Union Square West, 137 Years Ago

From The Daily News:

Skip the holiday gifting anxiety attacks this year and head to the Union Square Holiday Market, now in it’s 13th year. There’s plenty of hand-made jewelry, clothes and other items as well as organic and free-trade finery. Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m; free admission. Union Square Park, E. 14th St. and Broadway. For more information, go to: www.nycgovparks.org.

Now open in the former D’Agostino’s location is Agata and Velentina, a high-end grocery store with an Italian flair. Lots of meats, cheeses, and prepared foods. Prices sort of on a par with Garden of Eden. One gripe: the store layout forces you to follow a single path and the result can be crowding and claustrophobia at certain times of the day. Try it out.

Glaze Teriyaki Grill has opened up near Union Square. Their signature teriyaki entrees ($6.75 to $9.50) include chargrilled chicken thigh or breast, Japanese BBQ hanger steak, fresh-never-frozen organic salmon, boneless pork loin, wok vegetables or soy marinated tofu. It’s on 4th Ave. between 13th and 14th.

Big news: The Food Emporium at 14th and Broadway will die in 2023 and be replaced by a new branch of Target. It’s interesting to note how few “old-fashioned” supermarkets are surviving in this neighbo

Various sources report on the opening of Hea, the new eatery from Friend House owner Joe Ngai. They write: “Chef Heng Meng Kong (Penang) indulges his Malaysian background with dishes like green curry with market vegetables and skate wing grilled in banana leaves. Hea morphs into a lounge at night, where drinkers can sample elixirs such as a blend of plummy spiced rum, lemon juice and seltzer, or vodka mixed with Calpico (a Japanese soft drink) and yuzu.” 145 E. 13th Street, 212-982-1688.

The northeast corner of Union Square has now been swept clean of its last small independent businesses as Tammany Hall preps for its big upgrade. One less deli, one less smoke shop. And so it goes.