The stretch of Eighth Street between 5th and 6th avenues has long been populated by cheesy shoe stores and other seedy establishments, and local media outlets have long looked to the "what the hell is up with Eighth Street?" story as a reliable chestnut during a slow news week. The Times takes the bait today, reporting that the street's landlords would like to bring more restaurants to the block to replace the now-empty storefronts. As much as we'd like see a nice boite or two to complement Gray's Papaya on the corner, we fear that the strategy may be a bit misguided: