Hells Kitchen was, as its name suggests, situated in a rough part of Athens. A bright light surrounded by prostitutes and heroin users: ironically the area behind the Athens City Town Hall. Maybe the mayor didn't use the back entrance - and the were no back facing windows.
All of the ambiance of the décor, the soothingness of its jazz notes and the phenomenally good quality & commendable non-pretentiousness of its food were spot on, making Hells Kitchen a beacon of what is possible with just that little bit of love.
But eventually the area got the better of it, and at arriving on the premises on one of the first days of September I was confronted with a red and white "To Let" sign. Oh the disappointment. I can but only hope that sooner rather that later I will find that the owners have opened shop in a new location.
And what eats me up inside is that I never did my part in propagating its excellence to the masses. I can but feel that I too am to blame. And so I promise to post a retrospective of the places I have discovered in the past two years: both beautiful and ugly, but always in honor of a lost friend.
Hells Kitchen, we miss you!
