Off the Menu
At Crazy Pizza, the tableside theatrics start with the dough, new bistros arrive on the Upper East Side and more food news.
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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)
218 Lafayette Street (Spring Street), 646-298-1565, crazypizza.com.
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.
853 Lexington Avenue (65th Street), 212-517-5780, monsieurbistro.com.
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.
310 South Fourth Street (Rodney Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 917-909-0135, tokidokinyc.com.
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.
50 Henry Street (Cranberry Street), Brooklyn Heights, instagram.com/pizzeriajules.
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.
35 Bedford Street (Downing Street), 323-332-1120, cartawinebar.com.
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