Danny Meyer closes Tabla

What a shame. Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group's first ever closure.  It was a a great 12-year run (via Huffington Post)

Anotherthyme shuttered after 37 years

Anotherthyme, a fixture in downtown Durham since 1982, and one of the many restaurants - SomeThyme and Pyewacket (both shuttered in 2002) - nurtured by restaurateur and culinary visionary, Mary Bacon, has closed its doors.

I was a newly graduated college student when I first ate at AnotherThyme, a restaurant which inspired my passion for good, fresh food beautifully prepared and presented. The restaurant was ahead of its time and was at the forefront of a desperately needed downtown revitalization as well as a foodie movement that has seeded an enthusiasm  for sustainable foods and locavore tastes.

I loved its Morning Star Salad, which featured cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, carrots, apples, raisins, sunflower seeds, cashews, white cheddar, and mesclun greens with a creamy Umeboshi Plum dressing.  The salad was delicious and a favorite remaining on the menu until its closing.

According to Neil Offen of The Herald-Sun, the restaurant was sold for about $400,000 and will re-open under new ownership.

Delicious is no more

Delicious on the Slope (641 President St.) served its last meal.

The little restaurant had spirit even if it wasn't on the mark for the neighborhood.  Owner Luis Garcia tried to  resucitate the ill-conceived business - started originally with a menu of Israeli cuisine by another owner.  

Garcia inherited a mess - an ugly, poorly planned space and a menu that needed real definition. He was an inexperienced businessman despite his career in Manhattan restaurants, most notably The Cub Room. Garcia was robbed; his chef and partner jumped ship.  The economy dived and unemployment soared.

He and Delicious didn't have much of a chance.  

But, one thing Delicious delivered was dish and controversy.  

The blogosphere was full of commentary ranging from the curious to rants and rambling discussions. There were projections of the restaurant's impending doom. After the closing, Eater.com and others remarked on the man's bitter signage announcing the restaurant's demise.

It was reported erroneously that Garcia asked for community support via my blog. He did not initiate my post.  I like the man and I have compassion for his particular circle of hell.

It's interesting to note that many expect Garcia, who has lost his livelihood, not to mention a significant amount of cash, to be - um - chipper as he turns the key for the last time.  Please show me the saint who isn't a little bitter after a devasting loss such as this.  

Does Garcia have a right to blame the neighborhood?  No. Does he have a right to feel pain and disappointment? Sure.  

Time to flog another dead horse.