Headliner
The Cohen Community Food Rescue Center
For nearly 40 years, City Harvest has collected food that would otherwise go to waste from restaurants, supermarkets, caterers, farms and others to supply soup kitchens, food pantries and the like. Now, it has moved into a 150,000-square-foot headquarters in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The organization had offices and food distribution centers in Manhattan and Queens, but the move has enabled it to consolidate all its operations in one location, which City Harvest says is the largest food rescue and distribution hub in the nation. “We have rescued and delivered over one billion pounds of food in our nearly 40-year history,” said Jilly Stephens, the organization’s chief executive. “More than 250 million of those pounds have been just since the start of the pandemic.” The chef Eric Ripert, who is vice chairman of the City Harvest board, added, “With this gigantic building, we could increase what we handle.” (Full disclosure: I wrote “City Harvest: 100 Recipes from Great New York Restaurants,” published in 2015 as a fund-raiser for the group.) The new building, designed by Ennead Architects, the Rockwell Group and Ware Malcomb, has refrigerated and ambient areas for food collection, loading docks, and by summer will also have an event space with a roof terrace that can be rented. Classes in nutrition will be open to the public, and there will be a street-level storefront.
52nd Street and Second Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, cityharvest.org.
Opening
Kumi
Sam Nazarian’s Disruptive Restaurant Group, which has a major presence in the Manhattan West development at 33rd Street and 10th Avenue, is bringing one of its Las Vegas restaurants — Kumi, in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino — to New York. It serves Japanese food shaped by other influences, notably Korean. Anastacia Song, formerly of American Cut in New York, will be executive chef; her experience will play well with a menu that includes strip and rib-eye steaks. The pandemic has prompted restaurant industry talk of shorter menus, but that’s not the case here: a long list of sushi, sashimi, tempura and specialty rolls, including one called “hot mess,” made with poke-style tuna. There are appetizers like gyoza and a tuna taco, and salads, including a watercress Caesar. The steaks share the menu with Korean-style galbi short ribs, salmon glazed with gochujang, and green tea-smoked chicken. The spacious restaurant, seating 130, is luxuriously appointed with mirrors and splashes of color. It’s in the hotel that was previously the Viceroy and is now Le Méridien New York. (Opens Thursday)
120 West 57th Street, 212-671-0439, kumirestaurant.com.
Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill — Financial District
The evolution of Bruce and Eric Bromberg’s Blue Ribbon line of restaurants continues with the opening of their new space in the financial district. The Blue Ribbon name is now on eight New York restaurants, starting with the original SoHo locations, which were brasserie-style, in 1992, and Blue Ribbon Sushi, serving Japanese food, in 1995. The new downtown restaurant recalls the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill in Columbus Circle, which, introduced in 2007, paired sushi with American fare like steaks and lobster. Sushi, sashimi, maki and other Japanese specialties like tempura, teppan (grilled) vegetables and seafood dominate the menu. A 14-piece omakase is $125. Steaks, including Wagyu, salmon, lobster and chicken teriyaki, are also served in a dining room with brickwork, Japanese touches and 92 seats. There are also Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill restaurants in Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (Monday)
84 William Street (Maiden Lane), 212-315-4900, blueribbonsushibarandgrilldowntown.com.
Sin Kee
Richard Chan is bringing the hawker food of his homeland, Singapore, to the bustling Queens Crossing Food Hall in Flushing. Hainanese chicken, Teochew braised duck, dumplings with Malaysian curry chicken, and an oyster omelet are served, as are some street foods from Southeast Asia, like satays, radish cakes and a Taiwanese pork belly sandwich. Lunch and dinner are served, with breakfast to follow, in a setting that winks at Singapore with signs like “no chewing gum.”
Queens Crossing Food Hall, 136-20 38th Avenue (Main Street), Flushing, Queens, 718-878-3108, sinkeenyc.com.
