(Photo: Courtesy Juicy Spot Cafe)
The Lower East Side and East Village just got a few new takeout options for healthy and decidedly unhealthy food alike. Check em out.
Juicy Spot Cafe
109 Ludlow St., nr. Delancey St., Lower East Side; (212) 933-0478
Those who dare show their faces again on Ludlow Street after a night of drunkenly slurring, “Awww look at the horsies” can come here to sip coffee, tea, or raw, fresh-pressed juices like the house hangover cure, consisting of apple, cucumber, spinach, coconut water, and basil leaf. The café – a family endeavor helmed by bubble-tea shop vet Tony Zhu – just soft-opened for test runs and will likely be fully up and running in a week or two. Expect breakfast items like omelets, yogurt parfaits, bagels, and pastries as well as lunch times like sandwiches, pastas, salads and fruit bowls.
(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Champion Pizza
101 Ludlow St., nr. Delancey St., Lower East Side
This place, right next to Juicy Spot, has the chops to back up the name: Turkish-born pizzaiolo Hakki Akdeniz has shown off his pie-spinning prowess at competitions all over the world (as this documentary teaser shows, he can spin flaming pizzas blindfolded and handcuffed) and has brought back the trophies to prove it. If you’ve been missing the man ever since the closure of his two slice joints (one on Essex, the other on Rivington), this is a welcome sight indeed.
(Courtesy Sweet Generation)
Sweet Generation
130 1st Avenue, nr. St. Marks Pl.; 646-801-6480
Back in November, we told you the caterer who won “Best Cupcake” honors from the Village Voice in 2013 was opening up a brick-and-mortar spot in the East Village. Well, Amy Chasan is up and baking. Stop in for drinks like coffee, hot chocolate, or rosemary lemonade; breakfast pastries like muffins, biscuits, turnovers and tarts; confections like cupcake sandwiches, cookie sandwiches, and brownies; and gluten-free treats like chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons and raspberry maringues (cornbread muffins coming soon). Chasan pays tribute to the space’s previous occupant, the First Avenue Deli & Pierogi, by baking Kołaczki pastries daily.
Correction: The original version of this post was revised to correct the spelling of Tony Zhu’s surname.