Chris Crowley

2 days ago | grubstreet.com | Chris Crowley

When Absolute Bagels closed in December, it shocked the Upper West Side residents who had come to depend on the 30-year-old store. (It also shocked them, perhaps, to learn about the multitude of health violations they had been willing to overlook for bagels that many of its fans deemed to be among the best in the city.) And then another jolt hit the neighborhood: Last week, the news broke that someone had taken over the space and was planning to reopen it as another bagel shop.

1 week ago | grubstreet.com | Chris Crowley

For the regulars at Melon’s, the restaurant’s longtime manager was a bigger draw than the burgers. Torre, who died last week at the age of 81. Torre, who died last week at the age of 81. There aren’t many New York pubs more famous than JG Melon. It’s most widely known for its burger, a tractor beam with a side of cottage fries for the throngs who’ve descended on the place over the years.

3 weeks ago | grubstreet.com | Chris Crowley

The Bryant Park Grill. Last October, the people behind the 30-year-old Bryant Park Grill rang the emergency bells: Help save our restaurant. The operator, the publicly traded company Ark Restaurants, learned that it was likely getting the boot to make way for celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Seaport Entertainment. The Bryant Park Corporation (which leases the space) revealed in January that it was awarding the restaurant to the latter group. Now, the end is near.

1 month ago | grubstreet.com | Chris Crowley

The pho Nam Định features fresh-made noodles and lots of beef. When the chef Nhu Ton was in Hanoi in 2022, she rented a Vespa and lit out for the territories. While cruising around the countryside, Ton — a co-owner of Bánh, a small Vietnamese restaurant on the Upper West Side — ended up in Nam Định, about an hour and half southeast of the capital. This was her first time in the province, which, the story goes, is said to be the birthplace of pho.

1 month ago | grubstreet.com | Chris Crowley

Five years ago, every dining room in New York went dark. After weeks of coronavirus anxiety, Bill de Blasio ordered the shutdown of all restaurants on Sunday, March 15, and almost instantly more than 200,000 people were out of jobs. Restaurant workers, in New York and nationwide, were especially vulnerable to the impact of COVID.