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Food Ven­dor of the Week: Lit­tle Eva’s

Jul 26, 2017 2:05 pm

Gov­er­nors Island fea­tures a rotat­ing selec­tion of food ven­dors. With two food courts, locat­ed at Liggett Ter­race and Kings Avenue, Gov­er­nors Island show­cas­es var­i­ous cuisines all offered at rea­son­able prices. With the recent addi­tion of two new beer gar­dens on the Island, vis­i­tor options for food and bev­er­age con­tin­ue to expand. Hear the sto­ry behind our ven­dors that hail from neigh­bor­hoods across New York City through our newest blog seg­ment: Food Ven­dor of the Week!

Since open­ing to the pub­lic in 2005, Gov­er­nors Island has seen a lot of changes, with the con­struc­tion of a new park to a record year of vis­i­tors in 2016. One con­stant through the years has been Lit­tle Eva’s, a beer gar­den and grill that has called Gov­er­nors Island home for the past sev­en years. Owned by Kevin and Car­o­line Moore, the team behind Kevin’s Red Hook in Brook­lyn, Lit­tle Eva’s, named after their daugh­ter who was two at the time of its open­ing, has become a beloved fix­ture on the island. 

The year they opened, Lit­tle Eva’s was locat­ed on Pic­nic Point, fac­ing the water­front and views of the Stat­ue of Lib­er­ty. The shack that was once Lit­tle Eva’s had no elec­tric­i­ty or water, and Gov­er­nors Island was only just start­ing to gain atten­tion as a des­ti­na­tion for New York­ers. Any hes­i­ta­tion that Kevin and Car­o­line might have felt was soon extin­guished as bicy­cles began to emerge into view. The pas­sion they had for Lit­tle Eva’s was evi­dent as they retold the sto­ry. It was a sto­ry told with con­tin­u­al smiles and laughs as the two vet­er­ans of Gov­er­nors Island looked back on try­ing times. Today, the only issue Lit­tle Eva’s has is accom­mo­dat­ing their long line of customers. 

Since their relo­ca­tion to Liggett Ter­race, the cou­ple has expand­ed Lit­tle Eva’s to include a take-out counter which serves a lim­it­ed menu of food and drinks. After try­ing their food, it is easy to see why they have such a huge fol­low­ing. In addi­tion to fruity cock­tails and delec­table ice pops made by Red Hook based La New York­i­na (the cucum­ber lime was rec­om­mend­ed), Lit­tle Eva’s fea­tures a diverse menu that keeps up with the trends find­ing their way to New Yorker’s taste buds. Uti­liz­ing veg­eta­bles grown right on Gov­er­nors Island by GrowNYC, whose Teach­ing Gar­den is a two minute walk from Lit­tle Eva’s, exec­u­tive Chef Kevin cre­ates a vari­ety of sal­ads made from the fresh­est ingre­di­ents. For sal­ad lovers, there’s a feel­ing of immense sat­is­fac­tion know­ing that your food is indeed ​“farm to table.” As for the taste, the quinoa sal­ad fea­tured creamy avo­ca­do com­pli­ment­ed by the sharp accent of goat cheese. A healthy por­tion of quinoa pro­vid­ed a fill­ing ele­ment to the meal.

There is a dif­fer­ence between a job and a career. A job is some­thing a per­son endures but elic­its no joy from. In stark con­trast, a career is dri­ven by pas­sion and desire to devote your­self to a pro­fes­sion. There is no ques­tion for Kevin and Car­o­line this is indeed a career. It is evi­dent in the love they have for Lit­tle Eva’s, and the effort they put into inter­act­ing with their cus­tomers. This pas­sion for their busi­ness is being passed on to their daugh­ter Eva who now sells ice pops on cer­tain week­ends. While no longer lit­tle, by her own admis­sion, it is safe to assume that Eva shares her par­en­t’s love for Gov­er­nors Island.

As Gov­er­nors Island con­tin­ues to grow in pop­u­lar­i­ty it opens its docks to new vis­i­tors dai­ly. Peo­ple of all back­grounds have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to explore the Island. As Car­o­line explained, this what makes Gov­er­nors Island so spe­cial. The ​“beau­ty of the island is that it is a melt­ing pot of all kinds of peo­ple.” While enjoy­ing the nat­ur­al beau­ty of the island and its grow­ing diver­si­ty, it is also com­fort­ing to know that there is a place that serves qual­i­ty food and drink. Come vis­it and enjoy Lit­tle Eva’s!