Fall Restaurant Preview 2013
Start making friends with your redial button… Cesar Ramirez’s Brooklyn Fare is finally coming to Manhattan.
If you thought this summer’s roster of new restaurant openings was particularly exciting (and it surprisingly was), then get ready for fall. Because autumn is the time when chefs roll out their biggest, flashiest projects, and this year is no exception. From Amanda Freitag’s return to the dining scene at the old Empire Diner space to John Fraser’s upcoming eatery at The Standard hotel, and the long-awaited debut of Brooklyn Fare Manhattan, it’s already shaping up to be one of the busiest, most exhilarating seasons yet!
Brooklyn Fare Manhattan
Brooklyn’s only three-Michelin starred restaurant remains one the hottest and hardest tickets in town. Come November, you’ll also want to snag a spot at the long-awaited Manhattan spinoff of this grocery-cum-restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen. Ramirez has hired chef Jared Sippel (from Boulder’s acclaimed Frasca) to oversee an a la carte menu of French, Italian and Japanese-inspired dishes. While it’s not quite as intimate as the 18-seat original, you’ll have a much better chance getting a seat at this 60-seat spot with a 10-seat chef’s counter. No reservations required.
The Clam
Summer may be over, but you can still fulfill a craving for Littlenecks and Cherrystones at this anticipated clam-inspired restaurant — don’t call it a shack — from Joey Campanaro and Mikey Price. Set to open the second week in October (we’re stoked), the serious raw bar will undoubtedly provide welcome relief from heavy braises, stews, and root veggies, with unique items, like Cockle Dip with Potato Chips, Clam Chowder Arancini with Green Salsa Verde, and Crispy Clams with Grilled Romaine “a la Caesar,” topped with marinated Boquerones. Maybe winter won’t be so bad after all.
Read MoreIvan Ramen
Although he’s a born and raised New Yorker, Ivan Orkin actually built his name as a ramen guru in Tokyo, opening his first acclaimed noodle shop there in 2007. So it’s only appropriate that he’s marking his return to the states with a Lower East Side ramen shop, opening on Clinton Street in early November. Ramen will be at the heart of the menu, of course (think Shio, Shoyu, Roasted Garlic Mazemen, and Flying Fish Dashi with Schmaltz and Rye Noodles), but that’s hardly all. Creative, pan- Asian bites, like Shrimp Dusted Fish Cakes, Fried Chicken with Ponzu, and Slow-Roasted Tomato Donburi are well worth a visit.
Read MoreJohn Fraser Project
Do you have friends and family visiting over the holidays this winter? Be sure to book them a room at Andre Balazs’s The Standard East Village hotel, which will expand its food and beverage program well beyond complimentary continental breakfasts in December. That’s because chef John Fraser (Dovetail) is debuting a brand, new ground floor restaurant with an outdoor garden and casual cafe. And what’s on the menu? It will be vegetable-driven and feature produce from Balazs’s very own farm in the Hudson Valley, which should hardly come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Fraser’s elegant meatless Monday menus at Dovetail.
All'Onda
There’s no shortage of Italian restaurants in this city, but All’Onda is hardly your average spaghetti and red sauce joint. It marks a return to the New York dining scene for Chris Cannon — Michael White’s former business partner — who’s joined forces with Ai Fiori alum Chris Jaeckle. Inspired by the global influences and spices of Venice, the menu will include dishes like Fluke Crudo with bottarga, ras el hanout and grappa-soaked raisins, and various iterations of creamy Risotto (All’Onda, or “Of the Waves,” refers to a soupy style of risotto popular in the region). Thankfully, you won’t have to wait much longer for this one… the doors are expected to open by the end of the month!
Read MoreBar Bolonat
Einat Admony may not be quite as well known as Amanda Freitag, but New Yorkers adore her gold standard falafel at Taim, and imaginative Israeli food at Balaboosta. And come this November, she’ll increase her visibility in the West Village with Bar Bolonat, where she’ll offer what she dubs “Modern Israeli,” serving Sephardic tasting menus from an open kitchen. Expect playful dishes, like Grilled Dorade with Kale-Walnut Pesto and Tahini, Mint Tea Gelato served in traditional Moroccan glasses, and Latkes drizzled with a Manischewitz-reduction sauce (yes, really).
Read MoreRedFarm Upper West Side
Ed Schoenfeld and Joe Ng certainly have their hands full this season. They’re currently overseeing the buildout of the Upper West Side outpost of RedFarm — their cheekily modern Chinese restaurant — all while orchestrating a steakhouse pop-up, and eventually a downstairs duck spot called Decoy at their original, West Village location. We plan to visit both this fall; the bright and spacious RedFarm UWS at the end of September for signature dishes, like PacMan Dumplings, Pastrami Egg Rolls and Spicy Steamed Sea Bass, and the re-imagined RedFarm and Decoy in October, for cooked-to-order Peking Duck and Peking Duck burgers as well as inventive dim sum specials, like the almost too adorable to eat Hello Kitty Dumplings!
Joe Ogrodnek and Walker Stern Project
Although their respective resumes include stints at Gramercy Tavern, The Essex House, Union Square Café and Anella, Joe Ogrodnek and Walker Stern were hardly household names prior to opening Battersby on Smith Street in 2011. It instantly became one of the most sought out tables in Brooklyn (the Kale Salad alone made multiple “Best Of” lists) and the two young chefs emerged as rapidly rising stars. They hope to keep the momentum going with the opening of their newest eatery in Carroll Gardens this November, in the 2,800 square foot space (plus oversized patio!) that housed the ill-fated Vinzee’s Magic Fountain. If the pair was able to kill it in their tiny slip of a room on Smith Street, we can’t wait to see what they do with a snazzy full kitchen, complete with walk-in refrigerator and freezer.
Amanda Freitag Project
While Freitag has been all over the small screen as a judge on Chopped and a competitor on The Next Iron Chef, she hasn’t actually been behind a burner since she left The Harrison in 2010. That’s why we’re particularly pumped that she’s committed herself to a new restaurant in the old Empire Diner space, opening the end of September. (And no, she won’t be flipping burgers and over-easy eggs.) Freitag’s camp has yet to confirm a name, but we do know her inspiration will be “locavore diner food.” Considering she can work wonders with ingredients as lowly as canned corned beef (see The Next Iron Chef: Redemption), we’re so there!
Marco's
Husband-and-wife Andrew Feinberg and Francine Stephens recently moved their beloved Brooklyn pizzeria, Franny’s, across the street into a much larger space, so waits thankfully aren’t quite as bad as they used to be. Some people might not know they haven’t abandoned the lease on their original Flatbush location. Nope. They’ve replaced the old brick oven with a both a wood-burning grill and a spit rotisserie, transforming the slim room into an intimate trattoria called Marco’s, named after their son. Projected to open by the end of the month, the eatery will serve regional, authentic Italian fare (as opposed to the more modern Franny’s) with a heavy focus on fresh pastas.
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