What do you do when a gaping construction hole goes up next to your tiny tapas bar? Xicala, which is easy to miss even when not in the shadow of plywood, has made the best of it by erecting this giant photo of the Spanish countryside along with a 3-D nameplate. Almost as cool as the Miami Vice–themed window painting L’asso put up nearby! Meanwhile — because it seems to be tapas week here on Grub Street — it’s reported by Eater that Bar Carrera, our favorite place for cucumber sangria, which recently opened a much more traditional-looking next-door annex (think bullfighting posters and faux bull heads made from bike parts), will open a Greenwich Village outpost, on the corner of West Houston and MacDougal streets, in the former DeMarco’s space, by August. Incidentally, last time we stopped into Carrera, the annoying pickpocket advisories were gone, meaning the place is now cheese-free. Er, except for the Cabrales cheesecake.
