Opening
Crazy Pizza
The showmanship that can involve pizza is on full display at the first New York outpost of the international chain, now comprising 15 locations, that started in Italy. It occupies the former Osteria Morini space with Altamarea Group, the owner of that restaurant, as a partner with Majestas, the founder. As at the other locations, chefs enter the dining room spinning the dough to the sounds of another spinner, a D.J. stationed at the bar. A broad Italian menu offers typical appetizers and pastas plus 23 pizzas, including focaccia con stracchino, a take on the famous focaccia col formaggio of Recco, Italy. (Wednesday)
Monsieur Bistro
When the longstanding bistro Sel et Poivre closed last spring, there was much neighborhood hand-wringing. But this being a year for French on the menu, it hasn’t taken long for the replacement, from the owners of Maison Close in SoHo, to step up to the plate with a salade niçoise, salmon tartare, chicken paillard, lamb parmentier and a burger. The chef, Geoffrey Lechantoux, stretches the parameters of French bistro fare, also serving accras, vitello tonnato and crostini. There are 65 seats at tables with napery, plus a small bar and a few spots outdoors.
Tokidoki
Though the name sounds like a play on “okey-dokey,” it’s actually a Japanese word meaning sometimes and no relation to the lifestyle brand Tokidoki. The restaurant’s married owners, Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi, who have installed it next to their Shalom Japan, see it as an all-day cafe, open until about 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and serving as a more casual adjunct to Shalom Japan. Sandos made on housemade milk bread include Wagyu pastrami and a vegetable combination; they share the menu with onigiri and a daily bento box. In the evening it becomes a private event space.
Jules
The executive chef Julian DiChiara and Hallie Lahm, who runs the dining room and mixes drinks, worked for many years at Fifty Henry Wine Bar. It closed and they took over the space with another partner, the designer Colin McTigue, to open this pizzeria. Bracketed by appetizers like roasted beets with ricotta and roast chicken, the pizzas are both traditional and inventive, like a mushroom and fennel sausage pie and confit tuna with olives and crushed tomato. Cocktails include a margarita you might call a Margherita as it’s spiked with pepperoncini.
Carta Wine Bar
Though Spanish flavors dominate the list of tapas at this new wine bar, other Mediterranean destinations weigh in when it comes to cheeses, charcuterie, sandwiches and wine. It’s tucked into an intimate space.
Nightly’s
Assuming you’re ready for yet another neighborhood bistro, American and French with the rest of the Europe in mind, there’s this Upper East Sider to consider. It beckons with a 50-seat outdoor patio and a lengthy menu of bistro regulars, some with cute names like the Dickensian “Tale of Two Salads” (a two-tiered affair involving cabbage and brussels sprouts) and others like a smash burger, that are closer to home.
Elbow Bread
The corner storefront that had been Nora Allen’s bakery, Mel the Bakery, has a name that now nods to the unusual triangular space. The baker, Zoë Kanan, from Houston, who baked at Sadelle’s and Milk Bar, in partnership with Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross of S&P Lunch and Court Street Grocers, calls it a Jewish bakery, taking into account the mostly Jewish history of the surrounding location. The bakery, open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. or when the inventory is gone, offers challah, a challah honey-bun, a sweet potato pretzel, a breakfast spinach kugel sandwich, knishes, bialys, a scallion pocket made with schmaltz that’s based on an onion roll, and old-fashioned whipped cream Charlotte Russe in paper cylinders that push up from the bottom. “I’m concentrating on some of the less ordinary items,” she said.
Branches
Rocco Steakhouse
This new Midtown edition of the classic steak house opens in the space that previously housed BLT Steak. It offers the same traditional high-end steak house experience as the original in NoMad. A new chef, Dominick Pepe, is in charge.
Looking Ahead
Taste of Mott Haven
A philanthropic initiative on the part of several private agencies to support small businesses in the South Bronx neighborhood has kicked off with three days of subsidized dining. Participants who register receive a $25 voucher for a cocktail and appetizer at three participating restaurants. The assumption is that the vouchers will encourage people to discover restaurants and stay for more than just a drink and a bite. The October date has come and gone but Nov. 20 and Dec. 11 are coming up. Oyate Group, a local nonprofit, is spearheading this effort. To register and find the list of restaurants: oyategroup.org.
James Beard Public Market
After percolating for years, plans for a public market in the heart of Portland, Ore., honoring James Beard, a native son, have gelled, anticipating an opening, in stages, starting next year. Covering nearly 40,000 square feet, it will comprise a teaching kitchen, event space, restaurant, bakery and assorted vendors of various foods and ingredients, some 40 tenants in all. A rooftop party space is part of the plan. Financing is coming from public and private agencies.
Shopping
Manojo Mezcal
Enrique Olvera, the much-lauded Mexican chef and restaurateur, has turned to producing a mezcal. What took him so long? The result is a clear spirit with a distinctively vegetal aroma hinting of smoke. The flavor suggests sweet and strong green peppers, lime and Comice pear, wrapped in minerality. Mr. Olvera, who’s now pouring it in his restaurants in New York and Mexico, recommends enjoying it Oaxaca-style with a squeeze of orange and a pinch of salt. I like it with a splash of pineapple juice. The mezcal is 100 percent espadín agave, made traditionally by Joel Velasco and Felicitas Hernández in San Luis del Río just outside Oaxaca City. Mr. Olvera’s partners in the venture are Alex Ferzan, Gonzalo Gout, Thomas McDonald and Nes Rueda.
Follow New York Times Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest. Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice.
The post Where Dinner Starts With a Show appeared first on New York Times.
