Restaurant Openings Report: Week Of January 04, 2015
Los Angeles
Matthew Kenney Cuisine, the integrated lifestyle brand known for providing food connoisseurs with innovative, high-quality culinary, health and wellness products and services, opens its new flagship restaurant, Plant Food and Wine, on Abbot Kinney in early 2015. The restaurant, designed as a communal gathering place, offers a unique experience around delicious, health-conscious food, in the flowing indoor-outdoor setting distinctive of the space. Open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, Plant Food and Wine will offer a cutting-edge approach to plant-based meals with an ever-evolving menu guided by the seasons and locally-sourced ingredients.
New Orleans
In September 2014, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFAB) opened in its new location at 1504 Oretha C. Haley Boulevard. Heralded as one of the nation's leading institutions studying food and drink, the SoFAB Institute celebrates the history of cuisine and cocktails through a variety of exhibits, programming and a range of multimedia. The first even of 2015 held in their test kitchen is Purloo; named for the Lowcountry traditional dish of a baked pot of rice and whatever else is on-hand, the 70-seat exhibition kitchen and restaurant will give diners an in-depth look at and taste of Southern regional fare. Helmed by chef/partner Ryan Hughes, who has earned critical acclaim for his Southern cooking with French savvy at some of New Orleans' most acclaimed restaurant, Purloo will serve as a place to both eat and learn
New York
Meow Parlour is now open on Hester Street. The first permanent cat cafe in New York City, The concept is being brought to life by the team behind Macaron Parlour, a popular bakery with locations in the East Village, Upper West Side, and countless pop-up markets. Meow Parlour provides patrons with the opportunity to pet, cuddle and interact with adorable, adoptable cats in a safe, comfortable environment. The space houses a dozen healthy and well-tempered cats at any given time, all carefully vetted by well-respected rescue group and partner, KittyKind. Visitors will be able to order delicious homemade pastries, Blue Bottle coffee, and Harney & Sons tea from Macaron Parlour with delivery to Meow Parlour for no additional charge.
Petite Shell, a labor of love from Brooklyn entrepreneur Shmilly Gruenstein, pays homage to the age-old Jewish ritual of sharing coffee, rugelach and conversation that so colored his childhood. Shmilly, passionate about the taste and culture of this beloved pastry, wanted to re-invent the tradition of rugelach by curating various flavors to infuse inside the dough, and offering it alongside the perfect cup of coffee. Always fascinated with the coffee culture, Shmilly set out to further the pure sensual experience of eating these bite-size sweets by pairing them with the finest, highest quality coffee, brewed utilizing the most sophisticated and modern techniques. These include brewing the freshest coffee grinds on the Steampunk, a new brewing machine that uses steam and water to extract maximum aroma and flavor. Ice coffee lovers will enjoy two options: coffee slowly dripped overnight in Japanese cold brew towers and coffee on tap, the perfect "draft" American ice coffee featuring a powerful extraction of flavor and caffeine. Petite Shell is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The Polo Bar, the first restaurant in New York City from Ralph Lauren, opens today in the original location of La Côte Basque. Offering classic American cuisine inspired by Mr. Lauren's personal favorites, The Polo Bar offers a comfortably luxurious setting for food and drink in the heart of Manhattan. From the Henry Koehler polo match-inspired mural outside to the saddle leather and equestrian art inside, the restaurant pays homage to the distinguished sporting lifestyle long synonymous with Ralph Lauren. Cocktails and light bar fare are served in the first floor bar featuring a cozy back nook with a fireplace.
Downstairs, in the main dining room, aged leather banquettes create intimate dining alcoves for guests to enjoy menu items such as a crispy kale salad, Ralph's corned beef sandwich, steaks, or the signature Polo Bar burger.
Red Stixs, the famed Hamptons Beijing-style restaurant, has opened in Midtown East with executive chef Skinny Mei. After a successful summer with the opening of Red Stixs Southampton, seasoned restaurateurs Michael Reda and David Lee are expanding their upscale Chinese restaurant to Manhattan. Some of chef Mei's specialties include: soup dumplings, chicken satay, salt and pepper calamari, crispy duck, Beijing chicken, green prawns, and Peking duck. A chef's tasting menu is also available for reservations comprising six or more guests.
SG Blocks (SGBX), a premier innovator and designer of container-based structures, announced it is partnering with Bareburger on a new restaurant in Oyster Bay. The firm will be supplying its GreenSteel product, the structural core and shell of an SG Blocks building, for the two-story, 11-container restaurant. The restaurant will be located at 395 South Oyster Bay Road, Plainview, NY. "Bareburger's philosophy has always been to offer organic and all-natural food in a sustainable environment and we are excited that this location offers us the opportunity to further develop this vision," stated John Simeonidis Jr., CBO and co-founder of Bareburger. "By partnering with SG Blocks, we are pushing the definition of 'sustainable environment' to the next level, providing our guests in Plainview with a dining experience even more unique than what they have come to expect from us."
World-champion pizzaiolo Giulio Adriani has announced the opening of New York City's only pizza speakeasy, SRO, which stands for Single Room Occupancy, is situated in an inconspicuous 24-seat room illuminated by the glowing embers of a traditional wood-burning Neapolitan pizza oven. SRO also gives a nod to the Bowery of yore, when low-income housing lined the infamous row; bands like The Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie played at the now-defunct CBGBs; and neighborhood restaurants were discovered word-of-mouth. SRO will be offering a $38 three-course tasting menu, including a choice of appetizer, pizza, and dessert, as well as three beverage pairings (wine, bee,r and non-alcoholic drinks). With the exception of the classic Margherita and Adriani's famous fried Montanara, which will always be available, the pizzas will change daily and include three to four chalkboard specials. Some of the pies will include: Espoleta (chorizo, shishito peppers, Sun Gold tomatoes, fresh mozzarella); SRO (merguez, stracchino, caramelized onions); and Uptown (lardo, burrata, truffle, leeks.) To complement the tasting menu, additional pizzas will be available for $10 and appetizers for $5.
On Monday, January 12, Tres Carnes will bring its authentic "Texican" smoked meat-filled tacos, burritos, and bowls to Turtle Bay with the opening of their fourth Manhattan location. The 1200-square-foot spot will seat 20 and feature the signature Tres Carnes mural wall that showcases a hand-painted mural by NYC-based artist Ben Angotti. In celebration of the new opening, Tres Carnes will be offering a Tres Dollar Burrito special at ALL locations on Monday, January 12 ($3.00 Burritos, add guac/corn/squash for $2.00).
Washington, D.C.
José Andrés, the award-winning chef who introduced America to traditional Spanish tapas and championed the path of avant-garde cuisine in the U.S., will open China Chilcano, a contemporary Peruvian restaurant, in the heart of Penn Quarter.
Kate Kolenda is the Restaurant and City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @BeefWerky and @theconversant.