No more mile-high funfetti layer cake: the grandma-chic Hail Mary has closed. The website now reads, “Hail Mary and Greenpoint have separated due to irreconcilable differences.”
For its opening in May, Ham and Sohla El-Waylly created a menu of deviled egg dip with trout roe, short rib stroganoff, and matzo ball soup, with offbeat desserts like the Paulie Gee malt with burrata ice cream, honey, and guanciale as a tribute to Paulie Gee’s nearby.
Critic Robert Sietsema embraced the place, though admittedly had a problem with a dish earlier this year:
This new-wave Greenpoint diner strives for uniqueness, and many of its offerings are worth trying. Not this one, alas. Octopus is better served in simple presentations, but this complicated recipe featured pistachio tahini, fried yuca, red onion slaw, and other distractions. It has now been rotated off the menu, but memory of it lingers.
Whether it’s a neo-diner like this one or a more traditional spot, New York has been especially tough on diners this year.