Contents
Off the Menu
Little Banchan Shop opens on Pier 57, Asia Shabazz is the new executive chef at Contento and more restaurant news.
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.
30 Hudson Street (Duane Street), 212-941-9401, marcforgione.com.
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.
Market 57, Pier 57, 15th Street and West Street, littlebanchanshop.com, pier57nyc.com.
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.
145 West 53rd Street, 212-353-0201, omakaseroom.com.
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.
The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights, 21 Clark Street (Willow Street), Brooklyn Heights, 347-343-4900, watermarkcommunities.com.
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.
Pier 17, 89 South Street (Fulton Street), pearlalley.nyc.
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.
HandCraft Kitchen & Cocktails, 367 Third Avenue (27th Street), 212-689-3000, handcraftnyc.com.
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