Opening
Blue Blossom
You’ll find typical blue and white porcelain on the tables, as tiles and in a mosaic on the walls, at the latest spot from the executive chef Wang Lin Qun and his wife, the dim sum chef Fang Fang. They own and run the esteemed CheLi in the East Village, where Shanghai and the Song dynasty are the focus. Now their inspiration is broader, touching down all over China. Modern takes on tradition include cheese Xiao Long Bao, and a mingling of fish maw, abalone, sea cucumber and beef tendon in a seafood bisque fragrant with saffron. It’s also one few Chinese restaurants in New York serving potatoes: shredded and sautéed as prepared in Beijing, and mashed with pork sauce. The dining room, seating 200, includes a mezzanine.
108 West 39th Street, 646-850-9999, blue-blossomny.com.
Le Basque
Having opened vegan kosher sushi, Italian and Middle-Eastern restaurants, the chef Guy Vaknin has now turned his attention to where Spain and France meet in the Basque region. The vegan menu lists “faux gras” made with smoked lentils, and wood ear mushrooms stand in for escargots. But exactly what represents the seafood in a paella, the beef in the Bourguignon or the dairy in the Basque cheesecake? Though all plant-based, sometimes it isn’t revealed. The setting is elegant. (Friday)
15 Union Square West (16th Street), lebasquenyc.com.
Armani/Ristorante
Soaring windows, silvery blue upholstery and marine marbled flooring striped with gold define the new dining room in the Madison Avenue flagship of the Giorgio Armani store, with a bar, lounge and mezzanine. Pasta filled with guinea fowl, pine nuts and truffles; lobster with grapefruit and savory sabayon; and risotto with morels and porcini are some new dishes that await on prix fixe lunch menus ($70 to $110) and à la carte at dinner; there are also tasting lineups at $120 and $180. Dishes like luncheon spaghetti with tomatoes, and a wild strawberry meringue dessert, are the 90-year old designer’s favorites. Start with an icy Antarctic martini with a drop of olive oil. (Monday)
760 Madison Avenue (65th Street), 212-207-1902, armani.com.
Aitana
Nibbles in the bar and lounge like duck and foie gras empanadas, or yucca fries dusted with aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, might be enough to keep you from trying what the dining room in the new fourth floor hotel restaurant has to offer. More substantial dining includes Ecuadorean potato soup with blue crab, and plantain-crusted red snapper. Though the cooking is billed as a mix of Latin and Mediterranean, the Latin side of the equation has more muscle.
Virgin Hotels, 1227 Broadway (29th Street), 646-869-0674, aitananyc.com.
