"Antoni Porowski’s new fast-casual restaurant Village Den needs some work, critic Robert Sietsema finds. The neighborhood is the cradle of the gay rights movement, and a place where restaurant empires like Einat Admony’s can still be forged. Porowski and partners Lisle Richards and Eric Marx redid the place in modern fast-casual style. The bill of fare offers Coffee, Breakfast, Salads, Bowls, TV Dinners, and Smoothies, with dishes identified according to food fads. Babcia’s stuffed cabbage might be the best dish, featuring a pair of leaves with a raisin-studded turkey filling, sluiced with a light tomato sauce, and dotted with pine nuts. Other dishes like roast chicken breast and fish sticks with a crushed macadamia coating were less enticing. The sides such as sweet potato wedges, lemongrass brown rice, and purple potatoes were disappointing. The Thai chicken bowl and the jerk turkey meatball bowl were better options, though overpriced. The salads were the best choice, with freshly assembled greens. The smoothies were thick and cold with wild flavor combinations. However, the menu suffered from being overpriced and a lack of specific nutritional info. Despite these shortcomings, Village Den is an interesting experiment in new ways to create and merchandise fast food with an emphasis on healthiness." - Robert Sietsema
