As you walk down 12th Street, between First and Second avenues, you come across an intimate restaurant called Ducks Eatery. This unique East Village eatery opened its doors Sept. 1 with a fun menu split into sections of Bites, Crudo, Plate, Shared and Beignets for dessert. It is a great place to go with your friends when you want to grab a bite to eat, and it has extremely affordable options for students.
Executive chef and founder Will Horowitz said Ducks Eatery is a reflection of his life.
“I spent a long time with my sister and my partners, living and backpacking in Southeast Asia, down South and India,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that Ducks has a specific concept. It is more this world of really cool food that we love with lots of wild ingredients.”
Employing heritage techniques, reflecting the trade roots and history behind flavor combinations and dishes, Horowitz uses Ducks Eatery as an opportunity to explore new ideas in food.
“We did not want to cook the food we know,” Horowitz said. “We wanted to explore and try new ideas, such as marinating our brisket in fish sauce, which sounds strange but it is absolutely delicious.”
The down-to-earth and modern environment of Ducks Eatery also makes it a great social space. The dishes on the menu are meant to be shared, served tapas style, so customers can try and eat different flavors.
“I want my food to take people on a journey and explore,” Horowitz said.
Ducks Eatery prints a unique menu every day, testing different flavor combinations and exploring new dishes.
A few tasty items to try include the Shrimp Chips ($5), a play on the classic chips and vinegar. The dish consists of dehydrated shrimp covered with rice flour, fried to perfection and is served with a Malaysian Vinegar sauce; Blowfish Ceviche ($8), served in a closed jar with shrimp, calamansi, sage, corn, lime and applewood smoke; and the Yakamein Soup ($14), consisting of smoked brisket, clams, noodles, pickled greens and coconut creme.
Tisch sophomore Karli Montague enjoyed the atmosphere at Ducks.
“It was super packed and tight in the small space, but it totally worked,” Montague said. “I also found it interesting that the menu was so small, yet so diverse. Chicken wings and shrimp chips with a vinegar dip on the same menu that only lists less than 20 items? It was intriguing.”
Ducks Eatery plans to begin serving brunch on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
For more updates on Ducks Eatery, check out their Facebook page.
Paige Brott is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].