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Helen Mirren sightings are common around the neighborhood. She and her husband Taylor Hackford have had a place on St. Mark's Place for 14 years. Mirren, who won an Oscar for "The Queen," was a regular at the Stage. She was also the first customer at Enz's when the store reopened a few weeks ago.
There's a Q-and-A in the Post today with Mirren, who's up for a Tony for "The Audience."
The East Village seems a bit funky for Dame Helen Mirren.
I’ve always loved funky and young areas in any city. I prefer the small boutiques to the designer palaces. Other neighborhoods, like the West Village, are a bit chichi. We really love the East Village. It’s noisy with foot traffic, not noisy with car traffic. I can get a taxi day or night.
And?
[W]e are spoiled for choice when it comes to incredible restaurants. I love the holes in the walls, the small restaurants. Sadly, some of our favorites are closed because of that terrible gas explosion [in March]. We loved the Stage and the B&H, and the Pommes Frites. [That] was completely destroyed.
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Helen Mirren photos from May 11 by Derek Berg