10/07/09

Patience is a virtue.

by astorite

The food is great here. Probably some of the best food I've ever had. The menu is 600 plus items, so you know there is something there for you.

Kenny is a bit of a legend and rightly so. He cooks on the fly, is self taught and is uncompromising in his efforts to bring the best possible creations to the table for his customers.

His son and heir to the chef's apron is Zack. He is just as talented as his father.

Please note:

Do not come here if you are in any sort of a rush. I have waited over an hour on many an occasion and was happy to do so.

Do not come if you are unable to ignore your cell phone while eating.

No parties larger than four.

No one who thinks they are entitled to be treated like a king/queen/prince/princess. The customer is never assumed to be right here.

If you are unable to follow any of these rules you will be asked to leave. Maybe you will be asked nicely. Maybe you will be cursed at. You can argue. You can cry. But in the end, you will go.

• Pros: excellent food, humorous reparte
• Cons: if you suck, you will be asked to leave.

The beloved West Village diner and its lovably grumpy guardian Kenny Shopsin relocate to the Essex Street Market.

by Justin Hartung

Kenny Shopsin's diner may have downsized when it relocated to the Essex Street Market, but his eccentric personality remains as oversized ever. Posted hours are highly flexible, and even when it's open, there's never any guarantee that the famous curmudgeon will have the place open--or that if it is open, he'll deign to feed you. But if he lets you eat there, the massive breakfast and lunch menu--covering everything from blueberry pancakes to juevos rancheros to Nigerian beef stew--explains just why New Yorkers put up with Kenny Shopsin. The man is one of the great short-order cooks of all time.