The young and trendy flock to the East Village, and always have (beatniks in the fifties, hippies in the sixties, and punks in the seventies and eighties). The cutting-edge crowd has formed an interesting and exciting array of alternative clubs, experimental music and theatre, fashion stores, and tattoo parlors. In recent years, CBGB's has been replaced by a John Varvatos store and luxury apartment buildings have sprung up all over the neighborhood, but much of the spirit remains.
| New York’s “Pride and Joy” 24 First Avenue, the former site of the popular Lucky Cheng’s (which moved to Midtown last year), will soon become the second outpost of award-winning pitmaster Myron Mixon's Pride and Joy. (The first location is in Miami.) The 9,000-square-foot, three-story "honky tonk" barbecue restaurant will serve up ribs, pulled pork, wings, and lots and lots of brisket. It is anticipated to open in late April or May of this year. According to paperwork submitted to CB3, Pride and Joy aims to have: 45 tables, seating some 220 people; 3 total bars in the space (one in the basement, one on First Avenue entrance and one in the East Second Street entrance where Bento Burger was); 20 monitors; and serving from hours 11am-4am, seven days a week. |
What seems more like an open-air artistic bazaar than a street lined with apartments, St. Marks Place is a sort of "Santa Monica" of the east coast with t-shirt shops, CD stores, sidewalk shopping, and bars, though it has become more gentrified in recent years. But the real action in this area happens after the sun goes down: Non-descript doors hide some of the hippest places in the city; the sound of James Brown comes out of one bar while Celtic chanting comes from another.
Two of Off-Broadway’s longest-running hits, Stomp and Blue Man Group, are also in the neighborhood, and Tango House, a nightly tango musical with outstanding professional musicians and dancers direct from Buenos Aires, is scheduled to open in 2013. Another highlight of the area is Tompkins Square Park, home to annual events like the Howl Festival and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival and the Tompkins Square Dog Run.
The south side of East Sixth Street between First & Second Aves., Little Bombay, features Indian eateries. Established in 1854, McSorley's Old Ale House is the city's oldest continuously operated saloon, and seems to have changed very little in the last 150+ years.
East Village restaurants include Buenos Aires and, scheduled to open in early 2013, Malbec Wine Bar and Restaurant.
Contributors: Irene Ross, Kathy Novak, Derrell Bradford, Colin Carlson and Linda Sheridan
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