Restaurant Closings

[backyardchef]

15 hours ago, Sneakeater said:

I keep telling Sarah to reopen in Ridgewood but she won't listen.

No parking in Ridgewood is the big problem. Maybe they can do something with the Goodfella's Diner finally in Maspeth.

[Sneakeater]

BTW M. Wells’s current tripe dish is off the hook.  

[Sneakeater]

Although they run out of it a lot. 

[Wilfrid]

Mm, that’s what I’d order. Sand or no sand.

[The Flon]

On 8/28/2024 at 12:59 PM, Sneakeater said:

BTW M. Wells’s current tripe dish is off the hook.  

Trying to get there as frequently as possible until they close. Did I hear they might have a NYE blowout? Would be the first time in 20 years I'd consider being out of the house on an NYE

[rozrapp]

Manhattan French Stalwart La Grenouille Will Close (grubstreet.com)

 

[bloviatrix]

NYT on La Grenouille closing.

[Wilfrid]

Many memories but yes from many years ago.

[The Flon]

On 8/29/2024 at 1:39 PM, The Flon said:

Trying to get there as frequently as possible until they close. Did I hear they might have a NYE blowout? Would be the first time in 20 years I'd consider being out of the house on an NYE

Started the evening at Dutch Kills where randomly I FINALLY met WIlfred! He had the same idea my party and I did which was to get to M.Wells before they close shop at the end of this year. Really great meal but the tete de porclet was a particular highlight. Half a pig's head and perfectly crunchy/fatty/gooey. 

[Wilfrid]

That pig's head did look good.

At a nearby table I had kind of a reminder of why I haven't been back here in a long time. The food is hearty, but perhaps hearty at the expense of finer details. Any of my three dishes was big enough to share, although they weren't priced for two people.

First, the mortadella mille-feuille (which I think I've had before). Layers of quite thick pastry, blobs of cream cheese, the whisps of mortadella almost an afterthought.

Then a hilarious dish which had Pêche  à la Frog written all over it. A piece of duck confit served inside a whole acorn squash. Problem one, duck confit inside a squash ends up with soft, flabby skin. Problem two, even with better lighting it would be hard to tell duck pieces from acorn pieces. Problem three, there was way, way more squash than duck. In other words, although this dish was easily big enough to share, that's because there was so much squash (didn't come close to finishing it).

I had paid attention to the Roquefort terrine appetizer because there was no sign of a cheese plate. I finished with it and the Roquefort had been whipped with butter, pieces of nut and celery folded in.

If you put me in charge of the kitchen tomorrow, I would deconstruct the mille-feuille so that the mortadella was the centerpiece; I would serve a piece of duck confit with crispy skin, garnished with some nuggets of squash; and I would leave the perfectly good cheese alone.

A Byrhh to start, then wines BTG that were all excellent.

 

[backyardchef]

Blue Smoke's last location will close in December. I imagine it will live on in mail order and retail products. 

[small h]

Hah! I read this as Blue Ribbon. My bad.

I've had some good times there - the first one was around the corner from where I worked.

Edited October 8, 2024 by small h

[Wilfrid]

I just saw Brooks 1890 closed this month. A restaurant since 1910. The interior was interesting and atmospheric, the food not so much.

[backyardchef]

Szechuan House, one of the oldest restaurants in Flushing and one of my favorite restaurants in the city (maybe my favorite)-- for both the food and hospitality-- has closed. More and more things that made me love the city are vanishing. I guess I have finally lived here too long. 

 

Szechuan House

Address: 133-47 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY 11354

CLOSED

[Wilfrid]

By chance I was thinking of the "Vanishing New York" theme today and reflecting that changing is better than vanishing. Old places, buildings and experiences that are being erased once replaced what came before them.

This may or may not console.

[StephanieL]

As much as I miss New York, I think I left at the right time (even though I'd never planned to leave).

[bloviatrix]

The other week I walked past Gotham Bar and Grill. It looks frozen in time, complete with a full bar just waiting for diners to walk in.

Edited June 1, 2025 by bloviatrix

[MitchW]

Wow kinda twilight zone-y.  I was actually kinda ready to go one night, only because one of my all-time favorite bartenders was a fixture there.

[Wilfrid]

I walked past Bis on the UES a couple of weeks ago, closed almost a year, but I could swear the tables were all set for service. I might be seeing ghosts of dinners past, of course.

[Wilfrid]

Actually, last time I looked dB Bistro Moderne looked like it was still a thing.

[StephanieL]

I just read that Ferdinando's Focacceria in Carroll Gardens closed in February, after 112 years in business. It remains the only place I've ever been able to get Manhattan Special as a fountain drink. It may be revived in the fall, per Eater, so let's hope.

Edited July 8, 2025 by StephanieL

[Steve R.]

yep.  now i have to trek out to Joe’s of Ave U for spleen sandwiches & Pasta Con Sarde.

[backyardchef]

Mitchell's Soul Food of Vanderbilt Ave in Brooklyn. 

 

https://ny.eater.com/restaurant-closings/401175/mitchells-soul-food-prospect-heights-closing

[Evelyn]

On 6/1/2025 at 9:58 AM, bloviatrix said:

The other week I walked past Gotham Bar and Grill. It looks frozen in time, complete with a full bar just waiting for diners to walk in.

In case anyone is curious about what Alfred Portale is up to...He's the Culinary Director for a new restaurant at the Wynn Las Vegas.

"Wynn Las Vegas is primed for a winter debut for Sartiano’s Italian Steakhouse, anchored by legendary chef Alfred Portale as culinary director. It will be located in an exclusive alcove overlooking Wynn Golf Club adjacent to Zero Bond and will replicate its New York flagship at The Mercer."

[rozrapp]

He still has his eponymous Italian restaurant in Manhattan. Pre-pandemic, we had several very good dinners there.