The Lady’s in the kitchen and Russians are serving goldfish. This year in dining is going to be a hoot!
ITALIAN IN A BROWNSTONE
Yes, Joanne Trattoria is owned by Lady Gaga’s father, Joe Germanotta — whose longtime dream has been to own a restaurant in his neighborhood — but chef Art Smith insists it will be a local haunt through and through. “The Upper West Side is known for its itty-bitty restaurants, and Joanne’s is just that, a tiny restaurant with a Southern soul and an Italian heart,” explains Smith, a former personal chef for Oprah and a Lady Gaga pal.
Housed in an UWS brownstone (70 W. 68th St.; 212-721-0068; opening Feb. 1) complete with two working fireplaces, an eat-in bar, a chef’s counter and a year-round garden, Smith’s Italian menu will feature Germanotta family recipes such as Grandma Ronnie’s meatballs, dishes like rosemary garlic chicken and his trademark Southern flourishes.
And since Smith whips up the best fried chicken we’ve possibly ever tasted, we’re excited to hear that he plans to serve the dish, as well as waffles and mac ’ n’ cheese on his “Southern Sundays” menu.
RUSSIAN REVIVAL
Craving vodka, kasha and pelmeni? Following on the heels of the Flatiron District’s Mari Vanna and Greenwich Village’s Onegin is newcomer Nasha Rasha — a 3-month-old Russian restaurant-bar at 4 W. 19th St. (212-929-4444). The crimson setting boasts a list of 900 vodkas and counting (“I want to create a museum of vodka,” says manager Slava, who like Madonna only uses one name), plus a classic menu of caviar, borscht and stroganoff peppered with newfangled dishes such as “Russian sushi” (lox, red caviar and crepes).
“The idea is to do a Soviet-era design,” says Slava, who notes the inspiration came from a “nostalgia for childhood . . . we are not communist.” Friendly, efficient servers sport Young Pioneer outfits, and there’s a live violinist, a neon-lit hammer and sickle and a mural of Soviet leaders (Gorbachev, Chernenko, et al.) gazing over the bar, which is laden with an array of 16 vodka infusions. (The canister with goldfish swimming in its upper chamber is infused with lox! The salmon also comes with a swimming goldfish.)
Meanwhile, members of the ruling class can wear their most extravagant furs to Jelsomino, billed as a Russian-style karaoke lounge (read: swank and pricey), opening next month at the Dream Hotel (204 W. 55th St.). You have to do bottle service to sing, but anyone can watch the show — or escape into the separate bar-lounge area. An upstairs Mediterranean restaurant, Kabachok, will follow.
If you prefer to dine — not croon — like Russian royalty, head to Cafe Pushkin, a New York spinoff of Moscow’s dignified dining destination. Occupying three levels in the old Shelly’s, it will offer fare updated to please New York palates, not to mention a spacious bar and pastry counter (41 W. 57th St.; opening February/March).
And that’s not all: Ellen Kaye, whose family once ran the Russian Tea Room, is seeking a Theater District venue in which to open Moscow 57. Kaye, who runs an eponymous catering
company, hopes it will “carry on the spirit of what [her] parents created” — with her own pizzazz, of course (moscow57.com).
MICHAEL WHITE DELIVERS (PIZZA!)
M ichael White has wowed New Yorkers with a string of successes — the glamorous Marea; the French-accented Ai Fiori; and buzzing Osteria Morini in NoLIta (which will expand in the spring to include an exhibition kitchen that will host cooking classes, private parties and more).
So, what’s he doing opening
Nicoletta in March (160 Second Ave.), an East Village pizza joint that will do delivery, no less?
“It’s very much like pasta,” says White, whose deft hand at transforming flour into carb-laden culinary masterpieces is well-established. “For me, it’s natural to do pizza.” Besides, he says, pizza is such an integral part of cucina Italiana, it was eventually going to wind up in his repertoire. “Sooner or later I was going to do it,” he says.
The menu at the 62-seat spot will also include salads, fried items and fior di panna (rich, soft-serve gelato), as well as wine and beer, including house-brand Morini pilsner and wheat suds made in partnership with Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery. Bonus: a takeout window on East 10th Street (no slices) and, shortly after opening, delivery.
White’s still perfecting his pizza dough, though he promises it won’t be like the Neapolitan pies popping up around town. A gas — not wood-fired — brick oven will properly blister larger pies. Toppings will include house-made sausage and other inventions based on White’s signature dishes. Does that mean there will there be a bone-marrow-and-octopus pie?
“That’s a good idea!” he laughs.
THE MIDTOWN MEET-UP
Edwin Bellanco is no stranger to the vagaries of Midtown dining. “It’s a big lunch area,” and, unlike other neighborhoods, “weekends are quiet,” admits the chef, formerly of Rockefeller Center’s Morrell Wine Bar & Café. But his New American restaurant, Vitae, opening Feb. 1 just off Fifth Avenue (4. E. 46th St.; 212-682-3562), has enough culinary mojo to transcend the business crowd. Yes, you’ll find a gourmet burger on the lunch menu, but also pastas made in-house, and even a bollito misto with veal cheek, tenderloin and brisket. Sure, you can sip on a California chardonnay, but beverage director Emily Iverson’s wine list will emphasize unknowns, too. There will be prix-fixe options at lunch (three courses for $35) and dinner (four courses for $55). And to toast the end of the workday, there’s a 10-seat bar up front with classic cocktails and a whopping 25 wines by the glass.
THE WHOLESALE DISTRICT IS HOT
Best buds and culinary dynamos Daniel Humm and Will Guidara of vaunted Eleven Madison Park will cater to the masses with the arrival of six — count ’em! — dining spaces in the forthcoming NoMad Hotel, opening mid-March (1170 Broadway).
It promises to transform the still seedy Wholesale District (Broadway between roughly 26th and 31st streets) into a bona fide culinary destination: The humming Ace Hotel — developed by the operators of NoMad — is just a block away. Completely gutted and retooled by French designer Jacques Garcia, the beaux-arts building will house 168 rooms and a series of convivial public areas — all collectively referred to as NoMad.
“Food will not be plated with tweezers,” says Guidara of the New American menu, which will feature a family-style dining option, and there will be items, says Guidara, “that force people to reach.”
Expect a main dining room with an open hearth for freshly baked bread, whole roasted chickens and such; a sunny atrium for breakfast pouring Intelligentsia coffee; a semiprivate room graced by a large fireplace; an expansive bar with a top-drawer cocktail program; and a library serving classic afternoon tea. A rooftop venue will eventually cap it all off.
YE OLDE HIPSTER HANGOUT
Classic NYC restaurants of yore such as Luchow’s and Delmonico’s have inspired modern-day hot spots such as Brooklyn’s Prime Meats, and now the trend for all things 19th century gets some Manhattan polish with the arrival of the Brewster (177 Mott St.), slated to open in the early fall.
Formerly the Brewster carriage factory, the building is being renovated to include a two-story restaurant and marketplace, with a built-in boldface clientele thanks to nine luxury condos housed above. “The menu will tell a story,” says chef Craig Hopson, formerly of Le Cirque, referring to the historical nature of the project, whose New American eats will feature French, German and Italian influences. “I’m not going to do a schnitzel,” he adds. “But if an old-time recipe used apple cider, maybe I’ll do a dish with that ingredient.” The street-level space will yield to a marketplace serving pastries, chocolates, coffee and the like, with a glass elevator leading down to a vaulted cellar. There, Hopson hopes to channel old New York with a saloon, oyster bar and “accessible” fine dining room.