Fall Restaurant Preview 2015

If there’s one upside to summer’s end, it’s that autumn is the busiest season for big-deal restaurant openings.  So from Jose Garces’ heralded New York debut, to Missy Robbins’ migration to Brooklyn, here’s where you’ll be eating out once the leaves start to fall!

Vaucluse: Another season, another restaurant from Michael White — but this time, the king of Italian cuisine is going French.  Together with Marea’s executive chef, Jared Gadbaw, the almost 200-seat eatery will offer classic vegetable dishes (like ratatouille, presumably), along with wood-grilled meat and fish.

Lilia: Although she consulted on the small plates menu in the Chelsea Market outpost of Corkbuzz, Missy Robbins has been something of a free agent since leaving her post at A Voce back in 2013.  But what was Manhattan’s loss will prove Brooklyn’s gain when she brings her Italian talents to bear at Lilia; an intimate trattoria in Williamsburg, which she’s opening with The Smile’s Matt Kliegman.  Expect hand-cranked pastas, market-inspired vegetable dishes, and meats cooked on a wood-burning grill, as well as takeaway items for impromptu picnics in nearby McCarren Park.

Salvation Burger: April Bloomfield’s patties at both The Spotted Pig and The Breslin inevitably land on everyone’s “Best Burgers in NY” list, which is why it’s a big deal indeed that she’s opening a specialty eatery in the Pod 51 Hotel, as a sister spot to Salvation Tacos.  She’ll offer her own take on the all-American smashed style patty, using housemade cheese, pickles, mustard and buns, as well as more substantial pub burgers, made with house-ground short rib and brisket.

Amada: Iron Chef Jose Garces — arguably the biggest star in Philadelphia’s burgeoning food scene — has been flirting with the idea of returning to New York for years now.  And its finally happening this fall, when he opens an offshoot of his Andalusian-style tapas spot, Amada, inside Battery Park’s food-rich Brookfield Place.

Momosan Ramen and Sake: Garces isn’t the only Iron Chef making moves — the OG himself, Masaharu Morimoto, is actually undertaking his very first dedicated ramen spot, which will also offer an impressive sake and shochu service, with shochu cocktails prepared tableside, and sake served in the traditional fashion; poured into glasses set inside wooden masu boxes.

Carla Hall’s Southern Kitchen: It was a shock to learn that Andy Ricker was shutting down Brooklyn’s Whiskey Soda Lounge, but he didn’t hand over the keys to just any tenant — The Chew’s Carla Hall is moving in with her Nashville hot chicken shack in early fall, which will serve Southern-style sides and cocktails to accompany the deliciously incendiary sandwiches.

Indian Accent: Le Parker Meridien is getting an exciting new tenant, to join longstanding favorites like Norma’s and burger joint.  Indian Accent — the upscale New Delhi eatery, named “The Best Restaurant in India” and the “77th Best Restaurant in the World” this year, by S. Pellegrino, should open by November, with esteemed chef Manish Mehrotra at the helm.  Expect dishes like Kashmiri Morels with walnut powder and parmesan papad, Pork Ribs paired with sweet mango pickle and onion seeds, and Soft-shell Crab sprinkled with madras gunpowder.

Turnstyle: Traveling has become a tasty proposition, not just with the upcoming UrbanSpace Vanderbilt near Grand Central Station, but this series of 34 subterranean shops and dining destinations as well, running the length of the 59th Street-Columbus Circle Subway Concourse.  Planned vendors include Dylan’s Candy Bar, Gelato Ti Amo, Just Falafel and Ellary’s Greens, as well as Ignazio’s Pizza, Pressed Juicery and Meltkraft.