The proverbial final straw came last year when John Varvatos turned legendary venue CBGB’s into a boutique. How could the same walls that contained the live sounds of Sid Vicious, The Ramones and Blondie now hold designer jeans and thousand dollar leather jackets? Was it the end of the East Village’s grittiness? In a way, yes, but a new crop of restaurants and bars are poised to keep the area’s laid back, artistically spirited and diverse identity firmly intact.

There is a feel for the New England coastline at four-month old Butcher Bay. With its cheery red façade and intimate, honey colored wood dining room, you’ll swear you’re at a high-end clam shack on the Cape. The artfully tattooed Chef Eric Simpson (formerly of Jean George Vongerichten’s Perry St presides over an open kitchen that churns out a limited but well-executed menu that includes lobster rolls, fish and chips and even a barbecued tofu option. The staff is more than eager to help pair your oysters or lobster B.L.T. with one of their artisanal beers on tap. Unfortunately, zoning regulations keeps the large backyard off limits to patrons.

Lower Manhattan might not have a lot in common with West Texas, but newcomer Marfa (just three blocks south of Butcher Bay) helps bridge the gap with Texas comfort food like chili, chicken fried steak, chipotle chicken wings, ribs and margaritas that use jalapeño and jasmine infused tequilas. On weekends the whitewashed walls, laden with photos from the Texas town, vibrate to the sound of a DJ playing everything from Boys II Men to the Pet Shop Boys and it’s just around the corner from Lucky Cheng’s – the epitome of the East Village of old!

One of Butcher Bay’s partners, restaurateur and filmmaker Bob Giraldi, has slung his dough into the pizzeria ring and opened up Tonda a block away in the large space that once held E.U. The restaurant’s outdoor patio makes it the perfect spot to people watch while enjoying the crusty yet chewy Neapolitan-style pizza. Inside, a wood fired oven has a rotating stone so that each side of the pie gets equal exposure to the fire emanating from the center of the 900-degree plus oven.

One unassuming East Village pizzeria houses a dirty little secret. According to some gossip columns Kirsten Dunst knows the secret. So does Chloe Sevigny. And now so will you. Beneath Pizza Store, next door to dive bar Niagara, is Cabin Down Below. Enter the pizzeria and look for the septum pierced gatekeeper. If she deems you worthy, you’ll descend down a set of stairs and into a dark, wood paneled room that looks like every basement you drank in as teen. Take a seat at the small bar or in the non-working brick fireplace and watch the hipsters on parade.

Equally as clandestine in feel, but more egalitarian in spirit is Mayahuel, brought to you by the team from nearby specialty cocktail bar Death & Co. Named after an Aztec goddess of fertility and associated with the maguay plant from which tequila is produced, the bar specializes in tequila and mezcal based cocktails. From outside, the low, dark wood entrance with terracotta tiles looks like something transplanted from the outskirts of Tijuana. Inside, imported Mexican tiles, bench seating and woven stools perpetuate the feeling while an upstairs area with banquettes and stained glass windows looks like something from the set of True Blood. Cocktails run about $13 and come in rather small glasses, but are made using only the highest quality ingredients.

The trendy specialty drink and a speakeasy vibe persist at Elsa, where the glass windowed storefront looks like it houses a bespoke menswear shop. A walk through a short corridor lined with built-in displays and accessories gives way to a white wainscoted bar that seems more New England seafood shack (do we spy a trend?) than hush-hush meeting place. The large skylight in the back makes for a nice place to indulge in one of the classic cocktails – martini, Manhanttan, Old Fashioned – or try the Loisaida Punch (Brazilian sugar cane rum, cane syrup, Angostura bitters) or the signature Elsa Cocktail (Applejack, Grenet Blanc de Noris and citrus bitters).

For something far more raucous, the former East Village Yacht Club is now called Arlo & Esme, but still retains its post-collegiate all-night dance and drink-a-thon vibe. A lounge-y upstairs bar area makes it possible to converse with your fellow revelers while downstairs is still a cave-like labyrinth with pumping music and plenty of nooks to go unseen in.

Oh, East Village, you’ve still got it.

ADDRESSES:
RESTAURANTS
Marfa
101 E. 2nd Street (1st & Ave. A)

Butcher Bay
511 E. 5th Street (Aves. A & B)

Tonda
235 E. 4th Street (Ave. B)

BARS
Elsa
217 E. 3rd St. (Aves. B & C)

Mayahuel
304 E. 6th Street (1st & 2nd)

Arlo & Esme
42 E. 1st St. (1st & 2nd)

Cabin Down Below
110 Ave A (btwn 7th &St. Mark’s)