Ladies and Gentlemen, Brace for Shitshow Week 2009

Oh yes, everyone! Shitshow Week 2009 has finally arrived, right when we all need it most. It's the time of year to remember that as much as New York is the stage for the very best restaurants in the world, it is equally a city for the worst. There are bad restaurants, there are mediocre restaurants, uncomfortable restaurants, sad restaurants, and then there are shitshows—restaurants that defy all logic, that are so utterly and completely off the rails that it can't be chalked up to simple ineptitude. Rather they are a product of a series of bad decisions and/or a restaurateur gone mad—such as when you decide to open an upscale Thai joint in what looks like a spaceship on Lower 2nd Ave.

Thus, we bring you Shitshow Week, our 2nd annual celebration of these monstrosities. Every day today until Friday a potential shitshow will get the spotlight, beginning this afternoon with Levant East. But that's not all! Get ready for reader complaints, tales from the industry, and polls on the worst ripoffs in our fine metropolis. And for the first time ever, we'll elect inductees to the Shitshow Hall of Fame. Settle in with some popcorn and remember, the tipline is always open.
· All Previous Shitshow Week Coverage [~E~]