An Honor Roll Of Restaurants Past…

Last night I had one helluva time falling asleep. Instead of counting sheep I decided to recount restaurants I liked in this city that are no more. Let’s just say it has been on the brain of late.* Here’s a partial list:

1. Bleu Drawes: Jamaican food in Greenpoint? Yes, once there was! This was on Commercial Street, now the space is occupied by Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
2. Oznot’s Dish: Berry Street, replaced by Silent h
3. Silent h: (see above) , replaced by a French bistro. This was the place which really got me into Vietnamese food.
4. Barossa: Graham Avenue, replaced by Gwinnett Street whose menu is mildly upscale “artsy” food. (I do not recall the latest name for this establishment, but I imagine part of the reason for the name change was one of the owners being charged with handling narcotics. you can’t make this shit up, folks.).
5. Kenny’s Trattoria: Havemeyer Street, razed for residential development.
6. Taco Bite: South 4 Street at Rodney, replaced by a short-lived vegetarian/health food restaurant.
7. Grand Sichuan: Canal Street, razed so as to build a hotel.
8. Conos al Pescatore: Graham Avenue. Replaced by Sage an upscale Asian fusion establishment (which I will admit serves pretty good food— but still).
9. La Vuelta: 45th Road, replaced by a barbecue joint.
10. Village Mingala: Burmese restaurant whose East 5 Street location is now a Michelin recommended bistro. ASIDE: this leaves one Burmese restaurant in New York City.
11. El Paso: Houston Street, new tenant TBD
12. Casa Mon Amour: Franklin Street. They served Dominican food. Now the space is occupied by Vamos al Tequila (which is a fairly good replacement). The folks at Vamos al Tequila have my business for life for simply having the temerity to post the sign gracing the beginning of this post. I can only imagine what necessitated its creation.
13. Driggs Pizzeria: Driggs Avenue (duh), replaced by Two Boots. This one infuriates me as much as Village Mingala’s closure (READ: A LOT).
14. Monsignor’s: Bedford Avenue, now Lokal
15. Rocco’s Ristaurante: Thompson Street, taken over by these guys.
16. L.A. Ristorante: Manhattan Avenue, now a magazine/cigar store. To their credit, they did retain some semblance of a restaurant— but it really isn’t the same.
17. Bean: North 8 Street. A nice little Mexican restaurant; now it is Pop’s.

Is it just me or is there an overall trend here? Anyone care to add?

*Thankfully it would appear John’s of East 12 Street has dodged becoming statistic. At least for now, anyway…