More soup, um, borscht, for you!
Legendary East Village restaurant Veselka, which has served Ukrainian comfort foods similar to borscht and dumplings for nearly 70 years, plans to open a Williamsburg branch and kiosk in Grand Central Station, Side Dish has learned.
The expected expansion comes amid a wave of support for Veselka, which implies “rainbow” in Ukrainian, as Russia’s brutal war against its eastern European neighbor enters its second yr.
The Second Avenue Refuge was an unofficial meeting place to organize aid – including food, medical supplies and money – for the war-torn country and shelter refugees. Veselka also gave Ukraine 100% of the sales of her famous borscht in the primary yr of the war – raising $300,000.
“I only hope for the most effective and know in my heart that I’ll proceed to do all the pieces in my power to help Ukrainians, my brothers and sisters,” said Jason Birchard, owner of Veselka and son of Tom Birchard, who took from his the then father-in-law of Volodymyr Darmochwal. “My employees are very motivated. I could not have done it without their exertions. About 50% of them are Ukrainians.
He said Birchard is in talks to open a 5,000-square-foot facility in Williamsburg with a bigger commission kitchen by the tip of the yr. The present East Village location is 4,500 square feet, with 70 indoor seats and roughly 50 outdoor seats if permitting.
“We would have liked an area that may very well be a hybrid kitchen and restaurant to meet the pent-up demand over the past 12 months that has shown people love Veselka, and we’re incredibly grateful and want to meet the demand that’s on the market,” said Justin Birchard, Jason’s cousin and development director of Veselka.
The Grand Central annex, also due to open later this yr, could be similar to the Veselka kiosk on the Lower East Side of Essex Crossing, which opened in 2018.
Following the launch of the Williamsburg location, the East Village location, which opened in 1954, will close for some needed renovations, including a kitchen extension.
“It is time,” Justin Birchard said. “We’ve not renovated in 30 years. But we’re not leaving. We stay so long as the owner will allow us to.
One other thing Veselka hopes to bring back soon is 24/7 meals, which were discontinued through the pandemic.
![The hostess Veselka](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008014067.jpg?w=1024)
“I used to love going there for late meals after an evening out,” said Jason Lloyd, now a father of three and a Mona broker who represents Veselka in the Williamsburg space negotiations. “So many individuals have memories of late evening meals here.”
Veselka’s traditional menu, which incorporates stuffed cabbage, veal stew and beef stroganoff, recently earned her a James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Restaurant.
But it surely’s the comfort work of the Ukrainian community, which stretches from the East Village to the tri-state area and across the country, that has generated lots of goodwill.
The restaurant sponsored work visas for Ukrainians who fled to New York, where many ended up in Veselka to work alongside their relatives, Jason Birchard said. She has also partnered with the Ukrainian non-profit organization Razom for Ukraine, a human rights organization, and other groups.
![The famous borscht Veselka](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008014072.jpg?w=1024)
For a new fundraising drive, Veselka is partnering with Michael Dorf’s City Winery to donate a $10 cabernet sale – from a barrel painted in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag – through World Chef José Andrés Central Kitchen, Jason Birchard said.
“I would like to raise $500,000 for Ukraine this yr,” added Birchard, who’s on the advisory board of the Ukrainian Habitat Funds. “As one among the oldest Ukrainian corporations in New York, we’re blessed to have a lot support and to find a way to support Ukraine as well.”
There could also be new districts to conquer in the longer term. The West Village could be next, Lloyd suggested.
![Employees at Veselka Ira and Julia](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008013992.jpg?w=1024)
“This can be a well-deserved expansion for Veselka. It’s an ideal New York brand. I hope that Second Avenue (original location) will reopen 24/7 and bring back that aspect of New York cuisine – when people leave the bar to go get food because the sun comes up,” said Lloyd.
We only hear…that Cathédrale is partnering with the IFC Center and Janus Movies to have a good time the thirty fifth anniversary of Babette’s Feast, the Oscar-winning iconic Danish culinary film, The IFC will show the film, hailed by the late Anthony Bourdain as one among the all-time culinary classics, from 22 March = 29.
On the ultimate night, the Cathédrale will offer to recreate the famous feast from the movie: a 4-course candlelit meal by the chef Jason Hall and directed by the Culinary Director of Tao Group Hospitality Ralph Skamardella. The associated fee is $150 per person, plus wine and couples libations.
The film ends with a French refugee’s spectacular feast, which incorporates turtle soup for a vicar’s two daughters in a pious nineteenth-century Danish town.
“It was vital to stay true to the classics and not turn away from reinventing or adding personal touches,” Hall said, adding that the turtle soup was sourced from Philadelphia’s Samuels Seafood Company, farm-raised freshwater soft-shell turtles, and that the there can even be artificial turtle soup.
“By offering guests the chance to sample classics from one other era, the restaurant goals to evoke a way of nostalgia and appreciation for the standard French cuisine served at Babette’s Feast,” said Hall.
Other dishes include pancakes with caviar and sour cream, quail in puff pastry with foie gras and black truffle sauce, and rum sponge cake with figs and candied cherries.
Matt Strauss, senior vice chairman of corporate development at Tao Group Hospitality, said the thought for the dinner got here up through the pandemic when he was texting with chef Hall.
“I loved the movie when it got here out and it hits you otherwise wherever you’re in your life,” said Strauss. “An awesome meal brings everyone together.”
He added that he had acquired among the wines at auctions and that the “authenticity” of the entire experience was key.
Because the late Bourdain once said in regards to the film: “You wish to eat this food. It captures the actual pleasures of sitting on the table, a bit drunk on good wine, eating amazing food. They only got it right“.
We hear…that the twenty fifth Annual Sunday Supper – from the Chef Daniel Boulud and Citymeals on Wheels raised $1 million. Mayor Eric Adams and CEO of Citymeals on Wheels Beata Szapiro attended.
Invited chefs included Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn in Houston), Esther Ha (Momofuku Ko in New York) and Travis Swickard (Callie in San Diego) all began their careers under Boulud’s tutelage. They were joined by a French chef Erica Canino (La Voile, Ramatuelle in Saint Tropez, France).