Pichet Ong & Michael Huynh Storm the EVill Dessert District

Spot, 13 St. Mark's Place, East Village
Initial Projection: November
Current Debut Projection: November
Odds, On Time Arrival: 3-1
Eater Projected Opening Date: 12/01/09

Last week it came out that Pichet Ong, owner of the shuttered sweet/savory experiment P*ong and its neighboring bakery Batch, and Michael Empire Builder Huynh, are opening a dessert shop called Spot at 13 St. Mark's Place, smack dab in the middle of the dessert district that is the East Village. But since details were scant, Eater asked the dynamic duo to explain a little more about what the deal is. First off, the place is located under Pho 32, something the owner may not appreciate, given Huynh's growing pho empire.

But that's no matter. Ong and Huynh say they've been longtime friends and that Pichet will handle most of the project given Huynh's schedule (he has 383 more restaurants to open this year). Huynh explains the idea of the place:

"I love dessert, but sometimes dessert every day is not a good idea, especially French desserts with too much butter, cream, sugar, etc. It's not very healthy. So I want to do an Asian dessert place, which uses more coconut, fresh fruit, palm sugar etc., so I can have dessert everyday, Also there are no REAL Asian dessert bars."

Though the city does have Milk Bar, Chikalicious, and Kyotofu, perhaps he's right. Pichet reveals they'll have cakes baked in cast iron molds, shaved ice, ice cream sandwiches, exotic fruits, cookies, and strong Southeast Asian style brewed coffees and teas. Right now they're shooting for November.
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The Spot

13 St. Mark's Place, New York, NY