Underground Eats: Because Who Doesn’t Want To Eat Dumplings In A Basement?

Remember a few months ago when we wrote about how Underground Arts was looking to score a liquor license and a kitchen? Well, it appears that someone’s Christmas wish must’ve come true, because Meal Ticket is now reporting that the space has a name (Underground Eats, natch), a conditional liquor license and Tom Stalling on board as chef.

Granted, the plan now (which involves an actual chef and an on-site kitchen that, by nature of the license, has to be serving any time alcohol is being poured) is somewhat different than what Gary Reuben envisioned when he talked to us back in September. He’d originally thought he’d have a bar, open by November, and then a separate food component–maybe getting his grub trucked in from off-site, or a menu designed by some local luminary. But now, he’s looking at a full-blown bar-and-restaurant set-up that’s looking at a possible opening by the end of January or the beginning of February, and a malleable menu that will warp to match whatever shows are happening on the lively arts side of the building.

And so long as those two worlds don’t intermingle too closely (a la the new Walnut Street Supper Club), we’re looking forward to seeing what Stalling can do. But here’s to hoping that the kitchen and the stage do keep a respectable distance. Because in cooking, as in Ghostbusting, there’s one all-important rule: Don’t cross the streams.

Underground Eats at the Underground Arts Building [Meal Ticket]