New & Noteworthy

Cooler air stimulates my appetite which is a good thing as there are so many new menus to dig into across the city.  Today, I’m adding Gotham Bar & Grill, which sees a departure of Alfred Portale who helmed the kitchen for over three decades, and the arrival of Victoria Blamey, who received much acclaim from her reboot of Chumley’s.

I”ll be honest that the new Chumley’s menu was a little too meaty and heavy for me. I may be misremembering but I thought it felt April Bloomfield-ish.. You know, lots of marrow and such.  That said, I think I went to Gotham Bar & Grill two times, the last time being at least 15 years ago. The new menu looks thoughtfully inventive where flavors are paired but not so much as to beat you over the head.  I tend to like a somewhat lightness of hand and dishes like charred Japanese eggplant with lapsang souchong; pea dahl with fried shallot and curry leaf; and lamb collar with Calabrian chiles, peppers, kabocha, and pickled eggplant are right up my alley.

New & Noteworthy (week of Sep 9)

Ayada      Opened late-June

• Critically Acclaimed Queens Thai Hit Opens in Chelsea Market Today
• Queens’ Best Thai Restaurant Will Expand to Manhattan

Gotham Bar & Grill     Reopened early-September

• Iconic Gotham Bar & Grill Reopens Tonight With a New Chef In Pursuit of a Younger Crowd
• A Fresh Face at an Old Standard: Gotham Bar and Grill
• Here’s Gotham Bar & Grill’s Brand-new Menu

Hutong      Opened early-July 

• Daily Dish Hutong Review: Observations from My First Visit
• Midtown’s Glam New Chinese Restaurant Excels at a Luxe Dim Sum Service
• The Unapologetic Decadence of Hutong
• Hutong brings good, fancy Chinese food back to NYC

The Jones Opened late-August

• An Iconic Noho Space Starts New Life Today as a Light and Bright Seafood Cafe: Great Jones Cafe has been revived by Gabriel Stulman as the Jones, a casual cafe aimed at locals
• The Jones Is Gabriel Stulman’s Loving Revamp of the Great Jones Cafe

L’Accolade    Opened mid-July

• A Natural Wine Bistro From France Lands in the West Village
• Natural Wine Bistro Opens In The West Village

LaLou Opened late-June

• Inside LaLou, an Exciting Natural Wine Bar from Some of NYC’s Most Underrated Pros
• LaLou Just Might Be Your New Summer Hangout

Llama-San Opened early-September

• After a Long Delay, Llama-San is Finally Ready to Start Cooking

Malibu Farm  Opened early-September

• Malibu Farm, Inspired by California, Opens in the Seaport District
• Seaport District Will Get a Touristy Malibu Import With Major Views: Malibu Farms combines Californian and Scandinavian influences
• Helene Henderson Is About to Bless New York with SoCal Goodness

Pastis         Opened early-June

• Inside the New Pastis, the Romantic NYC Legend Reopening Tonight
• Hello, Old Friend: Pastis Reopens Its Doors

Red Paper Clip Opened late-July

• Contemporary Fare at Red Paper Clip in the West Village
• Ex-Blue Hill Chefs Unleash an Upscale Restaurant of Their Own in the West Village

Red Peony Opened late-August

• Shanghainese Restaurant Red Peony Opens in Midtown NYC

Sullivan Street Pizza Opened mid-June

• Bread Savant Jim Lahey Is Bringing His Popular Pizzas Back to Chelsea

This weekly list is not comprehensive of every new place but a short alphabetized list of new places that I think are notable.  Restaurants that have been opened for more than three months will not be included.