Radio Star conjures the 1940s, Yono Sushi arrives at Moynihan Train Hall and more restaurant news.
Headliner
Figure Eight
Emmeline Zhao, an owner of Silver Apricot, where Chinese food is interpreted through a new American lens, has created her own competition. Next door to Silver Apricot she has opened this new spot, in the brick-walled premises that previously housed the beloved Pearl Oyster Bar. “So far the two restaurants seem to reinforce each other,” Ms. Zhao said. “We’ve had people come here for a drink and a snack, because Silver Apricot doesn’t have a bar, and then have dinner at Silver Apricot.” The Chinese American approach, intended to express something of the immigrant experience, is given a narrower frame than at Silver Apricot, with emphasis on the Southern Atlantic region where Ms. Zhao, a North Carolina native, was raised. So you’ll find turnip tots with lap cheong mayo and shrimp ketchup; shrimp cocktail with Chinese horseradish; Hong Shao collard greens with pork belly and Thai chile; grilled branzino; soy-poached chicken with collard greens and crispy hoppin’ John; and hot fried skate with chile crisp, buttermilk ranch dressing and sesame biscuits. Like its sibling, the tables are not set with chopsticks but they can be requested. The executive chef, Calvin Hwang, who grew up in New Jersey, worked at Crown Shy and Saga. The pastry chef, Janice Sung, was at Saga and One White Street; among her creations is a banana custard pie seasoned with Chinese five-spice. The restaurant has three areas. At the entrance is a 12-seat bar with a standing rail and a jazzy dragon splashed across the wall. The main dining room is done mostly in blue and white in homage, Ms. Zhao said, to Pearl Oyster Bar’s seafood. And there’s an intimate semiprivate room.
18 Cornelia Street (Bleecker Street), 929-548-1285, figureeight.nyc.
Opening
Little Maven
The chefs Josh Capon and Conor Hanlon, of the VCR Group, are in charge of the kitchen at this new Chelsea spot. They are tweaking contemporary standards with touches like miso pumpkin and pumpkin seed pesto for agnolotti, charred broccoli and garlic crumbs in a Caesar salad served in a lettuce cup, and caramelized cippolini with the steak frites. There’s an 85-seat dining room fitted with banquettes, a back room with 30 seats and a bar with 13 seats. The décor features some hand-painted murals. (Opens Monday)
30 West 18th Street, 212-320-8111, littlemavenrestaurant.com.
Radio Star
Mediterranean food from Sara Conklin, who owns Glasserie nearby, is served in a 1940s setting replete with chrome and Bakelite, a tribute to the adjacent Transmitter Park where WNYC’s transmission towers once stood. Ms. Conklin grew up in the Middle East and Europe, reflected in dishes like merguez in a blanket, mushroom phyllo pie, olive oil poached cod, and pork cheeks with dates, harissa and labne.
13 Greenpoint Avenue (West Street), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 347-799-1190, theradiostar.com.
Yono Sushi
This addition to the Moynihan Train Hall is from the chef and partner of BondSt and sells sushi rolls, rice bowls, chirashi, Japanese appetizers, beer, wine and sake to take away. There will also be an omakase counter, opening Dec. 15.
Moynihan Train Hall, 421 Eighth Avenue (33rd Street), 347-523-0941.
Kabisera West
A purveyor of Filipino fare in a Chinatown food court, adds this uptown branch. Sizzling plates of chicken adobo and bicol express pork belly, and fried chicken with sweet chile sauce, are the specialties.
Gotham West Market 600 Eleventh Avenue (44th Street), 929-920-8250, kabisera.com.
Rowdy Hall
This reliable East Hampton favorite from Honest Man Hospitality, best known for Nick & Toni’s, has moved east to Amagansett, where it has a larger footprint and an outdoor beer garden. Added to a menu that has featured fish and chips, a burger, onion soup and mussels, are cassoulet, Moroccan cauliflower with couscous, cod fish brandade and apple strudel.
177 Main Street (Hedges Lane), Amagansett, N.Y., 631-324-8555, rowdyhall.com.
ZZ’s Club
If a table at Carbone has eluded you all this time, do not even think about the new luxuriously appointed Carbone Privato, which Mario Carbone, a partner in Major Food Group, calls a “bespoke version” of the restaurant that first opened 10 years ago. It’s on the second floor of what had previously been the Tavern by WS and serves some new items, like spaghetti with Dungeness crab and assorted risottos. It’s part of ZZ’s Club, a members-only ($20,000 to join, $10,000 annually) drinking and dining complex that includes the Japanese restaurant ZZ’s, ZZ’s Bar, the Clam Bar, private rooms and other services. Curated art adorns the walls throughout. It’s the New York version of the establishment that made its debut in Miami in 2021.
37 Hudson Yards (30th Street), zzsclub.com.
Chez Francis
Francis Staub, best known for the cookware that bears his name, has revised his Nomad restaurant, La Brasserie, putting his name over the door and on the dinnerware. The chef, Jaime Loja, is the same and so are some of the classic brasserie dishes like bouillabaisse, steak frites, cheese soufflé, onion soup and côte de boeuf flambée for two. Dishes that paid homage to Anthony Bourdain, whose restaurant Les Halles, previously occupied the space, are no longer offered. The traditional décor has been revised somewhat.
411 Park Avenue South (29th Street), 212-567-8282, chezfrancis.com.
Corkbuzz at Chelsea Market
This wine bar, owned by Laura Maniec with Laura Walker as executive chef, has added a new bar area in the concourse of the food hall. Cocktails take a seasonal approach, and alongside there are cheese and charcuterie boards, crudos, sandwiches and meatballs.
75 Ninth Avenue (15th Street), 646-237-4847, corkbuzz.com.
FreshDirect Wine & Spirits
The grocery delivery company has opened a wine and liquor store at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The new store sells products that are sustainable and fit the definition of craft. Using the code FDWS2 will result in a discount. The company already sells alcoholic beverages through its online platform.
Admiral Row Plaza at Brooklyn Navy Yard, 3 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, 718-768-1515, freshdirect.com
Looking Ahead
Daniel Humm and Alain Ducasse
The two marquee chefs will be together in the kitchen in February to prepare eight-course, plant-based dinners in Paris and in New York. The Paris dinners will be at Le Meurice, Feb. 1 and 2. In New York, at Eleven Madison Park, they will be Feb. 22 and 23, with reservations starting at 5:30 p.m. The New York dinners in the dining room will be $475, with another $475 for wine pairings; a briefer menu in the bar area will be $345 plus $345 for wines.
Mofad, the Museum of Food and Drink
At the start of the pandemic, in 2020, the Museum of Food and Drink closed its headquarters in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and went virtual, continuing its robust programming with occasional off-campus events. Now it’s getting a new home, to open early next year. Its inaugural program will be “Flavor: The World to Your Brain.”
Empire Stores, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Dumbo, Brooklyn, mofad.org.
Seven Seas in Seven Courses
In the run-up to Christmas Eve and the Italian American Feast of the Seven Fishes, Point Seven, the new seafood restaurant in the MetLife building, will serve a seven-course seafood menu based on each of seven seas around the world. It will be available Fridays and Saturdays in December for whole tables, $140 per person.
Point Seven 200 Park Avenue (44th Street), 929-877-1718, pointsevennyc.com.
Matilda at the Henson
The new restaurant in this hotel near Windham, N.Y., will be run by Jeremiah Stone and Fabián von Hauske Valtierra of Wildair and Contra, which closed last month. It will open in early 2024, adding to the luster of the Catskills region. The two chefs have also opened a diner and a grocery store in the village.
39 Goshen Road, Hensonville, N.Y., thehenson.com
Chefs on the Move
David Joo
This former executive chef at the Peninsula New York is now the executive chef at Thompson Central Park, on West 56th Street. He will run the restaurant Parker’s, where he has added some New York touches like a chopped cheese sandwich made with Wagyu and aioli. The Upper Stories Lounge, in-room dining and events, as well as Burger Joint, are also his responsibilities.
La Liste
The Paris-based international restaurant rating system, which consults more than 1,000 published sources to develop its rankings, has named New York’s Le Bernardin the top restaurant in the United States. It also joins six others for the number one spot worldwide. SingleThread in Healdsburg, Calif., captured a second place position, and the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., made it to third. Shaun Velez, the executive pastry chef at Daniel, was named pastry chef of the year; the new Ilis in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was cited as a new arrival worth noting; and Kwame Onwuachi of Tatiana was named game-changer of the year.
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