Weekly Opening Report: The Week Of December 9, 2013
Louisiana
Opening in Monroe's Garden District in an old house with a courtyard that houses private-dining cabanas, Nonna will incorporate old Italian cooking traditions and serve a changing menu of simple Italian dishes, substituting in local Louisiana ingredients. Such menu items include lasagna Bolognese with mushrooms, ricotta, and collard greens and olive oil cake with grapes, limoncello cream, and house-made vanilla gelato. The restaurant opens in January 2014.
Connecticut
Featuring creative twists on classic dishes, Primary Food & Drink is opening in Greenwich. The menu offers "deconstructed" Caesar served with brioche "Twinkie," short rib stroganoff with truffle coulis, and pork chop with root beer barbecue sauce, to name a few items. The restaurant will have a vintage feel with a parlor, a marble-topped bar and mosaic checkered floor in shades of white and navy, banquette-style seating in tanned leather, and oak tables.
Thelma on Clinton opens Dec. 17 in the Lower East Side in an 800-square-foot space that holds 50 seats, according to a press release. Appetizers range from $6 to $15 with options such as house-cured pickles and whole roasted head of garlic and entrées range from $15 to $20 with options such as braised monkfish and tea-smoked chicken breast.
Husband-and-wife owners Colby and Sarah Zito are opening North River in the East Village on Dec. 15, according to a press release. Featuring a Victorian design, the restaurant will serve classic American comfort food such as roast and fried chicken, deviled eggs, and shrimp and grits, as well as twists on classic cocktails.
After closing its Union Square location, Dogmatic Dogs, a fun and healthy hot dog and burger concept, just opened in the West Village, according to a press release, with food made from grass-fed, pasture-raised meats, free of hormones and antibiotics. Burgers options include the Kebbie Burger, the Bacon Cheeseburger, the Veggie Burger, and the Turkey Guacamole Burger. Hot dog options include the Italian Sausage and the original hot dog.
London restaurant chain Burger & Lobster, which offers just three entrées — a 10-ounce burger, a lobster, and a lobster roll, each for $20 — is opening its first New York City location in Flatiron. The new location, open seven days a week, will be two stories and will hold up to 260 people.
Umami Burger and Parm are opening in lower Manhattan's Brookfield Place, and both will also open in the same North Fourth Street property in Williamsburg.
The Park 112, Harlem's "stylish, lively new restaurant and vibrant, sophisticated bar" that is located next to Central Park, recently opened, according to a press release, and features "tufted leather banquettes, an illuminated 20-seat communal table at the center of the room crafted of exceptional Concetto white quartz, light bulb chandeliers, walnut bar and polished concrete floors." The restaurant's menu offers West Indies-inspired cuisine with a global focus, such as carrot coconut soup, jerk chicken rolls, crispy prawns, and spiced crusted rack of lamb to name a few dishes. Also featured is wine and sake on tap as well as a self-service Enomatic Elite 8 Dual temperature wine machine, which offers 16 bottles of red, white and rose, and can be purchased at a one-ounce "taste," a three-ounce "glass," or a six-ounce "carafe."
Market at W Boston, which opened in 2009, is scheduled to close Dec. 21. Seafood staple Turner Fisheries, which has been open since 1983, will also close at that time.
Dallas
"Celebrat[ing] the city's rich, culinary history and pay[ing] homage to Texan cuisine," Barter is opening in uptown Dallas with a menu that honors the city's culinary traditions and flavors with a contemporary take, according to a press release. Guests can order smaller plates, including wild boar ribs with house-made barbecue sauce and pickles and soft-shell crab fajita with green curry, fermented Fresno pepper hot sauce, and Fresno chiles. Main dishes include grilled striped bass tostada with fish sauce vinaigrette, cilantro, and Serrano chiles, and American lamb, dressed with Scotch Bonnet vinaigrette and Brussels sprout salad. The restaurant also offers an extensive wine and cocktail program.