By now we've all had a chance to process the news that eve, the Kerrytown Asian-French fusion restaurant, will close next Sunday, January 16.
It's big news, as eve is one of the few "fine dining" restaurants in Ann Arbor. I've been twice, most recently in August, and was pleased with the meal - certainly more than on my first visit. Underwhelmed by the vegetarian option on the menu I asked if there was another possible vegetarian meal they could make (hat tip to my friend Anna for this tip) and the summer pasta dish they crafted was both light and satiating - a rare combination. On the other hand, some of my friends have more mixed reviews - including some bemusement at the idea of "inspired nachos" and complaints about poor service. Tongues also wagged over Eve's poor performance as a Top Chef contestant in summer 2009. But for many Ann Arborites, eve was worth it, especially in a town largely devoid of top-flight food.
As we've breathlessly noted the last month (multiple times), Eve Aronoff's new venture Frita Batidos has been a hit with locals, so her food sensibilities won't be absent from A2. In the meantime, you can still drop by eve if you haven't had the chance; on Sunday, the final day, the restaurant will host a food and wine sale from 1:00-4:00 PM, with proceeds to benefit staff severance.
An interesting little side-story I've noticed around this is watching the tenor of folks discussing this on A) AnnArbor.com and B) her Facebook announcement. Armchair speculation about the health of the restaurant industry/landlord-business relations/internal affairs at Eve/anything-else-at-all vs. wishing them the best and hoping for a swift reopening.
ReplyDeleteGH what's the bottom line? If I've never been to Eve, is it worth trying to squeeze in a visit this week?
ReplyDeleteI would say go for drinks. I am trying to get someone to go with me.
ReplyDeletePhil, I was actually talking about this with my parents last night. It's certainly possible that the poor economy/relatively secluded location hurt eve's finances. Moreover, she's obviously jazzed about Frita Batidos, so that could have hurt things too.
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