I like killing flies

The Good: I Like Killing Flies, a documentary about Shopsin’s, the, dare I say, legendary Greenwich Village restaurant, and its owner/chef/resident philosopher Kenny Shopsin, is finally screening in a New York theater (I saw this film two years ago at MoMA, and I can’t recommend it more highly).

The Bad: The way this city works, about a bazillion people are now going to see the film and rush to Shopsin’s to gawk at Kenny and the regular crowd (I am far from a regular, by the way—I usually get up too late), making it impossible to ever eat there again.

Fortunately, Shopsin’s is closed for summer vacation, so maybe the additional herds that would be inspired to crowd the restaurant will lose interest by the time it reopens in late August. *

And, since no one reads this blog, I can recommend both film and restaurant.

The film is at Cinema Village starting Friday. The restaurant is on Carmine Street. And, you can stream or download an interview with filmmaker Matt Mahurin and a shockingly jovial Kenny Shopsin from Wednesday’s Leonard Lopate show on WNYC here.


* of course, Shopsin’s may also be closing for good (The Ugly)—you just never know with Kenny.