Waverly Inn Chef's Newbie The Lion Pounces On Greenwich Village

Preview dinners begin next week at The Lion, the new restaurant from Waverly Inn executive chef John DeLucie and Delicatessen owner Mark Amadei. Will it bring some of that ye olde Waverly flavor back to the neighborhood?-

The locals probably hope not! Not because The Lion--a two-story joint that'll serve traditional American fare like steaks, burgers and lamb porterhouse--will be bad. But because the Village has been...less than hospitable to recent high-profile newcomers. The Lion's central location (9th Street just east of 6th Avenue) should spare it some of the acrimony that seems to build the further west you go in the area.

Consider:

The Waverly Inn is still reeling 'em in, but the buzz (and attendant Town Cars and TMZ leeches that spoiled Bank Street's calm) inevitably trailed off after its much-hyped opening. Also, Graydon Carter revamped another old-timer, The Monkey Bar in Midtown, which swiftly replaced Waverly as the place for glitzy parties that coincidentally (nudge, nudge) made their way into the pages of Vanity Fair.

Neighbors banded against Beatrice Inn, which shuttered a whole year ago and has been dormant ever since, becoming something of a shrine to yuppie NIMBYism, complete with satanic graffiti.

Like Beatrice, the Jane Ballroom felt the wrath of in-bed-by-Letterman neighbors who closed it down. Luckily, it's set to rise again, and soon!

Might be best for The Lion to come in like a lamb.

Photo via Tony Cenicola/NYT