Today the Post takes a look inside two East Village apartments occupied by two East Village chefs. These young and strapping toque-wearing lads are pretty similar. They both spend all of their time at their new restaurants. They both rent in walk-up buildings. They both tuck button-down shirts into jeans. But only one can be deemed the winner! Chefs are the new celebs, so it's time to compare these crash pads. Can't stand the heat of competition? Then get out of the kitchen. The rest of you: Pick a favorite!
Combatants: Eduard Frauneder, of Avenue C rookie Edi & the Wolf; Nicholas Morgenstern, of equally new East 5th Street farm-to-table restaurant Goat Town.
Apartment basics: Frauneder: 1,300sqft third-floor railroad on East 6th Street "around the corner" from Avenue C; Morgenstern: 600sqft second-floor studio on East 3rd Street.
Origin story: Frauneder: Had to convince the apartment's owner, the daughter of an Austrian artist (whose work fills the apartment), that he would be a suitable caretaker. Morgenstern: Inherited it from friends who got knocked up and moved next door.
Interior design: Frauneder: Ikea, Ikea, more Ikea, stuff left behind by apartment owner, items found on the streets of the East Village. Morgenstern: Flea market finds, Mad Men-esque sofas, items found on the streets of the East Village.
Strangest item: Frauneder: Kiteboards; Morgenstern: A desiccated wasp nest picked up off the side of a road and hung "from a ladder that I’d found in a dumpster in Tribeca."
Outdoor space: Frauneder: None, but the back of his apartment looks out onto his restaurant's back yard, so all he needs is a zip line. Morgenstern: Building has a communal back deck that's "kind of an East Village version of Melrose Place."
Evidence of a charmed life: Frauneder: "It's 10 a.m., a bit early to start boozing, but Frauneder, recently back from vacation, is still on Belize time — and this is an expensive, top-notch Central American rum." Morgenstern: "I own a few cars, I have a new Subaru wagon, an old Datsun truck. And I belong to the Classic Car Club [which loans out fancy automobiles]. My dad always had tons of cars, and I grew up racing on the amateur circuit."
· Chef Eduard Frauneder stirs it up downtown [NYP]
· Inside chef Nicholas Morgenstern's saucy East Village digs [NYP]