Ginger Park...

The restaurant on my corner, Banq, has recently changed names and chefs (I believe the ownership remains the same, but I'm not positive) to become "Ginger Park."  Lame name, if you ask me, but no one did.  Luckily, they've kept the award-winning interior the same (Wallpaper best restaurant design this year), and have removed the back of the bar so you can see all the way through the restaurant, a huge improvement.

I haven't actually eaten there yet, but there's been a lot of press about how it will be Asian small plates, similar to the concept at Myers + Chang, one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants.  I was reading an interview with the new chef at Ginger Park, Patricia Yeo, and when asked about the restaurant's similarity to M+C, she said, "Myers + Chang is an old Boston stalwart that I don't even really want to compare myself with. I don't want to sound pretentious."

Stalwart?  Really?  First of all, M+C was not even open when I moved to the South End, meaning it's been around for two years at the absolute maximum.  And while they have received national recognition and turn out some pretty fantastic food (Mama Chang's pork and chive dumplings may be the best I've had outside Beijing), I'm not sure I'd give them quite that much credit.  However, the match-up of Joanne Chang (Flour Bakery) and Christopher Myers (Radius, Via Matta, the late Great Bay) is one to be reckoned with.

I do appreciate the deference to a local favorite, even if I think it's a dubious business move to change your restaurant concept to one that's being executed successfully a few blocks down the street, literally.