Irving Mill (Redux)
116 E 16th St., New York, NY
As you may have noticed in our original review, we liked the food at Irving Mill, and it was a great place to grab some grub and a beer in a chilled out country home atmosphere. But when Chef Ryan Skeen left for Allen & Delancey (where he was recently fired via email after a Twitter outburst), Irving Mill decided to start throwing a nightly college rager like the ‘rents went out of town on prom night: red ropes, a doorman, long lines, bud light with lime, pink popped collars, and “I Gotta Feeling” on repeat.
The Monday burger special is still very popular, and the kitchen seems to still be turning out reasonable food – but management has decided that the best way to keep the doors open is to set up bottle service and pay some punk kid to “DJ” from his MacBook three nights a week. This is great news for every “Junior Executive” at JP Morgan with a $500 credit limit on his Discover card, but for the rest of us, it’s essentially the worst thing to happen to the neighborhood since the Wu Tang Clan played a reunion show at Irving Plaza.
So, what was once an Infatuation approved restaurant now has a listing on Club Planet and is a late night destination for every $40,000 millionaire in the Tri-State area. We’re going to steer clear no matter the time of day. Then again, if you’re looking for New York City’s hottest foam party, check their website for details. We’re betting they do a brisk business with the T.G.I. Friday’s crowd once it opens down the street. That is, if it can survive. Our money says this place is closed down and boarded up by March 1st.
Food Rundown:
Don’t worry about the food. The only thing you need to figure out is how many bottles of Skyy Vodka you’re going to need to buy to get all those girls over to your table.
