free and whole wheat crust available) as well as a variety of pasta dishes, risotto and grilled fish.

Viva Cucina's website is still under construction. You can find them on Instagram here. 

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday from 4:30-11 p.m. 

The restaurant takes over the space from Nai Tapas Bar, which moved to a new space across Second Avenue earlier this year.

H/T @vegan.nyx!

Openings: Nudibranch on 1st Avenue

The new home of Nudibranch recently debuted at 125 First Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.

Nudibranch got its start last spring as a pop-up restaurant across the way at 130 First Ave.

The chefs here, Jeff Kim, Matt Lee and Victor Xia, alum of Momofuku Ssäm and other fine-dining establishments, are offering a tasting menu. (Find that menu here.) As Eater noted, "the restaurant features several interpretations of dishes the team piloted when Nudibranch was operating as a pop-up last spring, such as its shaoxing mushroom dish with egg yolk."

Nudibranch is open Wednesday-Sunday from 5:30-10 p.m., with a 10:30 close Fridays and Saturdays.

Follow them on Instagram here.

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Chef Tan signage arrives on St. Mark's Place

Photo by Steven 

Workers put up the signage yesterday for Chef Tan, the new restaurant opening soon at 37 St. Mark's Place. 

This will be the first NYC outpost for the restaurant in Jersey City that serves Szechuan and Hunan cuisine. (Jersey menu here.) 

We're told that management is waiting on the usual city inspections before they are able to open. 

Chef Tan takes over the space at Second Avenue from 99 Favor Taste, which closed during the pandemic after three-plus years in service.

Rowdy Rooster debuts on 1st Avenue

Yesterday saw the debut of Rowdy Rooster, the new quick-serve establishment at 149 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street from restaurateurs Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya. 

Here, Pandya "is proudly bringing to NYC the types of spices he has experienced in fried chicken on street carts in India," per its Instagram account. 

The shop is open now for takeout and limited indoor dining. Delivery is coming soon. They are open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 10 p.m. Check out the menu here. (And find a Rowdy Rooster preview article at Eater via this link.)

The restaurateurs, who also operate Adda and Dhamaka, have big designs on fast-casual Indian food. They plan on opening Kebabwala, which will focus on classic kebab preparations, this year at 82 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. (More details here.) 

Last April, Mazumdar and Pandya decided not to renew the lease for the Masalawala, bringing an end to its 10-year run just below Houston at 179 Essex St.

Post now includes an updated photo of the exterior via Steven 

Measure what you eat at DM Restaurant

DM Restaurant opened earlier this month on the SE corner of 10th Street and Fourth Avenue... officially 71 Fourth Ave., the first retail tenant for the deluxe 10-floor cantilevering condoplex that arrived here in 2019.

This month, ownership received administrative approval from CB3 for a liquor license at this location. The online questionnaire describes DM's food as "Asian fusion (both Chinese and Korean)."

Several EVG readers pointed out this opening ... though no one we know has eaten here just yet.

The DM's Yelp page notes that this is the first North American outpost for the brand with 200 locations worldwide. 

And per the name, you order your food by the decimetre/decimeter. The menu features a variety of wings, fries, beef patties, etc. ... not sure exactly how this all works if someone wants to go investigate...

Openings: TLK on 3rd Avenue

TLK debuted last month at 58 Third Ave. between 10th Street and 11th Street. (First mentioned here.)

During the pandemic, hospitality veteran Michelle Morgan, who grew up in Chinatown, opened Tiger Lily Kitchen as a delivery-only business in Gramercy Park. The food gained a following, so Morgan relocated to a space with room for in-person dining. 

Here's more background via the restaurant's website:

Its concept and menu draws inspiration from Michelle's mother, who was born in Hong Kong, and her travels throughout Asia. The vegetarian lifestyle she encountered helped build the platform to be veggie-forward — serving a healthy, Hong Kong inspired, Asian menu that is mostly gluten free and vegan based, with meat options.

TLK is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. Hours: Wednesday-Thursday noon to midnight; Friday noon to 2 a.m.; Saturday 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Sunday 5 p.m. to midnight.

Find the restaurant's website here. 

Photo courtesy of KK Chote/MST Creative

Another taker for 179 Essex St.

Signage arrived late last week for Takumi Omakase at 179 Essex St. just south of Houston. 

In recent years (going back to say, 2005?), the building's northern retail space has been home to — if memory and old blog posts serve us — Filthy McNasty's, Vasmay Lounge, 12" Bar, Essex Ale House, Peri, Bar Chevere, Casa Humo and Benson's... and had been vacant the past two years. 

We don't know anything about Takumi, the new tenant, at the moment. Hopefully, they can make it work here. 

Gazab, an Indian restaurant that we hear good things about, opened in the other retail space here this past July.

Vegan Grill makes it signage official on St. Mark's Place

Updated: Open as of 1/27

Signage is up now for Vegan Grill, a quick-serve, plant-based restaurant debuting soon at 58 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (First reported in October.)

The business got its start in late 2019 on Castle Hill Avenue in the Bronx; this will be its third outpost after a grand opening in Williamsburg this week. You can find a menu here and some food pics on Instagram.

The Dip, which served a variety of sandwiches, opened here in late 2019...  and barely had four months in business before it shuttered during the pandemic. 

Thanks to Steven for the photo!

Coddiwomple debuts on 1st Ave.

An outpost of Coddiwomple is now open at 213 First Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. (They debuted this past weekend with a sandwich giveaway). 

This is the third location (following the Upper East Side and Hell's Kitchen) for the brand with the tagline: "Travel By Sandwich™️ Internationally inspired sandwiches made with local ingredients." 

Sandwiches include the Roman Holiday (prosciutto, mozzarella, pesto, fresh tomatoes, arugula and balsamic vinaigrette on ciabatta) and the Savannah Smash (chicken salad — pulled breast with secret mayo dressing — and avocados on warm baguette). Find their menu here. 

The EV location will have a dine-in option, per the Coddiwomple Instagram account.