As I recounted in an earlier post today, last night found myself, my wife and two friends of ours in midtown. At Peg's suggestion, we decided to repair to an old favorite place for dinner over on 3rd Avenue and 51st street, namely Al Bustan. As I've mentioned before, there seems to be a real shortage of quality Lebanese food in Manhattan. Peg and her family introduced me to this place some years ago, and it's been a regular stop ever since. Imagine our shock and disappointment, then, to find the place dark and empty with a "for lease" sign in the window. According to Eater, they shut in December, though Zagat says they plane to re-open in a new location (yeah, we've all heard that one before).
Regardless of whether it re-opens somewhere new or not, I'm still sad to see it missing from this spot. Al Bustan had a great, old New York vibe to it. You'd often feel like it could still be the mid-70's in there (in a good way). It's also one less place in the city serving Almaza, and I find that unspeakably depressing.
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