Sheara Wilensky . com

I’ve already blogged my opinions on coffee retailers. While I am not a crazed fan of the overpriced, made-to-order coffee that Starbucks offers, I was surprised to hear that the coffee giant is planning to close 600 under-performing locations nationwide. I don’t really care one way or another, it doesn’t bother me one bit that there are 3 Starbucks locations within a 10 block radius of my apartment. I could understand that in a weakening economy, many people across the nation are trying to cut down on a $100 a month or more coffee-drinking habit.

I was reading some responses to the Starbucks closings online at ireprot.com, and it seemed more often than not people were happy about this. One person commented “It’s about time. Their coffee tastes like charcoal.” Another person said “I already spend $4 a gallon on gas. Why would I spend another $4 for a 12oz coffee?” Point taken.

However, along with these Starbucks closings come thousands of store managers and baristas out of jobs. Empty buildings with landlords losing rent. Coffee machine manufacturers and paper-goods manufacturers losing income. Clearly there is not going to be a good economical after-effect of all the closings. So, all the people out there that think corporate Starbucks is evil, well, they were actually stimulating the economy. Wow look at me now defending them!

Opened just this past Thursday on Rivington between Essex and Norfolk is Neighburrito, a tiny restaurant featuring homemade Mexican food. Menu items include burritos made with chicken, steak, pork or tilapia, and they even feature an “all vegan” burrito made with lime-marinated tofu, soy cheese and soy sour cream. I tried it, it was quite good. I felt healthy eating it, and the flavor was not compromised. It was smothered with a home-made sauce. For a $6.50-$7.50 burrito, they throw in free chips with salsa (your choice of mild, medium and hot), which is a nice little freebie. They also have a make your own burrito menu, quesadillas, salads, and specialty fruit drinks. I actually watched as my burrito was being made behind the counter and the ingredients did in fact look fresh and homemade. Definitely not your typical take-out burrito joint.

Neighburrito stays open until 2am from Tuesday to Saturday nights, which should be popular with the Lower East Side late night bar crowd. It’s a welcome new addition to the hood.

127 Rivington Street (between Essex and Norfolk)
New York, NY 10002
212-260-2277