Recently in New Restaurants Category

A couple months ago 16 Handles frozen yogurt opened its first Upper East Side store at 1569 2nd Avenue between 81st and 82nd Streets I was SO excited because I love Pinkberry (on the same block) but get frustrated by the super slow and dim-witted service there.  16 Handles is great because you get to make your own, and combine as many flavors as you like.  They also have a huge topping bar, that is also self service.  Nearly all of the flavors are non-fat.  The only wait can be for the topping line and to pay sometimes, but so far, I guess since it's Winter, it hasn't been that bad.



The flavors are great - 16 of them - but I only like the "tart" flavors which limits me to about 4.  They had been Original Tart, Euro Tart, Pomegranate and Pina Colada.  Last night when I went in, they had swiched out Pomegranate and Pina Colada for Green Tea and Apple.  I was ecstatic to see the Green Tea... and it is FABULOUS!
I love it so much, I actually have this for dinner sometimes... you know, dessert as dinner, and a hot tea for dessert (to help warm up).  I'm afraid come warm weather time the secret will be out and it will be a madhouse!

To keep up the culinary excitement, Monday I went to the new Food Hall at the Plaza.  It's been open for a few months now, and I've been dying to go!  Even though it was a Monday night it was almost full around 8 pm.  The space is beautiful with white marble bar tops, dark wood and mosaic tile floors.  It definitely has the European flair that they were looking for!



The space is divided up into different sections, each with their own bar area: wine bar, grill, pizza, dumpling bar, sushi bar, ocean grill & oyster bar, bakery, cheese & charcuterie.  You can sit anywhere and still order from any of the sections.

Here is the pizza bar:


And the wine bar:

On Sunday night I finally made it to Jean George's new and very popular ABC Kitchen (35 East 18th Street between Broadway & Park Avenue).  The concept is organic, local, market table sort of thing... from their website: "abc kitchen has a committed focus to local, sustainable and organic seasonal produce that does not use pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides or GMOs; meat, fish and dairy 
 that is locally sourced where possible, from humanely treated pasture-fed animals free of antibiotics 
 and hormones; teas, coffees, spices, organic wines, juices and elixirs that are organically cultivated on fair trade cooperatives celebrating and honoring sustainability, artistry and our global diversity.

"

The vibe is barn meets South Beach... with rustic barn beams contrasted by white plastic chairs and white tables.  The tableware is quirky with unmatched china bread plates and vintage mixed flatware.  The food is all brought out on interesting handmade white porcelain plates and bowls with unique shapes (they sell these at ABC Carpet, porcelain dinnerware by jan burtz).



We started with the crab toast ($15) which had a nice quantity of peekytoe crab with lemon aioli on a toasted rustic bread.  It was very fresh and tasty.


I had the black sea bass ($27) with chilis, herbs, baby potatoes, spinach and lemon confit.  It was in a very light broth and not spicy at all, kind of "spa food".  The spinach was beautiful, obviously super fresh. I had hoped the dish might be a bit more spicy because of the chilis and have more flavor in general... but, while it was good, I was underwhelmed.  Maybe I caught the dish on an off night?

I have to say what really blew me away was the extraordinary salted caramel ice cream on the dessert menu. The flavor was amazing!  Just what you'd expect of a Jean Georges restaurant, so I definitely finished off the meal right!

I was walking by the address of one of my favorite restaurants that sadly closed (Bandol) last night and found that finally a new place has opened in the space.  It's called Carpe Diem and it looks great!  They don't seem to have a website yet.  It's at 181 East 78th Street, between Lex and Third on the North side of the street closer to Third Ave.

The menu is more Italian. I will miss the wonderful French bistro classics that they had at Bandol, but am always happy to try something new too.  I will report back after I've had a chance to try it.

A new concept in burgers has come onto the midtown New York scene with the opening of 4food at the northwest corner of Madison Ave. and 40th Street.  How can there possibly be a new concept for a burger you wonder, well how about a hole in the middle!  All of the patties have holes in the middle to facilitate even cooking.  The patties available are: beef, breakfast pork, egg, lamb, pork, salmon, turkey and vegi... so it's really more than just your basic burger joint.

Great news for those of us who are sorely missing Payard on the Upper East Side.... Francois Payard will be opening Payard Bakery at 116 West Houston Street.  It is scheduled to open in the late Summer.  Here is a rendering:



It will offer take-out and a casual dining room.  I used to stop by the Upper East Side bistro/restaurant to buy macaroons once in a while... oh, I miss those!!!  They are so good it will be worth a trip downtown!
 

There's a very good article in this week's New York Magazine about Keith McNally. (The Restaurant Auteur by Benjamin Wallace)  I've always been a fan... I LOVE his restaurants, especially Balthazar and Pastis... (sadly I still have not made it to the Minetta Tavern)

Photo: restaurantgirl.com

The article talks about, among other things, his new restaurant Pulino's Bar & Pizzeria which is opening soon on the Bowery. (282 Bowery at E. Houston St.)  Nate Appleman of A16 and Iron Chef fame is the chef, apparently this is the first time McNally has hired a "celeb" chef. Grub Street has a preview of the menu, here. The pizza is going to be thin and crispy and cooked in a wood-fired oven. Yum!

Photo: Peter van Agtmael/Magnum Photos

I hope they get it open soon, it looks great!  It's already been delayed quite a bit.  Breakfast and lunch are supposed to start on March 15th with opening for dinner following soon.

Danny Meyer's Maialino, perhaps the most anticipated opening of Fall 2009, opened last week.

There's a good interview with Meyer, here, in "The Moment" the New York Times blog. It covers the collaboration with David Rockwell on the design, the trattoria concept and opening in an Ian Schrager hotel among other things.

Luke's Lobster has opened in the East Village at 93 East 7th Street. Opened by a father and son from Maine, they're bringing us some seriously insane lobster rolls!

Photo: Lee Clower for The New York Times

They use only the claws and knuckles which in my opinion is the best part of the lobster... the tail is not as tender.  The roll has 4 oz. of lobster and is $14.  The most brilliant thing about it is that they offer them with butter, mayo and seasoning OPTIONAL!  Fabulous... there is nothing worse than beautiful lobster meat smothered in mayonaise!  They also have a smaller 2 oz. version for $8.

Ed's Chowder House will be opening tomorrow in the former Center Cut space at the Empire Hotel, across from Lincoln Center.  I love a good chowder!  Growing up in New England it's kind of a classic thing, my Gramma made a fabulous corn chowder and we'd get some great fish chowder in Portsmouth, NH.  I'm more of a red chowder girl now (Manhattan or Baltimore Crab).... anyway, the prospect of a new chowder house is certainly good news.

Ed's Chowder House is a Jeffrey Chodorow (of China Grill and Asia de Cuba fame) restaurant. The Ed is Chef Ed Brown.  The chowders available will be: sweet corn, new england, manhattan style blue crab, and "Ed's loaded" shellfish chowder.  YUM!

Interesting appetizers include savory lobster crumble, smoked Chatham cod cakes and scallop ravioli.  Mains include peppered tuna steak frites, herb crusted skate with horseradish mashed potatoes, jumbo lump crab cakes, Chatham cod with potato chip crust, spinach and mustard sauce.  They also have a bunch of simply grilled fresh seafood.  You can take a peak at the full menu here.  It's a seafood lovers dream!!

The design of the place looks a bit too sleek for a "chowder house" to me, but pleasant anyway.

I can't wait to try it!

The much praised Williamsburg pizza joint, Motorino, will be opening an East Village location in a few days.  The spot in the former Una Pizza Napoletana space will open on Monday. (349 East 13th Street) 

The space was a great find because it came with the pizza oven, an Acunto, the cadillac of pizza ovens, hand crafted in Naples!

The New York Times reported today that Nate Appleman, fomerly of San Francisco's A16, will be taking the helm at Keith McNally's new Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria. (McNally of Balthazar and Pastis fame)

Appleman is young, only 30, but has already earned serious praise including Rising Star Chef from the James Beard Foundation and Best New Chef from Food & Wine magazine.

Pulino's will be at Bowery and Houston and will feature a brasserie style dining room.  It is under construction, which is due to continue through December. You can check out some construction photos at Bowery Boogie, here. Hopefully it should open in mid - late December.

Danny Meyer will be opening a new restaurant this fall in the Gramercy Park Hotel called Maialino (which means little pig in Italian).  The name comes from the nickname he was given while working in Rome as a tour guide during college (it evolved from Meyerino into Maialino thanks to his liking of suckling pig) .

The Gramercy Park Hotel is a super cool place itself, an Ian Schrager property with interiors by Julian Schnabel.  This restaurant will be the most recent from Danny Meyer since opening The Modern in 2005.  It will be a Roman style trattoria overlooking the park. Design will be by the Rockwell Group, the concept is a contemporary twist on the traditional warm, comfortable atmosphere of a trattoria.  It will feature warm colors, wood plank floors, etc. They will also be taking over all of the F&B for the hotel including room service and the roof bar. It will open in November and will surely be one of the hotest reservations of the Fall!

Above: lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel

Good news for foodees in Midtown, Aureole is offering 15% off all menus during their soft opening period (now - Sep. 15th).  In a dramatic departure from the Upper East Side townhouse setting of the old space, the new Aureole is housed in the brand new Bank of America Tower on 6th Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets, diagonally across from Bryant Park. 

The atmosphere is now more like the Aureole in Las Vegas... with the dramatic wine racking on view, and a more modern aesthetic.  It's also more approachable...  with huge glass windows at street level, it's more inviting and the format also encourages more casual visits.  The restaurant now has a bar room and the formal dining room.  The bar room features an a la carte menu and the dining room a prix fixe.  It also has seasonal outdoor seating.  The bar room is "smart, casual" and has table service for 64 and an 18 seat bar.  The dining room seats 54 and is more formal; it was designed to evoke the feeling of the former townhouse space with warm colors and luxurious textiles.  The outdoor terrace seating is on "Anita's Way" which is the pedestrian walkway connecting the 42nd and 43rd street sides of the building. The interior design was done by Adam Tihany.

Personally, I'm looking forward to trying the crispy soft shell crab with endive and granny smith apple and branzini with artichokes, capers and black olives in the bar room! 

Green Canteen has opened in Williamsburg at 106 N. 6th Street. The new restaurant (by the same people behind Dogmatic Sausage System) is based on the simple philosophy that you can savor the great taste of fresh, delicious food and feel good afterwards. The "Eat Well. Feel Well" menu consists of Mediterranean inspired food and American classics prepared in an innovative way.

Green Canteen offers dishes using super fresh, high quality ingredients. These include fresh antipasti, flatbreads made in an earth-stone oven, fresh salads with grilled seafood, chicken or meats, hummus bowls with skewers of meats and vegetables, handcrafted mini burgers, freshly made soups and chilis, plus homemade sodas, shakes and desserts.

The menu allows you to feel good because the food is clean and wholesome. The ingredients are sourced locally wherever possible, and are free from hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, artificial flavors, sweeteners and hydrogenated fats. Their chefs seek out sustainably grown food and free-range meats.

You can enjoy all of this in a cozy booth or at a community table. Its a friendly, non-stuffy envirnoment where you can just hang out and relax.

Green Canteen is the first New York State restaurant to be SILVER LEED Certified. In addition to the reclaimed wood for the community table, all other woods are certified from the Forest Stewardship Council. Green Canteen features many other eco-friendly innovations: solar panel hot water system to provide hot water, low-flow plumbing fixtures and has committed to 100% wind energy usage. Most of the design and construction materials for Green Canteen have been sourced form local manufacturers, suppliers and vendors.

It's already getting good reviews.  A New York Magazine reader says "Food was really, really good and reasonably priced. We ordered several dishes for the table and it was more than enough food...the flatbreads were fantastic; my wife loved the shrimp hummus dish...definitely going back there!"

Sounds great...  Their website is not up yet, nor are they listed on Menu Pages, but I am sure they will be soon.  Cheers.

Frank Bruni reviewed Keith McNally's new place, the Minetta Tavern, on Wed. and gave it three stars (excellent).  Here is a link to the full review: Beef and Decor, Aged to Perfection.

McNally et al must be thrilled with the review, Bruni goes so far as to call it "the best steakhouse in the city".  The review explains that the beef is grain-fed Black Angus from Creekstone Farms that is aged in a special aging room and aged for six to seven weeks. The results... Bruni calls the cote de boeuf a "sublime hunk of glorious meat that you dream about hours later..." etc.  Wow.  I'm not a big meat person, but still Wow.

Of course the interior has that fabulous lived-in, warm patina that McNally is known for. With red nailhead banquettes, pressed tin ceilings and black and white tile floors.

The website for the restaurant is still under construction, but it will be here.

113 Macdougal Street (Minetta Lane), Greenwich Village; (212) 475-3850.

Celebrated chef Stephen Kalt (previously at Corsa Cucina at the Wynn Las Vegas) will join Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa's roster of acclaimed culinary talent with the summer 2009 opening of his Italian restaurant concept, Fornelletto. Further strengthening Borgata's position as a leading dining destination on the East Coast, Fornelletto will combine the experience of both an enoteca and an osteria, offering traditional, regional Italian fare prepared with only the finest, freshest ingredients, a hallmark of Kalt's cuisine. Fornelletto will appeal to a broad range of tastes by offering an array of dining options from quick casual bites to relaxed, multi-course meals, all served in a lively, inviting atmosphere. Adjacent to Fornelletto, Kalt will also open Roma, a fast-casual cafe offering pizzas, pastas and Panini, that places the same emphasis on top-quality ingredients and service.

Bringing more than 30 years of experience to Borgata, Kalt has received critical acclaim for his culinary concepts throughout the country. In 2004, Kalt was tapped to be Executive Chef of Wynn Las Vegas restaurant, Corsa Cucina where he received acclaim for his Mediterranean-inflected modern Italian menu. Prior to opening his celebrated restaurant at Wynn, Kalt garnered national recognition as the co-creator and chef of the celebrated Mediterranean restaurant Spartina in New York City. During its reign, Spartina was named "Top 5 Neighborhood Restaurants in New York" by Food & Wine magazine and earned two stars from the New York Times.

"I received much of my culinary education working in some of the greatest kitchens on the East Coast, and I am excited to return with the opening of Fornelletto," said Kalt, Chef/Partner of Fornelletto. "Borgata has become a true culinary destination within Atlantic City and I look forward to adding Fornelletto to the property's esteemed Restaurant Collection."

Kalt's menu at Fornelletto is inspired by his time living in and traveling throughout Italy. With traditional, regionally influenced cuisine, Fornelletto will offer simply prepared dishes that use only the finest ingredients. The menu will also highlight Neapolitan specialties that are rooted in bold flavors and locally sourced products. Guests with more adventurous palates looking to explore new flavor profiles can enjoy Kalt's inspired use of rare ingredients such as Mangalista pigs and sea beans grown in Oregon. While the menu is comprised of authentic Italian specialties, Kalt will also offer some traditional Italian-American options that are guaranteed to be crowd pleasers.

Highlights of Fornelletto's menu include a fresh Mozzarella Bar serving flavorful varieties of handmade mozzarella paired with salumi and fresh sauteed vegetables; chilled and hot antipastas; a variety of Sfusi such as Aroncini with Veal ragu; Neapolitan pizzas including the Prosciutto di Parma with fresh Arugula; signature house-made pasta dishes like the Neopolitan Carbonara with Spaghetti, Bacon and Fried Hen's Egg; fresh Pesce options such as Diver Scallops with Grilled Radicchio and Pancetta; and perfectly prepared Carne selections, including the 16 Hour Lamb with Pencil Asparagus, Sea Beans, Polenta and Mint Sugo.

Kalt will work closely with Borgata's Executive Pastry Chef Thaddeus Dubois, who previously served as the former White House Pastry Chef. Together, they will create homemade gelati and sorbets along with other traditional Italian desserts including Fresh Peach Crostata, Bombolino filled with Chocolate Pastry Cream and Raspberry Jam, and the ever-popular Tiramisu. Kalt will also collaborate with Anjoleena Griffin-Holst, the property's Wine Director, to incorporate a selection of regionally-based wines that also maintain a great commitment to value. Fornelletto's wine list will feature a "50 Under $50" section, reflecting the restaurant's desire to accommodate all guests' palates and price points, whether ordering wine by the glass, cortinos or full bottles.

Roma, the restaurant's cafe concept, will serve thin-crust Neapolitan pizza, handmade pasta, perfectly grilled Panini, fresh salads, aromatic espresso and delicious Italian pastries. Roma will remain open from breakfast until late at night, welcoming diners throughout the day. While Roma is meant for diners on-the-go, every item on the menu will be prepared with the same high quality ingredients as at Fornelletto. Many of these ingredients, such as hand-turned artichokes, are not typically found in more casual restaurants.

Kalt will join Borgata's stellar roster of chefs and restaurants including Wolfgang Puck (Wolfgang Puck American Grille), Bobby Flay (Bobby Flay Steak), Michael Mina (SeaBlue, A Michael Mina Restaurant), Michael Schulson (Izakaya - A Modern Japanese Pub), Geoffrey Zakarian (The Water Club by Borgata) and restaurateurs Marc and Greg Sherry (Old Homestead Steak House). Fornelletto and Roma will be the sole Italian properties in the Restaurant Collection.

SOURCE Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

The Rowes Wharf Sea Grille, the new waterfront restaurant at the Mobil five star Boston Harbor Hotel, has opened in time for spring weather and terrace dining. The new restaurant celebrates its spectacular harborfront setting on Rowes Wharf by showcasing the best offerings of the sea. Simple, fresh cuisine; contemporary, nautical-influenced design; and a vibrant harbor setting combine for the ultimate waterfront dining experience.

"I am proud of how well our associates have prepared for this exciting opening," says Paul Jacques, general manager. "We are all looking forward to welcoming our guests and treating them to exceptional service and cuisine."

Chef Daniel Bruce, executive chef of the Boston Harbor Hotel for more than twenty years, has created a menu that features the freshest seafood, simply but artfully prepared. The harbor directly outside the windows of the Rowes Wharf Sea Grille leads to some of the richest fishing regions in the world, and the menu will change frequently to reflect the best of the local catch. In the warm weather months, diners will have the option of experiencing Chef Bruce's exceptional cuisine inside the new contemporary space or outside on the expansive terrace overlooking the most picturesque spot along Boston's waterfront.

The Rowes Wharf Sea Grille is more than a new restaurant, it offers an entirely new dining experience before unavailable in Boston. The setting is the most scenic and historic spot along the Boston waterfront. The design is contemporary and minimalist with accents that celebrate the sea. Diners might feel they are onboard a sleek, modern yacht. The anchor of the Rowes Wharf Sea Grille dining experience, however, is the exceptional cuisine artfully prepared by Chef Bruce.

"We are fortunate to live in an area with a wealth of seafood, and I have always enjoyed the challenge of creating dishes that enhance the incredible range of flavors found in the fish and shellfish of our waters," says Bruce. "I am very excited that the opening of the Sea Grille at the Boston Harbor Hotel will offer exceptional service and incredible water views, along with a new approach to seafood dining."

SOURCE Boston Harbor Hotel