14th St. Wipeout

Soon to arrive at Union Square West and 17th: Portland, Oregon’s Voodoo Doughnut.

As you might imagine, the art vendors of Union Square don’t want to be kicked out.

Sad to see local photo store Ben Ness go. It was a good place to get passport phots done and was staffed with a nice bunch of guys. It will be interesting to see if the space goes to a local business or to a chain. Pinkberry perhaps?

After over six years of delays, Union Square Pavilion is finally open to the public. The main draw of Simon Oren’s sprawling restaurant is the outdoor patio, which overlooks the park (and, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, the beautiful Greenmarket). Chef Mario Urgiles, formerly of Maison, will cook simple dishes like pappardelle al pesto, wild-mushroom bruschetta, and branzino with vegetable ratatouille. Think of this as Tavern on the Green for the downtown set.

What an interesting painting. The view is to the east across the southeastern corner of the park, back when the statue of George Washington was located in a traffic island at that corner.