Good news for fans of the old Lower East Side slice emporium Rosario's, which was recently closed down by the Department of Health.
I passed by the joint last night at midnight and the lights were on and the roller shutter halfway up. Inside, workers, including the old owner, were busy tearing the place apart, on their way to making it spic and span. So, they're serious about reopening. And fast!
It's been nearly a month since the DOH slapped the timeless Chinatown treasure, the Nom Wah Tea Parlor, with 58 violations, resulting in the shuttering of the dim sum palace. So I decided to check in on the Doyers Street restaurant over the weekend.
I found it still shut, but with the lights on, revealing the wonderful interior, with its tile floor, tin ceilings, old-fashioned bar and ancient equipment. The central pillar surrounded by coat hooks is, alone, a wonder. Things didn't look too tidy, so I wasn't encouraged as to the parlor's future. In the back, four middle-aged and elderly Chinese men sat. I think there were playing cards.
After a while, one of the men peered out the door, and I seized my chance. This turned out to be the owner. He told me he expected the parlor to reopen next week. He was only waiting for a DOH inspector to return. "It's all cleaned up," he said. He also did not try to pretend that the restaurant had really been closed for renovations or because of an electrical problem, as many eateries pretend when the DOH shuts them down. He just slapped his hand on the DOH notice in the window. "Health Department," he said, simply.
It will be good to have the parlor back.
Reason it out however you like. You won't convince me. This last report of the Department of Health's behavior regarding the hapless, increasingly hopeless Red Hook Ballfield Food Vendors confirmed my growing belief that the City isn't out of to enforce health laws or make sure there's an even playing fields where park concessions are concerned. No, the DOH and the Parks Department have painted a target of the collective back of these Latino vendors. They want them out. This, my friends, is not bureaucracy. This is a hit.
Think I'm irrational? Well, read this piece in the Brooklyn Eagle (brought to my attention by Gowanus Lounge) and then talk to me. If I had a hundred thou, I'd hand it over the Cesar Fuentes, exec director of the Vendors, so he could buy the countless things the DOH are insisting the foodsellers buy, plus extra money to hire a lawyer and a publicist to sue the City's ass for harassment.
P.S.—As for the much-discussed need for running water and portable sinks, I was there today and spied at least four of them. They're plastic, they're ugly, they're there. Choke on 'em, DOH.
Posts
All Comments
