Opening
Westmoreland
For a museum, the Frick Collection is notably intimate, as is its new cafe. A first for the mansion that opened as a museum in 1935, it’s in an area newly accessible to visitors on the second floor. The name is that of the Frick family’s private railway car, which was substantially larger than its namesake restaurant. The oblong room done in pale green with crimson accents and a glittery full bar is run by Union Square Events with the chef Skyllar Hughes in charge. The all-day menu (museum hours only, admission and same-day reservations required) is an all-purpose pleaser, with quiche, scones, tomato soup, Caesar salad, avocado toast, poached trout and chicken Milanese. (Opens Friday)
The Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street, frick.org/visit/cafe.
Mama Mezze
Departing from his usual Italian template, the restaurateur Mark Barak (La Pecora Bianca) is venturing to the Eastern Mediterranean with the help of Einat Admony. Replacing his short-lived Lupetto, Mr. Barak has kept the wood-fired oven but lightened the greenery-filled space with white walls, tile accents and textiles in tones of terra cotta, salmon and gold. The menu follows Ms. Admony’s familiar playbook of spreads, falafel, skewers, shawarma, tagine and other dishes seasoned with preserved lemon, harissa, zhug, chermoula and tahini. There are summery drinks made with citrus, pomegranate, watermelon and hibiscus. (Opens Thursday)
1123 Broadway (25th Street), 212-547-8750, mamamezze.com.
Lei
Annie Shi, a partner in the restaurants King and Jupiter, has opened this wine bar in Chinatown. She has selected more than 350 wines that demonstrate low-intervention production (a must these days), among others, then chose Chinese items like cured ham, fried cheese similar to halloumi, and sweet-and-sour short ribs to go with them. Patty Lee, formerly of Mission Chinese Food, had a hand in the menu. The elegant little room is dressed with works by artists with Chinese ancestry. (Friday)
15-17 Doyers Street (Pell Street), leiwine.nyc
Osteria Radisa
Tastes of Rome, Tuscany, Puglia and Naples outnumber those of the Emilia-Romagna in New York, but this newcomer is improving the balance. The chef, Roberto Aita (of Aita in Clinton Hill), offers regional and seasonal dishes like tagliatelle with peas and tomato-meat sauce; ravioli verdi with ricotta, pecorino di fossa and ramps; and branzino in raw tomato sauce with agretti, a succulent plant, all served in a pale room with antiques from Italy.
241 Smith Street (Douglass Street), Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, radisabrooklyn.com.
dell’anima
The West Village restaurant that first opened in 2007, then relocated to the Gotham West Market in Hell’s Kitchen, which closed, has now reopened with longtime partners, the chef Andrew Whitney, and managers Danir Rincon and Jacob Cohen, in charge. As ever, pastas are the specialty. (Friday)
18 Cornelia Street (Bleecker Street), 212-366-6633, dellanima.com.
Lobel’s Original
Lobel’s has been emptying the bank accounts of Upper East Siders since 1954, and now the younger generations (fifth and sixth) of the family are opening their first restaurant. Meats, the Lobel specialty, are slow-roasted, then sliced into sandwiches featuring prime steak, pork and turkey breast. Breakfast sandwiches, a pasta salad, a soup and desserts, like banana pudding and chocolate cake, round out the menu. There’s waiter service and a full bar. (Wednesday)
Rink Level, 30 Rockefeller Plaza (50th Street), 718-878-4849, rockefellercenter.com/dine/lobel-s.
Looking Ahead
Infinite Table, Oaxaca: Tierra y Tiempo
Peter Kim, the founding director of Brooklyn’s Museum of Food and Drink is inaugurating an immersive food series at which a 360-degree view of a destination is combined with plates of its food. He’s starting with Oaxaca in an event space where five food producers will be shown on video telling their stories while food and drink, including rustic mezcal, a pork-and-corn stew and chicken in mole negro, are served to guests (age 21 or older) at two communal tables. Other drinks will be available to purchase; the experience runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. June 11, 12 and 13.
46 Bridge Street (Plymouth Street), Dumbo, Brooklyn, $120, 646-437-8375, the8table.com.
Great Nosh Picnic
On June 22 on Governors Island, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. (rain or shine), there will be an epic picnic spread featuring dishes from one-off restaurant collaborations. Tatiana is teaming up with Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, Thai Diner with Katz’s Deli, Zahav with Dame, and Dhamaka with Gertrude’s, among others, all organized by the Jewish Food Society. A wine bar run by Four Horsemen, a market area for D.I.Y. picnics and a cooking demonstration, with Gail Simmons and Pati Jinich hosting, are also planned.
Tickets are $39.89, thegreatnosh.com.
Nino’s Restaurant
This welcoming Italian mainstay on the Upper East Side has closed, to be replaced by a high-rise. The owner, Nino Selimaj, will move it to the space once occupied by Georges Briguet’s Le Périgord, where the chef Antoine Bouterin was in the kitchen.
405 East 52nd Street.
On the Move
Amanda Hesser
One of the founders of Food52, the online cookware and food platform (with Merrill Stubbs), is resigning from day-to-day involvement after 13 years at the helm plus another three years of transition. Though she remains executive chairman of the board, she will live part-time in Ojai, Calif., and work on other projects, like her Substack newsletter, Homeward.
Shopping
Louis Pommery England Brut
Bubbly season is in full flower for weddings, graduations, Father’s Day and more. Though tariff-driven price hikes on imported Champagne and other sparklers are currently on hold, that flute may soon play a costlier tune. A new option, around $39, is from England where the production of high-quality sparkling wines has been on the rise. Louis Pommery, an offshoot of the venerable House of Pommery in Reims, France, is making méthode champenoise wines in Southern England from classic grapes cultivated in the area’s chalky soils. It’s vivacious, slightly toasty and floral. Cheers!
totalwine.com, blackwellswines.com, louis-pommery.com.
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Florence Fabricant is a food and wine writer. She writes the weekly Front Burner and Off the Menu columns, as well as the Pairings column, which appears alongside the monthly wine reviews. She has also written 12 cookbooks.
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