As you may have heard, there's a restaurant opening at 320 E. Sixth St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue called 'Merica.
And tomorrow (Saturday!) is the soft opening day for what has been described as a "tongue-in-cheek eatery" featuring décor that includes rifles, NASCAR memorabilia and non-stop episodes of the Chuck Norris vehicle "Walker, Texas Ranger."
The co-founders are Radoune Eljaouhari, who ran Zerza, the previous restaurant in this space ... and Zach Neil, who operates the Tim Burton-themed Beetle House a few doors away as well as Stay Classy, the bar for Will Ferrell fans on Rivington Street.
Here's part of a preview via DNAinfo:
'Merica ... seeks to transport its diners to the "real America" — or at least a humorous, tongue-in-cheek homage to the idea, decked out with race cars and guns, inspired in part by ... Neil's childhood.
"I spent a good portion of my childhood around the backwood, hillbilly southern Republicans, then I moved to Pennsylvania and grew up next to a NASCAR race track," said Neil.
"Imagine the Donald Trump campaign coming to your backyard every weekend."
And here's a look at the menu via the 'Merica Facebook page...
[Click for a bigger view]
As you will see, there isn't any Kanye West-inspired food. An earlier Facebook post noted an item called The Kanye, described as "fried breast of chicken tossed in a creamy rich Alfredo sauce served over mashed potatoes, then drizzled with a balsamic glaze. This meal will make you into a famous rapper and a narcissistic asshole. Ask the public to loan you the money for it. $18."
Neil told Patch.com that "The Kanye" wasn’t really going to be on the menu, that it was just posted on Facebook for "shock value." (That post was later removed.)
Gothamist summed up the whole operation this way:
It's basically this Simpsons clip of the time they went to Japan's Americatown, but somehow real life ...
Previously on EV Grieve:
USA today: 'Merica NYC signage arrives (69 comments)
Zerza has closed on 6th Street; Merica NYC coming soon? (17 comments)
About 'Merica NYC (40 comments)