Off the Menu
Periyali becomes Opto, Nerina opens a location in Brooklyn and more restaurant news.
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Opening
Pitt’s
Exploring the scrapbook of his Eastern European heritage led the chef Jeremy Salamon to serve chilled borscht and crispy schmaltz potatoes at Agi’s Counter, his busy Crown Heights, Brooklyn, spot. His new restaurant, bearing a childhood nickname and done with a touch of kitsch, is ensconced in the former Fort Defiance space. Its inspiration looks elsewhere, both locally and to North Carolina, where he cooked and seems to have picked up an obsession for saltines, fried or not. He has come up with pickled shrimp with oyster mayo, pimento cheese made with Gouda, fried Country Captain poussin, swordfish au poivre, a mutton chop with Keens Steakhouse as a likely inspiration, and a dessert soufflé tasting like pancakes. There’s also a clever kid’s menu.
347 Van Brunt Street (Wolcott Street), Red Hook, Brooklyn, pittsbk.com.
Enso
Precious sushi bars are proliferating as fast as slice shops. This one, where the tab is $195 for 16 courses, is from Nick Wang, the owner of Ako Sushi and Amami Bar and Restaurant in the neighborhood, both with broader menus. Here the choices are the omakase experience in a serene Zen-like interior (enso is a Zen circle connoting enlightenment) for 10 at the counter, or a 12-course tasting ($95) in a lounge and a tidy garden.
117 Berry Street (North Eighth Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-384-7288, ensoomakase.com.
Opto
What was Periyali for 38 years is still in the hands of Nicola Kotsoni, one of the original owners, but now this spot has broadened its geography to encompass the entire Mediterranean. In partnership with the Floridian chef Alex Tubero, who has worked in notable New York kitchens, the new iteration offers a selection of creatively garnished raw seafood, charred octopus with potatoes, Sardinian macaroni with tomatoes, classic trenette al pesto Genovese, and lamb T-bones with mint chermoula. Periyali’s crème caramel remains on the menu. The redesign, by the architect Glen Coben, involves leather and jewel tone fabric.
35 West 20th Street, 212-463-7890, optonyc.com.
Nerina
The restaurant traffic between Manhattan and Brooklyn continues with this offshoot of Nerai in Midtown now settled into Greenpoint. The choices by the executive chef, Moshe Grundman, who has cooked at Nerai since 2017, follow a fairly typical contemporary Greek playlist with mezze, gigantes, shrimp saganaki and lamb chops. The wine selections are exclusively Hellenic. An olive tree is planted in the middle of the indoor dining room, and a glass-enclosed outdoor room is another option. (Opens Saturday)
35 Commercial Street (Bell Slip), Greenpoint Brooklyn, 718-509-9339, nerinanyc.com.
Chalet De Luxe
Inevitably with winter comes some sort of Alpine dining option. This one, open through February, is on the 20th floor rooftop of the Royalton Park Avenue hotel. Don those Uggs and ear muffs for individual heated plastic igloos, with a menu of caviar, French dips, raclette, s’mores and chocolate mousse, along with cocktails. A more extensive menu is available in the indoor section of Penthouse on Park.
Penthouse on Park, 420 Park Avenue South (29th Street), 332-345-9232, penthouseonpark.com.
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