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Louis Skibar is getting a bit of a name for himself for taking what’s old and making it new. In 2021, he updated the Upper West Side luncheonette Old John’s Diner, and last year he brought Williamburg’s 100-year-old diner, Kellogg’s Diner, back from the other side (its second life topping our best new restaurants of 2024). Just a few blocks up from Kellogg’s, Skibar has done it yet again, this time turning an old dive into a hub for Italian comforts.
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As of May 2, JR & Son is open yet again for business. Located on the corner of Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue, this is the third act for the space, which was once a supper club named Charlie’s before becoming JR & Son, a semi-friendly neighborhood hang where all used to gather (and we really mean all as the bar was known to seat mob members in its various booths). Yet, the bar closed in 2020 due the pandemic. Nico Arze and Matthew Maddy, who also revamped Kellogg’s Diner, refurbished the 90-year-old space while maintaining its spirit, keeping the decorative tile ceilings and unveiling the black and white tile flooring that was once hidden under linoleum floors. Memorabilia from the dive era has found its place back on the wall, with black and white photos of actors and starlets of yesteryear, next to a fair amount of boxing memorabilia.
The former chef de cuisine of Noho’s Thai Diner, executive chef Patricia Vega is leading the kitchen for the first time at JR & Son, cooking up comforting, red sauce classics. Starters include bread service with baskets of buttery Focaccia, studded with sesame seeds and olives, and Garlic and Herb Parker House Rolls with an assist from pastry chef Amanda Perdomo (previously of Wildair and Contra). Appetizers continue with watercress and radicchio salads topped with broken bits of fried arancini (Arancini Salad) and stringy stracciatella cheese with an olive-infused caramel with bottarga (Stracciatella). With chef Vega’s background learning how to make pasta from scratch at the age of 13, the pasta menu includes Paccheri with a nicely spiced lobster fra diavolo sauce and ravioli with mint ricotta and English peas sitting next to a classic spaghetti and meatballs with two toasted pieces of garlic bread to sop up any remaining sauce. This balance of high and low continues onto larger entrees with a menu that ranges from Junior’s Burger with steamed onions and a roasted branzino topped with a smattering of parsley and roasted spring onions with a fiery, fish-based sauce for dipping.
The maker of one of our favorite desserts in the city, chef Perdomo also took a spin on the dessert menu here. You can get a taste of her handmade ice cream in the sundae, with scoops of chocolate, pistachio and vanilla drizzled with Magic Shell chocolate for a bit of crack and texture. Instead of a bite-sized pieces of rainbow cookies, Perdomo is giving out full slices of her rainbow layered cake. It is vegan, but its layers of soft raspberry jam and chocolate frosting topped with shreds of toasty coconut is oh so decadent, its likely you won't notice the difference.
We’re about to discover what’s new again at JR & Son.