Monday, December 21, 2020

About Evil Katsu, a pop-up ghost kitchen now open on the Lower East Side

East Village resident Asher Sendyk recently opened his very first restaurant — Evil Katsu, a pop-up ghost kitchen offering picks ups and deliveries at 101 Rivington St. between Essex and Ludlow.

"After I was laid off earlier in the year I figured I would take a stab at my own business," said Sendyk, whose experience includes stints at Casa Mono, Blue Hill and in an administrative role at Dig Inn. 

Sendyk's restaurant partner is another East Village resident, Chris Wagenlander, a former sous chef from Casa Mono. And Wagenlander's wife, Hai Oliveira, is the sous chef at Evil Katsu. 

"We live a few blocks apart on First Avenue, thus 'Evil' as a portmanteau of East Village," Sendyk said.

Evil Katsu offers a variety of katsu sets, sandos (aka Japanese sandwiches) and sides. (The menu is here.)
Sendyk answered a few other questions about the venture, which debuted on Dec. 9...

Is this just for the winter or will you consider expanding into the spring?

We hope to have a proper brick and mortar eventually. Our lease is month to month. We are using this as a test. Hopefully people like it and we get the traction we need.

Is it delivery only or can people stop by to pick up an order?

It is both delivery and pick up. We welcome take out. Although conceived as a ghost concept we have surprisingly had a decent amount of walk-in interest.

What are some of the challenges of launching a virtual brand — especially during a pandemic?

It has been a heck of a struggle. 1) We are short on funds. Branding has been organic. We are competing against well-heeled brands and chains who can dominate the airwaves. 2) A storefront is phenomenal marketing. Without the physical asset we've been reliant on Instagram, press, word-of-mouth, etc. 3) The delivery platforms' commissions are insane! (We are very appreciative that the city has temporarily capped them.) And their service ain't always great. Plus, we don't have control over our product once it leaves our doors — thankfully the drivers have been patient and understanding.

All that being said, this environment has permitted us to develop and launch a concept within two and a half months. While our rent is by no means cheap now — we're gonna have to sell a lotta katsu! — we couldn't have done this in normal times. We hope our offering has resonance in a time when indoor dining is prohibited and we can bring the brand with us, whatever's next.

What are your thoughts on the future of delivery-only restaurants?

They've unsurprisingly exploded this year. Consumers are now accustomed to paying more for the service. We see them as being a significant part of the culinary landscape moving ahead, although perhaps not as prominent as they are at this moment. 

We are excited to offer a chef-driven product that was developed from the get-go for delivery versus restaurants that pivoted their normal menus for delivery.

MiGarba shuts down on 4th Avenue: 'We close due to New York restrictions and unsustainable rent'

After five-plus years in business, MiGarba has closed at 127 Fourth Ave. between 12th Street and 13th Street. (Thanks to Doug for the tip!)

A note on the door for patrons provides the reasons: "We close due to New York restrictions and unsustainable rent."
The pleasant wine bar/cafe, the first U.S. outpost of a Tuscany-based outfit, was a nice departure from the more fratty choices in the immediate area. 

Speaking of which, right in the same building... while there hasn't been any official confirmation, BarBacon remains shuttered... we haven't seen any activity here in months... and the interior looks to have been cleaned out...
The swine-dining bar opened in September 2018.

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

The now-closed Bleecker Street Bar looks to relocate to Broadway

Bleecker Street Bar is hoping for an encore presentation. 

The neighborhood bar's 30-year tenure on the corner of Bleecker and Crosby came to an end back in August. Per the owners at the time: "All of our efforts to negotiate a reasonable lease extension with our landlord have failed." 

However, they have a new spot lined up just around the corner at 648 Broadway between Bleecker and Bond (see top photo) ... and in recent weeks they've been collecting signatures via iPetitions. You can find that link here

Meanwhile, their former home remains empty... and right next door to the Noho Star — still vacant after three years.

Teso Life is open on St. Mark's Place

Teso Life, a Japanese variety store, is now open in the lower space at 19-23 St. Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue. (First reported on Feb. 13.)

Per the Teso Life Instagram account, the shop "offers the widest selection of quality accessories, beauty and lifestyle products from Japan.

They are open daily from noon to 9 p.m. ... and this marks their fourth NYC location.

This is just one of the two new tenants in the space that was previously home for 16 years (RIP October 2019) to St. Mark's Market

T-swirl Crêpe opened here back in the fall... they previously had an EV outpost on 14th Street...
H/T Steven!

Sauced Up! spreads its wings on 2nd Avenue

Sauced Up! is now open for business at 77 Second Ave. between Fourth Street and Fifth Street. 

It was more than a year ago since we first saw signage for the quick-serve establishment, which, aside from wings, offers sandwiches, fries, tater tots, etc. You can find their menu and ordering info here

An EVG reader who shared news of the opening stopped by for takeout and reports: "the chicken was delicious." 

Several other readers have said they are pleased by seeing a new business open along this stretch where there were four consecutive empty storefronts ... the encampment in front of the now-closed Nostro seems to have scaled back. Closed storefronts are now limited to Atlas, Nostro and the psychic.
Photo from Dec. 14

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Sunday's parting shot

Creative recycling in Tompkins Square Park today... photo by Derek Berg...

Week in Grieview

Posts from this past week include... (and thanks to Derek Berg for the photo from Tompkins Square Park)

• The latest from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church: the New York Liberty Bell survives (Monday)

• It snowed! (Thursday ... and Thursday

• Lovewild Design debuts on Avenue C (Friday

• Report of a small fire inside the empty P.S. 64 building on 9th Street (Thursday)

• NY AG: Madison Realty Capital to pay more than $1 million for victims of fraud and tenant harassment (Wednesday

• Celebrating 41 years of the Pyramid Club (Tuesday)

• Gallery Watch: In the Woods by Sally Saul at Rachel Uffner Gallery (Wednesday

• Theater in Quarantine presents a world premiere from an East Village closet (Monday

• East Village bars and restaurants temporarily close down again (Tuesday

• Restoring the Blondie mural on Bleecker and the Bowery (Monday

• A new look (and name!) for the East Village Neighbors Fridge (Friday

• Workers clear lot ahead of new-building construction on 6th Street and Avenue C (Wednesday

• A visit to Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza (Friday

• New York Sal's Pizza bringing slices to 14th Street (Monday

• This week's NY See panel (Thursday

• Break ins at A break in at Kolkata Chai Cafe (Tuesday) and East Village Finest Deli (Wednesday)

• Rapid COVID-19 testing center opening on the Bowery (Monday)

• Steel structure for new Houston Street office building continues ascent (Monday

• Here then, the renovated 84 2nd Ave. (Tuesday

• Sanitation worker spares snowman's life on 7th Street! (Thursday

• Former Finnerty's space for rent on 2nd Avenue (Monday)

And remember...
... and this too! (Thanks Delphine for the photo!) ...
---
Follow EVG on Instragram or Twitter for more frequent updates and pics.

O Christmas trees!

The Tree Riders wrapped up their 10th season of selling Christmas trees outside St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on Second Avenue yesterday afternoon. 

As noted yesterday morning, they only had 16 trees left... and they went quickly. 

One Tree Rider said that they sold more trees in 2020 than in previous years... citing fewer tree stands this year and a demand for live trees from homebound residents who were celebrating the holiday sooner in such an awful year.  

Christmas trees — along with wreaths, lights and other decor — are in high demand this year as many Americans embrace holiday festivity in the face of rising coronavirus cases and bleak predictions for the winter months.
Key Food on Avenue A at Fourth Street also sold out yesterday... ditto for the Bueno East Mart down the block at Third Street...
The stand on 14th Street at First Avenue allegedly sold out last weekend ... while Greg's on East Houston at Essex has two rather spindly trees left as of 8:30 a.m. today ...
Yuletide procrastinators may still be able to nab a free tree that has already been discarded... Vinny & O spotted this one yesterday on First Avenue at Second Street... perhaps left behind by someone who is traveling for the holidays...

Saturday, December 19, 2020

EVG Etc.: Crowdfunding for B&H Dairy; Selling off Gem Spa

Photo by Derek Berg
 
• Two East Village businesses detail their retail struggles (ABC 7

• Jacqueline Lewis, senior minister at Middle Collegiate Church, which was destroyed by fire on Dec. 5, talks about celebrating Christmas in 2020 (WNYC ... previously on EVG)

• B&H Dairy on Second Avenue is in danger of closing again (GoFundMe

• The great Cozy Soup 'n' Burger on Broadway at Astor Place could use some business too (Official site)

• Gem Spa is auctioning off its sign, rolldown gate, etc. (Official site ... previously on EVG

• Investigation: NYPD used excessive force during George Floyd protests (Gothamist

• New York State doing its best to permanently shutter restaurants (NBC 4)

• Second-generation Chinese New Yorkers are trying to help businesses in Chinatown establish an online presence and adapt to the pandemic (Gothamist

• The future of independent theater (B&B)

• A food vendor on 14th Street — in 1904 (Ephemeral New York

• 10 punk Christmas songs (Alternative Press)

• Diversions: The Stooges and the legend of "Metallic KO" (Dangerous Minds)

• And I appreciate Alex keeping the blogging spirit alive in this era of Substack, etc. He always has interesting posts. Give him a visit. (Flaming Pablum

A holiday market at Ace Bar today

Ace Bar is holding its first-ever Food Drive/Holiday Market today from 1-8 p.m. 

Via the EVG inbox: 
"We will be accepting food donations as well as pet food and pet supply donations! We will be selling at home drink kits (including @bleeckerstreetbarnyc award-winning Bloody Mary mix!). 
Shop local artists and designers SAFELY for all your holiday gift giving needs! @priscillas_petals @stmarksmasks @kellyvirginia.jewelry @foundbyfetch and @displaybydelphine are a few of the artists/vendors we have ...

Ace Bar has a curbside space on Fifth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Spike

The crew at the Tree Riders stand on Second Avenue at 10th Street put the finishing touches on Spike this morning...
It's cool to take a pic of Spike, but please don't pee on him. (I'm talking to your dog.)
Speaking of trees, as of 8:12 a.m., there were 16 left here for sale six days before Christmas. I asked if they brought in fewer trees this year. No, they actually had more this year... the Tree Rider on duty chalked it up to fewer stands around the area this year.

Friday, December 18, 2020

Friday's parting shot

The intricate snow sculpture is on Fourth Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery... Deborah Blau created this in about two hours the other evening ... in an Instagram post, she notes the name: Either "The Goddess of 4th Street" OR "Dreaming of Better Days." 

Photo by Derek Berg

RIP Sam Jayne

 
Sam Jayne, the talented singer-songwriter of Love as Laughter and Lync, has died. He was 46. 

According to his friends and multiple media outlets, he had been missing since Dec. 7. There was a frantic social-media-driven search for him. Police found him in his car on Tuesday. An NYPD spokesperson told Pitchfork that a preliminary investigation didn't show any "signs of criminality." (Update: His family created a website in his memory. According to his family, he died of an undiagnosed heart condition.)

Jayne had been bartending at Daddy's and Clem's in Williamsburg. 

This Brooklyn Vegan post has tributes from his many peers in the music business. The above video is for the Love as Laughter track "Coconut Flakes" from 2007.

A visit to Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I’m meeting local artist/creator Sara Ann Rutherford and her boyfriend, Eastwood bartender Glenn Gallagher for their dinner date at Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza, which is located "somewhere" in the East Village.
Owner Chris "the Pizza Pusha" Barrett is understandably concerned about giving out his exact address, although he is quite forthcoming about other details of his yet-to-be-legal business that opened here earlier this fall. (He has been in business for several years, with a location in New Jersey that previously offered a sit-down service as well as several delivery outposts in the five boroughs.)

I'm there for the next-to-last night of indoor dining before the city shuts down once again, in hopes of slowing the second-wave spread of COVID, and the place is booked at its 25-percent max capacity, mostly with couples like Sara and Glenn for a date night, and small birthday celebrations. The patrons appear to be happy (even before the THC-laced food and drink are consumed) and relaxed, speaking of a difficult year and a desire to "let loose."

Everything felt somewhat illicit, probably due to the blacked-out windows, the "are you on the list" check-in, the illegal consumption of cannabis, and the fact that it's indoor dining on its last night for now. Plus, there's the small private smoking chamber, where people enjoyed prerolls and other smoking materials. 

Chris is no stranger to controversy, being combatively arrested as recently as two weeks ago, and granting media access to Vice, as well as hosting parties for rap notables and Instagram influencers. Chris, a Bensonhurst native, mentions he's being profiled by New York magazine for an upcoming issue as he rolls a giant joint. He is seldom seen that night without one in hand.
I've arrived ahead of Sara and Glenn and am shown the restaurant's kitchen, food prep areas, cold storage, basement and the office, where delivery orders are being rung up at a startling clip.
 
Chris and his manager of operations Niko Santos introduce me to the staff and I ask about their comfort level in having me take pictures for local media coverage.
 
I am shown the garlic ganja knots, with 100mg of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) per order of six pieces, and sticky-icky wings, a chicken lollipop dish with 150 mg THC per order. The chef points out the entrees: vegan pizza, the medical margarita pie (vegetarian), as well as the wildly popular sativa sausage pie. 

I watch as guests arrive and undergo COVID screening rituals — temperature checks, log-in of personal information for contact tracing, hand sanitizer being dispensed before people are led to their seats. Staffers are masked, and explain how the process works. 

It's a two-hour unlimited or all-you-can-eat tasting menu, with appetizers, entrée and dessert and well as non-alcoholic beverages (including choices like Sour Sprite, Orange Kush, Canna Cola), all made with marijuana. Baseline cost is $100 per person, with add-ons available, like the popular birthday cakes that I see lined up ready for the night’s celebrations, or prerolls, tinctures, and cartridges. 

The meal ends with a dessert platter, canna cannolis, Girl Scout cookies, and brownies, along with three flavors of gelato (flavors rotate daily). By this time, everyone appears very high, there is a lot of laughter, and folks do not seem to want the evening to end. 

"The pandemic has been hard on people, everyone is stressed out, worried," one Harlem-based couple tells me. "This was a nice night out for us, before a grueling work week ahead."

You can keep up with Stoned Gourmet Cannabis Pizza on social media here. Although the restaurant is currently closed due to the Cuomo-mandated shutdown, delivery options are still available, and Chris hopes to reopen for indoor dining when it is safe to do so.

1 week before Christmas

Bring on Valentine's Day! 

 Photo today on Second Avenue by Allen Semanco...

Lovewild Design debuts on Avenue C

East Village native and current resident Sierra Zamarripa has realized a longtime dream — opening her own shop in the neighborhood. 

Yesterday, Sierra debuted Lovewild Design at 136 Avenue C between Eighth Street and Ninth Street. 

The sustainable gift shop first opened in South Williamsburg in June 2017. However, her heart was always here. The Brooklyn outpost will close after Dec. 24. 

In the early 1990s, her parents ran Wandering Dragon Trading Co., the antiques and oddities store on 10th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ... it was an offbeat shop where some of the neighborhood's more eccentric characters could be found. 

In the (now-retired) EVG feature Out and About in the East Village in June 2017, Sierra talked about the influence of the shop on her life ... and her aspirations for running her own business here:
My dream would have definitely been to open my shop up over here but that wasn't possible due to the rents. It just seemed like an inevitable path. I grew up as an entrepreneur, and my parents and my grandmother were entrepreneurs. I used to take things, just find random things outside or in the shop, and I would fix them up and sell them right outside the shop, and then I had a shoeshine business, and then I sold milkshakes, and this was all before the age of 6.
Lovewild Design is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.-ish every day. Follow the shop on Instagram for updates.

Image via Instagram

A new look (and name!) for the East Village Neighbors Fridge

As we've been reporting, the volunteer group East Village Neighbors teamed up with S'MAC owners Sarita and Cesar Ekya to stock a community fridge and food pantry outside the restaurant at the corner of 12th Street and First Avenue.

There's a new name for the endeavor — East Village Neighbors Fridge ... as well as a new logo, with colors selected to match those at S'MAC.

The fridge's motto is "take what you need, leave what you can," and is made possible by S’MAC, Change Food and East Village Neighbors. 
 
The fridge and food pantry for dry goods is open 24 hours a day for anyone who needs a meal ... it is restocked as needed, which is often. Local businesses and residents continue to make donations...


If you’d like to donate homemade food, they ask that it be clearly labeled, dated, and individually wrapped. East Village Neighbors are also accepting donations via this link.