Headliner
Les Trois Chevaux
Angie Mar is entering a new stage of her career with the opening of this elegant tribute to fine dining. “This is my restaurant, not something I inherited, and I was looking for fresh ideas,” she said. Previously, she was the chef and owner at the Beatrice Inn next door, which she acquired from Graydon Carter. (That restaurant closed this year, and Ms. Mar subsequently decided to open this new place instead of recreating the Beatrice.) Now, defying current restaurant norms — bare tables, no dress code, a burger on the menu — this venture features white napery beneath a chandelier that came from the Waldorf Astoria, a French menu that tilts classic and the requirement that men wear jackets (with a supply of vintage YSL on hand). Though Ms. Mar is known for her artistry with slabs of meat, she isn’t offering steak, preferring seafood and birds. “It’s a vast departure, but what I want right now,” she said. The prix-fixe menu ($185) will change frequently but digs deep into French tradition with frog legs and artichokes in beurre blanc, a mousse of veal brains with truffles, sweetbreads wrapped in cabbage, Dover sole with sorrel mousseline, pithiviers (a pastry dome) of crab, and roast pheasant for two. There will be a croquembouche for dessert. Her inspiration comes from chefs like André Soltner and Jacques Pépin; a painting by Mr. Pépin hangs near the bar. Except for a Hungarian Tokay, the wine list is all French and American, and the salonlike room seats 37, plus nine at the bar. Banquettes in inky blue, which Ms. Mar said was the color of her father’s favorite sweatshirt, contrast the creamy ivory of the walls, and touches of that shade show up in the staff’s Christian Siriano-designed outfits. The restaurant’s name, which translates to the three horses, is a nod to what her family called her and her two brothers. (Opens Thursday)
283 West 12th Street (West Fourth Street), 917-261-6085, lestroischevauxnyc.com.
Opening
Local Roots Market and Cafe
Ten years ago, Wen-Jay Ying introduced a combination C.S.A. and produce subscription box supplied by farms within five hours’ driving distance from New York City. It grew to serve neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan with delivery and pickup, and it supports 15 farms. Now, in a mere 1,000 square feet, she has fit a cafe, a test kitchen, event space and a store where locally grown and made food products are sold. There’s a backyard with a big table. The cafe serves some Chinese dishes that Ms. Ying has loved since childhood, like tea eggs, zha jiang mian with ground pork and mushrooms, vegetarian mapo tofu, and a fan tuan rice ball filled with pickled vegetables. Baked goods and sets of ingredients for preparing dishes at home, including scallion pancake dough, are also sold. (Friday)
398 Court Street (Carroll Street), Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, localrootsnyc.com.
Shukette
This ode to the food of the Levant is a sibling to Shuka, the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurant in SoHo, which is also owned by the Bowery Group. As at Shuka, the chef and partner is Ayesha Nurdjaja, a Brooklynite whose heritage is Italian and Indonesian. She worked at Felidia, Picholine and at A Voce with Missy Robbins. At Shukette, she serves small and large plates, and there’s a menu section dedicated to unusual homemade breads. Offerings often come straight off a charcoal grill in an open kitchen that stretches the length of this restaurant. Thanks to Ms. Nurdjaja’s bar director Tim Harris, the food can be paired with sparkling, visually arresting gazozes. (Friday)
230 Ninth Avenue (24th Street), 212-242-1803, shukettenyc.com.
Mocha Red
This kosher steakhouse was inspired by the vibrant mural-splashed Wynwood district of Miami and beachfront Tulum, Mexico, an unusual pairing, and especially so if you add kosher steaks. Not only that, Naftali Abenaim, one of the restaurant’s owners, says the cooking is a fusion of Mediterranean and Asian fare. The executive chef, David Kolotkin, formerly of Prime Grill in Midtown, serves wings and a burger, along with crowd-pleasers like guacamole and tuna tartare, and many dishes to be prepared tableside or on a Japanese robata grill. The restaurant’s casual front room is furnished with rattan; the back dining room is plush, done in velvet. Customers can rent lockers for keeping special bottles of spirits. The locker also comes with a personalized steak knife.
127 Fourth Avenue (13th Street), 212-419-8889, mochared.com.
