Shopsin’s is an incredible restaurant located at 54 Carmine St. in the West Village. I discovered the place through a coworker, and it’s become Amy’s and my favorite restaurant. It’s run by a couple of aging ex-hippies, Eve and Kenny, and their kids, and if it has one thing on the menu, it has 400. I am not kidding, folks. If they put their menu online it’d crash your browser, that’s how big it is. There are probably 100 soups alone. And everything is awesome, and in huge portions. It’s like home cooking if your parents were part of every ethnicity known to man: Italian, American, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Southern–it’s amazing. The best part about the place is its idiosyncracies. No parties more than four allowed; no cell phones allowed (and they mean business about that; Kenny Shopsin will get really pissed if you start talking on one); there are board games to play with; and when you leave, you can select a free piece of candy from the many boxes of candies they have available. Plus there’s great old-timey jazz and ragtime playing at all times.
I just found out that Eve Shopsin died this week. When Amy and I were in there on Friday, our usual time, she wasn’t there, and I overheard that she was in the hospital, but it didn’t seem like anything serious. Apparently whatever killed her came out of nowhere. This is really, really sad, as time and time again we told Amy’s folks that we’d take them next time we were in town so they could see what the place was like. I doubt that they’ll shut it down, though I’m not sure, but one thing’s clear–it won’t be the same.