Gourmet Gossip: July 2016

In this great dining city of ours, barely a day passes without news of an exciting restaurant opening, a devastating closing, a shocking chef shuffle, or a groundbreaking, must-try dish.  And some of the industry’s most enduring names are at the forefront this week; think new projects from Gray Kunz and Joël Robuchon, and a long goodbye from farm-to-table luminary, Peter Hoffman.

New York State of Mind: Celebrated French chef, Joël Robuchon, whose projects dot the world from Las Vegas to Tokyo will take Manhattan in late 2017. Located in an Aby Rosen-owned luxury tower in Midtown, his culinary concepts will span two levels, with a gourmet marketplace on the ground floor, and a fine dining restaurant up above, which will be comparable to his acclaimed, eponymous spots in Macao, Singapore and beyond.

Shades of Gray: Now here’s a blast from the past.  Gray Kunz, who essentially ruled NYC’s restaurant scene in the 90’s with Lespinasse (which earned him multiple James Beard Award nominations, induction into the CIA’s Restaurant Hall of Fame, and four stars from The New York Times) is opening a steakhouse called Salt & Char, located in the Adelphi Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York.  And it seems he hasn’t succumbed to any new fangled trends; the largely classic menu consists of starters like Watermelon Gazpacho, Lobster Chowder and Bone Marrow, dishes for two such as Crab Legs, Short Rib and Chateaubriand, and wagyu, dry aged, black angus or grassfed Steaks, served with roasted garlic beurre noisette or black truffle-foie gras sauce.

Hoffman Peters Out: Seminal farm-to-table trailblazer, Peter Hoffman, will shutter his final, remaining New York restaurant, Back Forty West, this Saturday. It replaced his original groundbreaking eatery, Savoy, back in 2011, and served as sister spot to his casual East Village favorite, Back Forty, which he ended up closing in 2013.  But while he’s pulling up his stakes in the restaurant industry, he’ll still be heavily involved in the food scene, running curated events and pop-ups, deepening relationships within the activist community, and penning an upcoming memoir.

The Great White Redo: White Street has had a tough time finding its way in Tribeca, especially since the departure of beloved chef Floyd Cardoz.  Which is why partners Dave Zinczenko and Dan Abrams are discussing a significant revamp; considering new models as disparate as a high-end Italian eatery to a private events space to a members only wine club.

A Night at the Ice Cream Museum:  Move over MOMA, there’s a new, pop-up museum in town. Debuting just in time for the dog days of summer, The Museum of Ice Cream is slated to open this August in the Meatpacking District.  $18 tickets to the dairy dreamland feature access to all manner of art installations and interactive exhibits, such as ice cream scooper seesaws and sprinkle swimming pools, as well as, of course, plenty of frozen treats, including shakes from Black Tap and cones courtesy of Oddfellows.

A Piece of the Pie: Denino’s, which has been slinging its famed, thin-crusted, sausage and clam-topped pies in Staten Island for over 80 years, just opened its first Manhattan outpost in Greenwich Village, as part of a recently rolled out franchise program.  Although believe it or not, there’s more incentive than ever to cross the Verrazano bridge, as Hometown BBQ’s Billy Durney announced the 2017 launch of Surf BBQ & Grill, situated in a mixed-use compound along the Stapleton Waterfront, featuring traditional smoked barbecue, grilled proteins like dry aged beef, and ingredients sourced from an on-site sustainable farm.