Veselka is the only Eastern European joint left that I frequent down there. They're Ukrainian. They've been on 2nd Avenue and 9th Street for like sixty years. Our Village property is on West 8th, just off MacDougal. But I walk crosstown just to eat breakfast there all the time
It's run down, and it's more of a diner than a restaurant. But the food is great, and it's just about the last remaining link to the old Lower East Side. And everyone here knows how I feel about the new Manhattan
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I'm half Ukrainian and that side of my family originally lived in the Lower East Side when they came over during WWII.
What do you usually get there PB?
Well, I try to get to the Village early in the day, so I mostly go there for breakfast. So it's the standard fare. Omelettes, etc. But they have those big fat breakfast sausages that you rarely see today. Most diners use those little skinny links, which I don't really care for. But as far as lunch and dinner, it's the usual stuff. Stuffed cabbage, blintzes, goulashes, etc. And their potato pancakes are every bit as good as the old Second Avenue Deli (which was just a few doors away for many years).
