Elbow Bread Finally Announces 10/30 Opening Date on Mel the Baker's Old Corner

Elbow Bread, the long-awaited successor to Mel the Baker on Division and Ludlow's hallowed corner lot, has finally given the hungry public a date.

Sometimes running this blog is like playing detective. Highly anticipated openings in the Lower East Side by businesses that drop subtle hints on varying news and social platforms over the course of several months are my biggest headache but voila, today, the worst migraine of them all has subsided. And of course it's a 11th hour Instagram post that revealed it to me.

Enjoy the rest of this post, written months in advance, all in anticipation of the crowning jewel of Dimes Square.

A new New York Mag feature on the bakery highlighted head baker Zoe Kanan's "pletzel", described as a "focaccia-like dough topped with a scattering of the same sautéed onion-and-poppy mixture at the center of each bialy, intended for sandwiches like a “Jewish muffuletta” with beef salami". If it tastes as good as it sounds, you'll find me there every Saturday morning.

There may be no bagels offered - the kitchen is too small to host a boiler - but bialys and a rare cream cake called the Charlotte Russe will be on the menu.

There will inevitably be a lot to look out for here. The 200 sq ft of public facing space at 1 Ludlow may not be much, but this isn't the most anticipated bakery opening of the year in New York City for nothing. Expect a space where, despite its modest aura, every square inch will have been thought over by some of the city's most meticulous creative and culinary minds.

Congrats to the team at Elbow Bread and best of luck! They open tomorrow from 8AM till they sell out. You will find me there.

And if EV Grieve beats me to this one I swear I give up.