Headliner
Empellón Al Pastor
There is a taco turnaround in the Pod 39 Hotel. What was Salvation Taco is now under the management of Alex Stupak of Empellón, Taqueria and Al Pastor. (Mr. Stupak took over Salvation Taco last year after April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman, who ran the restaurant, left amid a sexual harassment scandal over Mr. Friedman’s treatment of employees.) Though Mr. Stupak has a casual Al Pastor taqueria in the East Village, he says this latest restaurant is not merely a spinoff. “It’s an evolution,” he said. “It’s bar food inspired by Mexico and also by fun lowbrow American food like corn dogs. There’s also waiter service here.” Mr. Stupak said that he had resisted offers to turn Al Pastor into a fast-casual place in airports and food halls, and that he felt this project suited him better. The sprawling space, designed by Glen Coben in conjunction with Mr. Stupak, has a long bar, high-top tables and a pub atmosphere, with dark green walls, vintage photos and tufted leather in one area, with another bar and a game room beyond. “It’s now less fiesta and more tavern,” Mr. Stupak said. The menu will feature tacos, as well as fried-chicken sandwiches, broiled oysters with hoja santa and bacon, Chihuahua cheese sticks, pork fried rice and crunchy corn masa ice cream bars. Breakfast will be served. (Opens Friday)
Pod 39 Hotel, 145 East 39th Street (Lexington Avenue), 212-865-5800, empellon.com.
Opening
Rodos
What are friends for? Yiannis Chatiris and Eleni Vareli have called upon their buddy, the marquee New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse, to lend a hand in their spacious Greek restaurant named for the island of Rhodes. (The name of their former restaurant in the same space, Mykonos Blue Grill, paid homage to a different island.) Mr. Lagasse, who does not have a New York restaurant, is helping to shape the menu and has his team in the kitchen. His take on Greek cuisine results in dishes like crisp duck wings, octopus beignets, New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp, clams stuffed with crawfish, and lacquered Long Island duck, all of which coexist with typical Greek dips like taramosalata, black linguine with seafood, a Greek salad, and grilled branzino.
39 West 24th Street, 212-989-8811, rodosnyc.com.
MAVSoho
Mulino a Vino on West 14th Street, which closed in June, has been resurrected by the owner Paolo Meregalli and the chef Massimiliano Eandi, with similarly unusual, colorful food and a wine-oriented menu. Lasagna made from tomato-infused pasta and folded to resemble a rose, black spaghetti with sea urchin and a black carbonara sauce, and a blue risotto tinted with flowers and paired with caviar are some of the menu offerings. There are also Milanese-style short ribs, and roasted salmon wrapped in lemon leaves and served with a limoncello sauce. The wine list is categorized according to texture and flavor. Decorated in Art Deco style, the restaurant has a lounge and bar, with a salumeria station, in front and a dining room with splashes of color and brass accents. (Wednesday)
Hotel Hugo, 525 Greenwich Street (Spring Street), 212-608-1211, mavsoho.com.
Philippe Downtown
The chef Philippe Chow has a following for the particular style of Chinese food at his Upper East Side flagship. Satays slathered in sauce are a signature, and he also specializes in Peking duck and Peking duck spring rolls. Now he’s serving them in a Chelsea version of his restaurant. There’s a D.J. booth in the rear, lending the space a nightlife atmosphere.
Dream Hotel, 355 West 16th Street, 212-644-8203, philippechow.com.
PortuGrill
Butterflied, charcoal-grilled Portuguese-style chicken seasoned with piri-piri chiles, is the specialty at this new storefront for takeout and delivery, with 12 seats for eating in. Skirt steak, Portuguese sausages, quinoa and grilled pineapple are also on the menu.
1215 Lexington Avenue (83rd Street), 917-261-4001, portugrillnyc.com.
Hudson & Charles Dinette
The hands-on West Village (and Upper West Side) butcher specializing in grass-fed meats has opened a restaurant adjacent to its Hudson Street location. White subway tiles, bare tables and a semi-open kitchen are the setting for a meaty menu of charcuterie, burgers, steaks, beef shank stroganoff, duck breast and Korean fried chicken.
522 Hudson Street (Charles Street), 929-600-5222, dinette.nyc.
Citroën
The menu of onion soup, duck and pork rillettes, coq au vin, steak frites and tarte Tatin is as bistro-worthy as the setting for this new spot.
931 Manhattan Avenue (Java Street), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 718-734-2220, citroengreenpoint.com.
Sauce Pizzeria
The original Sauce Restaurant, a family-style Italian restaurant, has temporarily closed after a fire. It has spun off this nearby pizzeria, where the chef and owner, Adam Elzer, is making a lighter dough incorporating mashed potatoes for his square pies. Some unusual toppings include the al pastor with roast pork and pineapple sauce in addition to mozzarella and tomato. Free slices will be offered on Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. (Friday)
84 Rivington Street (Orchard Street), 917-675-7240, saucerestaurant.com/saucepizzeria.
Mr Bing
Brian Goldberg specializes in jianbing, Chinese pancakes folded over various fillings, at a stand in the Urbanspace Vanderbilt food hall in Midtown Manhattan as well as at kiosks in Bryant Park and Times Square. He has opened a tiny storefront, mostly for takeout, in the building that houses his commissary kitchen. Dumplings and rice bowls topped with bing fillings, a new item, are also on the menu, as are more vegetarian and vegan jianbing selections.
152 West 28th Street (Seventh Avenue), 917-596-8638, mr-bing.com.
Godiva Café
This all-day cafe, with 14 seats, near the Long Island Rail Road tracks in Pennsylvania Station, is a new concept for North America (there are locations in Europe and Asia) from Godiva Chocolates, which is now owned by a Turkish food company. On the sweet side, it will sell a Croiffle, a mash-up of a croissant and waffle with a trademarked name. Greek yogurt parfaits, Belgian waffles, soft-serve ice cream and boxed chocolates will be sold.
Pennsylvania Station L.I.R.R. Lower Concourse, 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue, 800-946-3482, godiva.com/chocolate-cafe.
Chefs on the Move
Floyd Cardoz
Mr. Cardoz, who owns the Bombay Bread Bar in New York and runs Bombay Canteen in Mumbai, India, has become a partner in the 37-year-old New York catering company Neuman’s Kitchen. Starting in March, he will broaden the menu with more international flavors and Indian fusion dishes, and give the caterer some celebrity gloss.
Mariana Mitsou
A New Yorker raised in Greece, Ms. Mitsou is the new chef at Merakia Greek Mountain Thief Spithouse Steak, also known as Merakia, in the Flatiron district.
Looking Ahead
BLT Prime
Esquared Hospitality, which recently closed BLT Prime in the Flatiron district, will reopen it this spring with a different design and menu, in what was the Arlington Club, and briefly, the Lexington Club, on the Upper East Side.
1032 Lexington Avenue (73rd Street).
