So with all good new things (2010! Woo hoo!) must come some sadness... My favorite neighborhood restaurant, Silent h, a brilliant delectable casual inventive take on traditional Vietnamese home cooking has closed it's doors for good. So local that we could pretend it was an extension of our living room, so mellow that the brilliant chef/owner, Vihn Nguyan, gave my daughter the run of the place, so wonderfully delicious that nary a week went by without a lunch and/or dinner there. Revered by the grownups in the local press (and by local, I mean the NY Times, among others).... and yet, the evil evil economic meltdown was too much for it, and a truly great eatery is no more.

All is not lost, however. Vihn is hard at work with a couple of partners on a new place that will open, like a phoenix, in the same, albeit renovated, space. The type of cuisine is a closely held secret, but one who's revelation  I am eagerly anticipating.

more below:

I'll keep you all posted... The new spot is due to open in the early spring. My mouth is waterning just thinking about it.

Here's to new ventures in the new decade!