Restaurant Openings Report: Week Of October 19, 2014
New York
Gansevoort Market, the new 8,000-square-foot marketplace near the High Line, is open and teeming with a variety of food purveyors. There's sushi to-go by Sushi Dojo Express, fresh juices and acai bowls from West Village's feelfood, Spanish small plates and gourmet products from East Village's Donostia, espresso drinks from Greenpoint's Champion Coffee, and much more. The market is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
Schaumburg, Ill.
James Beard Award winner and Bravo Top Chef Masters Contestant chef David Burke has opened his newest farm-to-table venture, Grillhouse by David Burke, in Schaumburg, Ill., approximately an hour's drive from Chicago. The menu begins with "Shares," including meat and cheese boards, and Margherita and sausage flatbreads. As for "Starters," there are soups such as lobster bisque and farmer's onion soup, salads like beet or market salad, and other dishes like a parfait of tuna, an "Ocean Plate" with oysters, shrimp, and crab, and more. Entrées served include pastas like sausage rigatoni, seafood like grilled Yellowfin tuna, and Burke's Himalayan salt brick dry-aged steaks (for which he holds the U.S. patent).
Edison, N.J.
Just Falafel, one of the fastest growing Mediterranean street food concepts, is set to open their first East Coast restaurant next month in Edison, N.J. The "Just" in their name refers to the way in which they strive to share dishes that have been locally sourced and are non-GMO, where possible. The menu includes falafel treated in a variety of different ways that include the signature international gastronomic taste profiles of Greece, Egypt, Mexico, and more. They also offer salads, dips, and desserts.
San Francisco
This winter, up-and-coming chef Ryan Pollnow, partner of Ne Timeas Restaurant Group and former chef de cuisine of the team's central kitchen and flour + water restaurants, will open the Basque-inspired Aatxe. Named with the Basque word for "bull" (pronounced aah-CHAY), the restaurant will offer a menu that presents the bounty of Northern California through the lens of Spanish cuisine. Plates will range in size and encourage a communal style of dining, with noteworthy dishes like porcini mushrooms a la plancha, served with a smoked egg yolk and winter squash, and squid ink fideos with caramelized onions, blood sausage, and squid. Located in the historic Swedish American Hall and upstairs from the soon-to-reopen Cafe du Nord, Aatxe has partnered with The Bon Vivants to concoct a cocktail list that will provide guests with a well-rounded Spanish dining experience.
Los Angeles
Freds at Barneys New York restaurant is now open in the store's Beverly Hills outpost. The first of its kind in California, the newest restaurant follows in the footsteps of the renowned Freds in New York and Chicago, offering an Italian-inspired and contemporary American menu with a Californian take on traditional classics and signature dishes by executive chef Mark Strausman. "Just as we have done in New York and Chicago, we are working closely with local farms and vendors to source fresh and seasonal ingredients unique to the California region," says Strausman. Some menu highlights include the Farmers Market Flatbread with mushrooms, zucchini, leeks, spring onions, green garlic, and local goat cheese, and the Beverly Hills Club with shrimp, crab, avocado, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, served on 7-grain bread along with Belgian pomme frites.
Chef and restaurateur George Abou-Daoud will open a modern Lebanese restaurant, Bowery Bungalow, on October 28, the first of its kind in L.A. Located in Sunset Junction, the restaurant features a menu that is sectioned into three parts: "Vegetables and Cheeses" contains dishes such as roasted Jerusalem artichokes, regional Za'atar bruschetta, and grape leaves Dolmas; "Meat" is comprised of dishes such as smoked lamb belly, beef cheek Kawarma, and Mideast spice-rubbed baby back ribs; and "Fish" lists plates like smoked trout or pan-roasted sea bass.
Orlando, Fla.
Soco, a Southern contemporary restaurant created by the Thornton Park Restaurant Group, has opened in the Thornton Park District in Downtown Orlando. Helmed by award-winning executive chef and partner Greg Richie (formerly of Emeril's Tchoup Chop and Roy's Hawaiian Fusion in Orlando), the menu includes "Small Plates" such as crab-stuffed deviled duck eggs, "Main" and "Feature" dishes like Lake Meadow Naturals Korean-style fried chicken, and dessert offerings of bourbon banana pudding and house-made "Moon Pie."
Kate Kolenda is the Restaurant and City Guide Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @BeefWerky and @theconversant.