Opening
Forgione
Gilded cast-iron columns from David Bouley’s Danube still punctuate this space on Duane and Hudson Street, which is now Forgione; a Bouley cookbook sits on a shelf in the late chef’s honor. The transfer of the rustic setting decorated with yard sale memorabilia from Marc Forgione’s former Reade Street location was seamless, and the menu by the famously mohawked chef offers classics like hiramasa tartare and chile lobster. New are grilled Maine eel over broken rice, and baby Pennsylvania rainbow trout planked like fresh sardines. An unlisted burger is exclusive to the rear bar area and the wine list has quadrupled thanks to more storage.
Little Banchan Shop
First in Long Island City and now in Manhattan, these shops from the chef Hooni Kim hold the key to serving a constellation of banchan, the crunchy, tangy, peppery and bright little dishes that embroider a Korean meal. The new location in the Pier 57 food hall also has a bibimbap bar with marinated beef, rice, vegetables and condiments for a one-bowl D.I.Y. meal.
Omakase Room by Shin
The chef Shin Yamaoka, formerly of Blue Ribbon Sushi and Brushstroke, is offering a 14-course, $175 lineup of tastes at this snug eight-seat counter. It’s in the mid-block atrium at West 53rd Street that was previously Kaiseki Room by Yamada.
Willow and Clark
An unusual, dare we say unique, cafe for coffee, breakfast items, salads and sandwiches from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. is now open to the public in a senior living residence. In the grand, spacious lobby of the building, it also serves milk and cookies for children and has a schedule of story times led by residents, most likely grandparents.
Kokos at Pearl Alley
Rum reigns at this new South Street Seaport district bar where tropical vessels like coconuts flaunt the drinks. Ceviches from a cart, jerk chicken sliders and rum-drenched cake are served with sides of Caribbean music and a water view.
Zero Proof
Speakeasies served illegal booze during Prohibition but now, making a mockery of the tradition, a speakeasy-style pop-up bar hidden inside HandCraft Kitchen & Cocktails only pours nonalcoholic drinks. It will be open through Labor Day.
Closing
Osteria Morini
After more than 15 years, the SoHo restaurant that put the chef Michael White in the spotlight with the riches of Emilia-Romagna is closing and will relocate. The final day is Saturday. The new address has not been revealed. Mr. White is no longer with the restaurant or its parent company, the Altamarea Group.
Chefs on the Move
Asia Shabazz
There has been a chef shuffle at Contento in East Harlem. This new executive chef, who is from the neighborhood, has worked in Australia and New Zealand, and also at Fieldtrip and Bar Tulix in New York. With Ms. Shabazz heading the kitchen the food will reflect West African, Caribbean and soul influences, with dishes like sweet plantain gnocchi with oxtail sauce, soft shell crab with curry aioli and mango mint chutney, jerk lion’s mane mushrooms with stewed cabbage and rice and peas, and soursop granita. She replaces Oscar Lorenzzi, who contributed a taste of Peru to the menu; he is now developing other projects.
Victor Hahn
After working at Hyun and Soogil in New York, Mr. Hahn is the new executive chef at Noflex NYC, an art lounge inspired by nightlife in Seoul that opened earlier this year at the edge of Koreatown in Manhattan. His menu includes cigar rolls and soy garlic fried chicken.
Steve Pereyda
This chef who uses ancient grains is now the executive chef at Heritage Grand Bakery, Restaurant and Pizza Bar in Midtown.
Shopping
Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys
The Lower East Side bakery, known for bialys since 1936, has opened a branch on the Upper West Side, its fourth.
On the Menu
Spritzes
The weather warms, seating is outdoors and spritzes, including low or no A.B.V. coolers, fizz. They’re at San Sabino in the West Village, Koloman and the new Simona Rooftop in NoMad, Nordstrom’s Summer Terrace and Benoit in Midtown, Loews Regency on the Upper East Side and at Nami Nori’s new Williamsburg, Brooklyn, spot, among many others. At Via Carota in the West Village, red and white sbagliatos and a rosy wine spritz are some of the choices. And to pour at home, these, and the restaurant’s Paloma and French 75, all with refreshing swipes of bitterness, now come in elegantly bottled single-servings by Via Carota Craft Cocktails, 10 for $69, drinkviacarota.com.
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The post Forgione Brings Its Rustic Charm to the Former Danube Space appeared first on New York Times.
