RESTAURANTS: Lola fully open
For
years, we'd walk by that shuttered space on Watts Street in lower Soho and read
the signs posted in the window. The owners of Lola, a jazz lounge serving
Creole-Cajun cuisine, were engaged in a long and protracted disagreement with
their neighbors and the community board, and the posters on the facade kept
passersby up to date on the saga. Well, Lola ultimately won the battle to obtain
liquor and music licenses, and the only signs in the window now are those
advertising upcoming shows. Live jazz and R&B hits the stage nightly, and a
Sunday gospel brunch is already swinging.
Along
the way there were some other problems. Top Chef's Dave Martin was slated to
perform in the kitchen, but he bailed out; the current chef is combining
traditional southern food with French techniques to lighten it all up a bit.
Classics like fried chicken sit alongside salads and seafood entrees like the
Bayou Pirogue.A full bar and fancy cocktails make the issues with the liquor
license worth the fight. At this point, the owners of Lola certainly have
something to celebrate.
Lola Is Soul
15 Watts St. at Thompson, 212-675-6700
Open
daily from 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.
Gospel
brunch seatings at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
August 15, 2008 5:05 PM |
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