January’s Openings and Closings

In New York City, only the strong restaurants survive. Or the ones with amazing food, cult followings, lots of great press, and a whole slew of other factors. For those keeping tabs, here’s a list of restaurants that opened and closed in January.

Openings
Lincoln Heights. Park Slope got a new cafe/ gourmet take-out bar from the owners of Bar Corvo and Al Di Là. (409 Lincoln Pl, Brooklyn)
Country Boys. Vendy Cup 2009 winners and taco masters opened a storefront on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. (568 4th Ave.)
Harvist. Harlem’s newest 130-seater is in My Image Studios. (46 W. 116th St.)
Choza Taqueria. Flatiron’s taco spot opened a new location in Greenwich Village. (124 MacDougal St.)
Table Verte. This may be the only French vegetarian bistro in the East Village. (127 E. 7th St.)
Los Perros Locos. The Lower East Side just got a new hot dog spot. (201 Allen St.)
Breads Bakery. Uri Scheft brings his Israeli baked goods stateside to Union Square. (18 E. 16th St.)
Smokey Burger Organic. Find every burger you could ever imagine at this Midtown West all-natural spot. (339 W. 44th St.)
Suzume. More bowls of ramen for those near the Lorimer stop. (545 Lorimer St., Brooklyn)
Orange Leaf. Oklahoma-based froyo chain hit Murray Hill this month. (608 2nd Ave.)
Daheen Wang Mandoo. Flushing Mandoo favorite opened a location in Koreatown. (2 W. 32nd St.)
Amigos. The mexican pop up opened in Morningside Heights. (2888 Broadway)
Cole’s Greenwich Village. American-style fare from the folks of the Lamb’s Club and Jimmy. (118 Greenwich Ave.)
Malai Marke. Curry Row in the East Village now has Indian food with Portuguese influence. (316 E. 6th St.)
Rogue and Canon. Take the American cooking canon and go rogue on Houston St. (128 W. Houston St.)
Los Verdes. Miami-based Columbian-style fast food chain opened in Sunnyside. (42-46 Greenpoint Ave, Queens)
Saigon 9 West. A new banh mi dive in Midtown West. (348 W. 47th St.)
Milk and Honey. The quasi-speakeasy opened a bigger outpost on 23rd Street, no reservations needed this time. (30 E. 23rd St.)
Bizarre. Bushwick’s newest bar with double digit cocktails. (12 Jefferson St., Brooklyn)
The Cleveland. A new Soho restaurant from Paul Shaked and Hudson Solomon. (25 Cleveland Pl.)
Qi Thai Grill. Williamsburg’s newest Thai place. (176 N. 9th St., Brooklyn)
Catfish. New Orleans-inspired dishes and an impressive whiskey menu in Crown Heights. (1433 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn)
The General. From the folks behind Meatpacking’s Catch, comes another trendy Asian restaurant. (199 Bowery)
Cafe Tallulah. A bar and lounge with a French menu on the Upper West Side. (240 Columbus Ave.)
American Flatbread. Vermont’s pizza chain hits Tribeca. (205 Hudson St.)
Bon! Asian Spice Cafe. Pork buns and bulgogi omelets at this Bushwick spot. (140 St. Nicholas Ave., Brookyln)
La Margarita Pizza. A pizza place on Ludlow Street. (151 Ludlow St.)
Cherry. Jonathan French/ Japanese restaurant in the Dream Downtown. (355 W. 16th St.)
Bar Chord. Wings and strings specials at the Ditmas Park bar and music venue.
Burger Bistro. Brooklyn’s burger chain found another home on the Upper East Side. (1663 1st Ave.)
Vanguard Wine Bar. Kips Bay’s wine bar has small plates for sharing. (530 2nd Ave.)

Closings
Bellweather. The Williamsburg spot closed after co-owner Josh Cohen decided to move on from the project. (594 Union Ave., Brooklyn)
Earl’s Court. FiDi’s massive food court has a “for rent” sign in its window. (90 John St.)
Veranda. After a few DOB violations, the West Village restaurant/ lounge closed. (149 7th Ave. S)
The Bourgeois Pig. The Carroll Gardens location of the mini chain is out of business. (387 Court St., Brooklyn)
Second Stop Cafe. The Williamsburg Cafe is now an antique store. (524 Lorimer St., Brooklyn)
Land Northeast Thai. The Upper East Side Thai joint closed after a lease dispute. (1565 2nd Ave.)
Rub BBQ. The BBQ spot on 23rd Street closed. (203 W. 23rd St.)
Brown Cafe. The Hester Street brunch favorite closed to “focus on other nonprofit endeavors.” (61 Hester St.)
Suzie’s. NYU Chinese food haven’s doors are shut after almost 40 years.
Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen. The vegan bakery on St. Mark’s Place was no match for piling bills. (130 St. Mark’s Pl.)
Lenox Lounge. The legendary Harlem jazz club is no more. (288 Lenox Ave.)
Almondine. The Park Slope location was up for sale earlier this month. (442 9th St., Brooklyn)