A new juice bar and vegan shop is open, as a celebrated Chicago cocktail bar tries to make it in the Big Apple.
Juicy Cube, a juice bar and bubble tea spot, is open in the former home of Soomsoom at 166 West 72nd Street. They also serve vegan food and get solid Yelp reviews. Photo by @chengjih.
Poulette, the French chicken restaurant at 426 Amsterdam Avenue (80th-81st) has closed, an employee at another branch confirmed. Thanks to George for the tip.
The Aviary, a cocktail bar that’s gotten great buzz in Chicago, is opening a location in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in the Time Warner Center. Eater headlined its post “Holy Crap”, because this bar is apparently pretty terrific: “The Aviary in Chicago is known as one of the world’s best bars. It opened in 2011, taking a fine-dining approach to cocktails. Like Alinea, The Aviary has been a game-changer in how drinks are presented. Bartenders are treated like chefs and ice sculptors work as an integral part of the kitchen. The place offers tasting menus with the cocktails that run up to $195-per-person. Drinks are made in a fenced-in ‘cocktail kitchen.’ It has become one of Chicago’s essential cocktail bars.” They have a website with a video up here.
Roche Bobois, a high-end European furniture company, is opening a store on 70th and Broadway in the former home of a Wells Fargo bank. Thanks to Amanda and Eric for the tips and Amanda for the photo.
The new Corcoran office is open at 221 Columbus Avenue, on the corner of 70th Street. That’s the former home of Amber restaurant.
The Sleepy’s bedding store on Columbus between 96th and 97th St has a new sign. It’s now called MattressFIRM. Thanks to Eva for the tip. Apparently no credit is needed, according to a sign on the window.
Sugar Factory, the restaurant at 68th and Broadway, is now planning to open on March 15.
A new restaurant called Café 21 is planning to open at 21 West End Avenue, the new building on 61st and West End, according to a liquor license application. The liquor license meeting is Wednesday March 8 at 7 p.m. at 250 West 87th Street and other new restaurants are also expected to be discussed. (We’re looking for someone to cover it for West Side Rag. Email westsiderag@gmail if you’re interested. It’s a paid gig and the meeting should last about an hour).
I gave Poulette 6 months to go out of business after they opened and I tried their food! MEH!
Chicken was good but the sides were awful!
My god how anyone can screw up a roast chicken is betond me. Tasteless
I believe all Sleepy’s were rebranded as MattressFirm. I will miss their advertising jingle – “MattressFirm, for the rest of your life” just doesn’t sound as good…
All Sleepy’s stores have been re-named to Mattress Firm. https://www.mattressfirm.com/faq-sleepys.html
Despite the name change, customers are promised that they will “continue to experience the same great people, service, selection and guarantees — just under a new name.”
And the mattress salesman will continue to wear suits from 1975, place their feet on their desk and occasionally nod off.
Oh no. We LOVED Poulette.The chicken was fresh and tasted better than homemade. They were prompt, food was always beautifully prepared and delivered hot. We just ordered from them when we had out-of-town company about 2 weeks ago, who arrived late and were too tired to go out. What a loss to the neighborhood.
Chirping Chicken is just as good at a fraction of the price. It just has a lot less snob appeal.
But Poulette had organic chicken…
Chirping chicken tastes good, but it’s so cheap I can’t help but wonder where their chicken comes from (China) and how many antibiotics are in them!!
you think the whole chickens you see on the grill at Chirping Chicken come from China? uhhhh ok
Having read this article and been a customer of Poulette, I tried Chirping Chicken.
A better value, definitely. But I prefer Poulette’s offerings. Chirping Chicken is dry and salty to my taste, and veggies are . . . old school, which is to say, more for variety than nutrition. I prefer brussel sprouts to iceberg lettuce and ratatouille to cole slaw.
I disagree about Chirpin’ Chicken being just as good as Poulette, I think it’s much better.
Aww, I’m sorry to hear about Poulette. They were high quality food, but I always worried about them given their proximity to and popularity of Chirping Chicken. 🙁
Unione on Broadway between 149 & 150 has closed.
Too bad.
Good food, good drink, good service.
Looks like there is some activity at the former Brooklyn Industries space on 99th and B’way. Any ideas?
Heard it will be a liquor store from a construction worker.
that’s good news if true. Can WestSideRag please do an investigative report into the movie theater that has been blighting the neighborhood there for 12 years?
You could win a Pulitzer!!!
Remember when Sugar Factory was taking reservations for late December 2016? HA.
down with sugar factory
I have to tell you that I literally NEVER saw anyone inside Poulette… I’m not sure they ever marketed themselves, nor did I ever read a review or any buzz about it. I miss the roast chicken at Amsterdam’s, back in the day, a few doors up…
Wow, I haven’t thought about that place in years. One of my old hangouts. I used to love the chicken fingers they used to have at the bar. And the owner and staff were always very cool and friendly. Always great music.
One of my best friends used to bar-tend there back in the ’90s. Good times. A real neighborhood hangout place. I think there was one downtown as well. On Broadway near Canal if memory serves.
What is the modern day equivalent? Fred’s?? I don’t know.
Mattress Firm own’s Sleepy’s
Does anyone know what’s happening at Columbus between 109th and 110th next door to MBV?
The permits on the windows say “renovation for a hotpot restaurant”. That’s all I know,
I tried Poulette once to see if it was worth the high price – decided it wasn’t. My go to place for chicken is the little spanish place on Amsterdam 88-89th, called Caridad.
$195-per-person drinks and a fenced-in ‘cocktail kitchen.’ Holy crap indeed! I still miss McGlade’s a few blocks up Columbus. Anyone here as old as me?
Speaking of Chicken Fingers and such- I’ve never been to Harriet’s Kitchen on Amsterdam just a few blocks up from Poulette – Is it decent food ?
That’s a good question. I have been meaning to try that place for years but I don’t think I have ever seen anyone in there. Always a bad sign for a restaurant in my opinion.
Where are the best chicken fingers in the neighborhood these days?? Like I said, Fred’s has got great greasy bar food and stuff like that. Maybe, I hate to say it, Shake Shack?? I loved Amsterdam’s back in the day…oh well.
I need to do some more research on this.:)
Chirping Chicken.
Harriet’s is amazing, and does a solid takeout business.
Maybe I missed it, but Dan the sushi restaurant and the nail salon next door on 69th and Broadway both closed. Dan has a sign that says “closed permanently” handwritten.
Yeah, we covered it here: https://www.westsiderag.com/2017/03/01/openings-closings-gina-la-fornarina-dan-japanese-szechuan-garden-new-italian-spot