Headliner
CheLi
The traditions of the Shanghai table, notably the Hu-style cooking that is said to have originated centuries ago, are in the spotlight here. The menu demonstrates the breadth of Shanghai’s cuisine, beyond just the popular xiao long bao (soup dumplings, which are on the menu). Choices include wine-soaked blue crab, stir-fried chicken gizzards, crispy eel in sweet-and-sour sauce, spicy frog’s legs with hot sweet-and-sour sauce, steamed yellow croaker with pork meat pie, and sea urchin egg tofu stew. The chef Qiling Wang is in the kitchen, and his wife, Fang Fang, is the pastry chef. Some of her specialties are red dates with peach resin stew, and sticky rice cakes with peanut brown sugar. Mr. Wang said his ingredients are local whenever possible, and imported Shaoxing rice wine is used for cooking and drinking. The restaurant’s design is meant to evoke an old village with all its nooks and crannies, and there’s Chinese opera on the playlist. CheLi is part of DaShan Restaurant Group, which includes Szechuan Mountain House and other restaurants in New York and Los Angeles.
19 Saint Marks Place (Third Avenue), 646-858-0818, che-li.com.
Opening
La Grande Boucherie
Belle Époque Paris is evoked in the details at this lavish new Midtown Manhattan edition of Boucherie, the brasserie-steak house established in the West Village and Union Square. It now gives the part of Midtown West it’s in several choices for classic Gallic fare, with Quality Bistro and Benoit nearby. This location has the advantage of an airy covered passageway with a heated floor and seating for 174, even with restrictions. Indoors, it can accommodate up to 100 now, and 400 some post-pandemic day. The chef, Bill Brasile, comes from Minetta Tavern. Along with steaks in various cuts, he is executing favorites like steak tartare, leeks vinaigrette, salade lyonnaise, daube de boeuf and, for the cold season, choucroute garnie.
145 West 53rd Street, 212-510-7714, boucherie.nyc.
Thaimee LOVE
This pop-up from the chef Hong Thaimee, formerly the chef and owner of Ngam in the East Village, will be in residence for six months to showcase her home-style Thai cooking. Using Thai ingredients grown for her at Heermance Farm in the Hudson Valley, she is featuring specially themed dishes each month, with her family recipes in November, and temple and holiday fare in December. She has also introduced her own line of Thai seasonings and sauces labeled Thaimee LOVE, and is conducting virtual cooking classes.
615 Hudson Street (Jane Street), 646-799-9797, thaimeelove.com.
Beer Witch
Visions of “Macbeth” crowd the imagination when reading about the history of women and beer-making in Medieval times on this craft beer shop and tasting room’s website. Witches in tall black hats, also called alewives, brewsters and brewesses, tended caldrons they stirred with twisted twigs and kept cats to ward off rats. Christa Sobier, a certified cicerone and Park Slope’s professed beer witch, sells (and serves as permitted) local and imported beers, ciders, snacks and cheese.
460 Bergen Street (Flatbush Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn, beerwitchbrooklyn.com.
MR All-Day
A food truck from the Musket Room, operating Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays, dispenses pastries, breads, bao buns, sandwiches, doughnuts and meal kits from the restaurant’s new pastry chef, Camari Mick. The truck, a repurposed 1962 International Harvester, comes from Greenlawn Farm in Rhinebeck, N.Y., also the source of some of the ingredients.
265 Elizabeth Street (Houston Street), 212-219-0764, musketroom.com.
Mao Mao
With décor inspired by Thai cinema, this new place presents screenings of Thai films and has Thai movie posters on the walls. The chef Arada Moonroj, an owner of Lamoon in Elmhurst, Queens, also owns this restaurant with her husband, Jugkrwut Borin. They offer dishes like spiced roasted peanuts, fried chicken wings with sour larb chile powder, and a Northern Thai nose-to-tail beef soup that includes liver, tripe and bile, all dishes that pair well with alcohol. (Mao means drunk.)
1000 Broadway (Willoughby Avenue), Bushwick, Brooklyn, 929-600-5965, maomaobrooklyn.com.
Isabelle’s Osteria
James Tracey, a chef who worked for years in restaurant management, has gone back to his roots as the chef at this new Italian restaurant where he’s also a partner. There is well-spaced indoor seating to enjoy fried calamari, pumpkin pappardelle, mushroom lasagna, pork chop Milanese and braised lamb neck with polenta.
245 Park Avenue South (20th Street), 212-388-1145, isabellesnyc.com.
Temakase
Hand rolls made to order at two indoor sushi bars, each seating 10 at proper social distance, are what you’ll find here. They can be served omakase-style on set menus ($18 to $24), or à la carte. Takeout and delivery are available with set boxes or à la carte offerings.
157 Second Avenue (East 10th Street), 212-381-1456, temakaseny.com.
Sami & Susu
This Mediterranean spot that opened a pop-up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, last summer has moved on. The partners Jordan Anderson and Amir Nathan have now taken up residence at Ten Bells, a Lower East Side wine bar.
247 Broome Street (Ludlow Street), samiandsusu.com.
Joe’s Steam Rice Roll
A branch of the popular Cantonese-style rice noodle roll restaurant has landed on the Upper West Side, mostly for takeaway.
422 Amsterdam Avenue (80th Street), 917-388-3781.
Gray Hawk Grill
After a decades-long career in restaurant management, Steve Millan has opened his own neighborhood spot with American fare that looks to Italy, with chicken Milanese and bucatini cacio e pepe. For now, there are 20 seats indoors.
1556 Second Avenue (81st Street), 646-669-7376, grayhawkgrill.com.
Vault
A cozy yet elegant bar and lounge is a new addition to the lower level of Chelsea Market.
410 West 16th Street, vaultmanhattan.com.
Borsalia
A wheel that is rotated to dispense coffee beans is just one of the attractions at this new Italian coffee house. Hot chocolate is made by melting it from a large block to order, and the pastries are by a roster of award-winning chefs from Italy. There’s also an app for ordering in advance for pickup.
79 Grand Street (Wythe Avenue), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-388-1999, borsalia.com.
General Store by Amor y Amargo
The restaurateur Ravi DeRossi has opened General Store, a shop that sells bitters and cocktail gear in partnership with Sother Teague, a bitters expert and Mr. DeRossi’s partner at Amor y Amargo. Inside the shop is a door leading to Reserve, a bitters-centric tasting room with seatings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. for tasting menus of cocktails and light food, $100 per person.
95 Avenue A (East Sixth Street), 212-833-4528, amoryamargo.com.
The Wine Shoppe at Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels
Covid-19 rules prevent the NoLIta branch of Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, an international wine bar, from using its bar as a bar. So it now sells wines by the bottle at retail and serves tea with snacks.
249 Centre Street (Broome Street), 212-343-3660, compagnienyc.com.
Lil’ Sweet Chick
The Sweet Chick restaurants in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens have now become fast-service spots with the same Southern-style comfort food.
Rockefeller Center
City Winery now has two winter pop-ups in Rockefeller Center: a rinkside cafe and a wine bar on the plaza level, both open through Jan. 17. And the chef Missy Robbins is selling her line of packaged products, including pastas, jarred vegetables, pasta kits and gelato, at a new pop-up, MP Rock Center.
55 West 49th Street, citywinery.com, mpnewyork.nyc.
Sable’s Smoked Fish
Not that the Upper East Side went loxless, but after nearly five months, this favorite has reopened in a new location.
1330 Third Avenue (76th Street), 212-249-6177, sablesnyc.com.
Demarchelier Bistro
Having closed on the Upper East Side after 40 years, this cozy French spot has moved to two locations on the East End of Long Island. It has a new restaurant and also runs the dining room at a boutique hotel, both in Greenport.
471 Main Street (Park Street), 631-593-1650, and Menhaden Hotel, 207 Front Street (Third Street), 631-333-2778, Greenport, N.Y., demarchelierrestaurant.com.
Looking Ahead
Delicious Hospitality Group
It took about three years of planning for the restaurant group that owns Charlie Bird, Legacy Records and Pasquale Jones to make a collaboration with JetBlue Airlines a reality. Ryan Hardy, a partner and the group’s executive chef, said the group would be consulting with the airline on more than food and drinks for its Mint class of service. The aim is to make dining more of a restaurant experience with a real wine list, and better dinnerware and glasses. The new approach has just rolled out on some cross-country flights.
The Great American Foodathon
A major charity event involving more than a dozen chefs doing brief cooking demonstrations, giving tips along with entertainment, will be broadcast Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Fox channels and available for streaming. The chefs include Bobby Flay, Anne Burrell, Curtis Stone, Rocco DiSpirito, Marcus Samuelsson and Alex Guarnaschelli. The program benefits City Harvest and No Kid Hungry. Donations can be made at americanfoodathon.org.
