LES Bites: Family Recipe, Sauce, Gaia, Meatball Shop, Knishery NYC

Some mid-week restaurant news around the neighborhood:

• Examining the vegan and vegetarian options at Eldridge Street newcomer Family Recipe. (Fork In The Road)

• Speaking of Family Recipe, it’s one of two LES venues highlighted as affordable, enjoyable alternatives to expensive hotspots. Sauce, Frank Prizinzano’s new Italian joint at Rivington and Allen, is the other. (Eater)

• Gaia Italian Cafe on East Houston Street celebrates its first anniversary tonight; stop by to congratulate them and sample some goodies between 5 and 8 p.m. (TLD inbox)

• The Meatball Shop’s Michael Chernow has a second career: modeling. (GrubStreet)

• Donate to support Holocaust survivors; get homemade knishes. (KnisheryNYC)