New York - October 15, 2007

LoFi on the LoSide

Cantina Restaurant Opens

Back in the day, the East Village was the Loisaida. Bodegas on the corners, poetry slams in the park.

Back in the day, when you were in nursery school.

The just-opened Cantina is bringing pan-Latin flavor back to a hood overrun with overpriced vintage shops and hair salons.

Chef Jason Neroni (Porchetta, 71 Clinton Fresh Food) is cooking his Cuban great-grandmother’s recipes in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kitchen by the bar — chorizo empanadas, pork shoulder dulce de leche, and beef and pork meatballs with eggs and almonds. Wash it down with pineapple, coconut, and yerba mate Cuban sodas or one of a dozen Latin American beers.

The space has a charming granny feel, full of flea market finds. No matching chairs, no matching plates. A side room has a large communal table (invite your third cousins!) and bookshelves full of LPs, dolls, and framed Madonnas (the icon, not the singer).

Cantina serves from noon to 5 a.m., every day.

Keeping it, you know, real yo.

Cantina, 29 Avenue B, between 2nd and 3rd Streets (212-228-0599).