The second annual Meet The Chefs event, a tasting showcase for some 33 restaurants in the South Village, was held on Sat., Sept. 20. The food fete organized by the Carmine St. Block Association, is a benefit for three local schools in the area, Our Lady of Pompeii, P.S. 41 and the Downing Street Preschool.
David Gruber, president of CaSBA, said it was the first time he knows of that a community group organized a joint parochial and public school fundraiser.
“We had the parents’ clubs of the schools working together und
er one banner, and in this time of budget cutbacks and financial uncertainty all educational institutions are equally affected,” said Gruber.
This year the number of participating restaurants grew by over 50 percent from the previous year. The 33 eateries included some newcomers like Gobo on Sixth Ave. and Eighth St.; La Palapa Rockola, the second outlet of the famous St. Mark’s Pl. Mexican café La Palapa, also on Sixth Ave.; and Palma on Cornelia St.; in addition to some of the more well-known Village names like Po and Cornelia Street Café, both on Cornelia St.; Blue Ribbon Bakery and Restaurant, on Downing St.; and Café Español, on Carmine St.
Exotic dishes were offered at every turn. Noi, another newcomer on Bleecker St., served a creselle (Italian crêpe) al spinach; Mirchi, on Seventh Ave. S. at Morton St., gave the famous Bombay snack of pao bhaji (spicy mixed vegetables) and chicken takka tak (boneless chicken with potatoes, onions and bell peppers cooked on the flat hot iron “tawa” grill); Fish, also on Bleecker St., brought fresh grilled oysters, clams and tuna; while Deborah’s, on Carmine St., cooked up a BBQ-lacquered duck. American comfort-style chicken potpies came from Greenwich Village Bistro, also on Carmine St.
Gruber estimated the crowds to be in the thousands. “We had very good P.R. for the tasting with listing in major media,” he said. “The Meet the Chefs event is good for both the restaurants and other businesses in the neighborhood, since many newcomers were lured to the Village to sample the great food and have an adventure.” Gruber is using the Meet the Chefs participants as the nucleus of a new “South Village Restaurant District” that he is seeking to promote as a Downtown food destination, much like the 46th St. Restaurant Row in the Theater District.
