McNally on Bensonhurst, 'Ungentrifiable' Bowery

In an interview with the Observer, Keith McNally?"The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown" (NYT, 1/2004)?opines on the locations of his two latest ventures: a pizzeria on Bowery at Houston Street, and a takeover of the Village's historic Minetta Tavern. On MacDougal Street's Minetta: "It's the Village of the '50s and '60s that's been out of fashion since Dylan went electric. Weekend nights it's packed with kids from Bensonhurst throwing up on the sidewalk. So, no, it's not a great location." On the Bowery & Houston intersection: "I gravitated to that corner because it's a gritty, ungentrifiable, New York crossroads. I couldn't care less about being on the Bowery. It was the crossroads I couldn't keep away from." [NYO]