Off the Menu
Sendo has a new counter for sushi, Nordic fare in a rustic setting at Kabin and more restaurant news.
Opening
Kraam
A sleek white, gold and blue room (kraam means indigo) is the setting for a vibrant, distinctive Thai menu.Instead of the fierce attention to regional cuisines as at beloved Thai spots in Queens, the chef and owner, Pongsathorn Thinnuch, who worked at JoJo and Hutong, and his team of Thai chefs, favor seasonality and contemporary flair. Khao soi curry is made with chicken confit, there are sautéed razor clams with Thai-adjacent chimichurri, and strips of rib-eye heavily strewn with black peppercorns make a stir-fry. The inevitable green papaya salad includes sweet corn and long beans, and you can bet that Giovanni Bellini never tasted his namesake drink with lychee and guava.
254 Fifth Avenue (28th Street), 646-678-4586, kraamnyc.com.
Sendo
Originally this sushi spot on a budget was to be for stand-up dining only, because that’s supposedly the way it was done when sushi was street food 200 years ago in Edo, now Tokyo, and well into the 20th century. But the chef, Kevin Ngo, who was at Sushi Nakazawa and Sushi Ginza Onodera, changed his mind in favor of comfort. There are 10 seats at a counter for set assortments, $25 to $40. Nigiri à la carte is $3 per piece. Artificial intelligence contributed to the design of the space. (Wednesday)
867 Avenue of the Americas (31st Street), sendo.nyc.
Kabin
Add this new cocktail bar to the city’s Scandinavian options. Fittingly it opened for Midsummer Day, a revered date on the Nordic calendar. The owner, Alex Tangen, is inspired by time spent as a child in Norwegian hyttes, or cabins, to create the rustic spot serving pickled mackerel, fried fish cakes, beef tartare and Norwegian waffles with caviar. Drinks, created with input from the beverage directors Pamela Wiznitzer and Eloy Pacheco, include vodka, aquavit and gin seasoned with the likes of lingonberries and sea buckthorn. (Wednesday)
300 Spring Street (Hudson Street), 917-261-2144, kabin.nyc.
Café Ginori at Bergdorf Goodman
No need to turn over a plate to discover its maker in this new spot at Bergdorf Goodman. It’s all Ginori, the luxe Italian name in tableware, which is sponsoring the restaurant, a first for the company founded in 1735. The room is lavishly done in Ginori’s Domus and other collections that include textiles, and matches some food, like beetroot risotto, to its plate. Lunch options include lobster salad, eggplant Parmesan and oven-roasted sea bass; aperitivos are served from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Lower level, Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Avenue (58th Street), 212-872-8708, bergdorfgoodman.com.
Fontainhas
The name of this cafe and wine bar is that of the multicultural Latin Quarter in Panjim, a city in Goa. The partners, Viraj Borkar and Varsha Harlalka, both chefs, and Arjun Gupta, an actor, combine innovation, as with chile cheese toast and tomato soup, and Indian comfort dishes like uttapam pancake with vegetables and chutneys on an all-day menu. It’s served from a counter until midafternoon; waiter service kicks in at 4:30 p.m. A dukaan, or shop, reached through the cafe, sells Indian and South Asian food products and home goods.
28 Jay Street (Plymouth Street), Dumbo, Brooklyn.
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