Headliner
Red Paper Clip
There’s no sign, but you might spot the red neon paper clip hanging high in the window of this very particular new restaurant. The chefs and partners, Kevin Chen and Tashi Gyamtso, decided to incorporate the word “red,” often used in China, in the name, which also refers to the story, already an internet chronicle, of Kyle MacDonald, who parlayed a red paper clip into a two-story house after a series of trades. “It’s our philosophy, always moving forward, moving up,” Mr. Chen said. So far, the two men, who have no formal culinary training and met while working several years ago at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, have gone from the bottom of the professional kitchen ladder to working in New York establishments like Soho House; One if by Land, Two if by Sea; and the Dutch, as well as Alinea, in Chicago, and Apis, near Austin, Tex. Before opening Red Paper Clip, a bootstrap affair with no backers, they held pop-up dinners in various places, including an Upper West Side apartment. Mr. Chen, 29, a New Yorker whose parents are from Taiwan, and Mr. Gyamtso, also 29, a Tibetan who came to New York in 2008, are doing all the cooking in an open kitchen at the back of the unadorned 24-seat dining room. (There are eight seats at the bar.) John Parson, the manager, takes care of the beverages. Their food is contemporary, with elements like miso, black garlic, beef tendon and chiles. “The part of Tibet where I’m from is in the east, near Sichuan, so I favor strong flavors,” Mr. Gyamtso said. Mr. Chen said characteristic dishes include oysters with yuzu kosho mignonette, and beef carpaccio with Sichuan seasonings, puffed tendon and coriander. They’ll continue to serve those dishes when they switch from à la carte to a tasting menu format in about six weeks. They’re just waiting for a new sous-chef to arrive from Texas.
120 Christopher Street (Bedford Street), 646-596-7476, redpaperclipnyc.com.
Opening
Red Hook Tavern
What was supposed to be Billy Durney’s fried chicken restaurant, then Hometown Tavern, is now Red Hook Tavern. It’s not the only change that Mr. Durney, of Hometown Bar-B-Que, has made for his much-delayed project. There’s no fried chicken, though there is a pan-roasted half chicken on the menu. There are also New York tavern favorites, like a burger of dry-aged beef, chicken liver pâté, littleneck clams and a 45-day aged strip steak. The chef is Allison Plumer, and the setting is venerable tin-ceiling hangout.
329 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn, 917-966-6094, redhooktavern.com.
L’Accolade
This new minimalist bistro is devoted to natural wines. There are eight French partners involved, led by Clément Lapeyssonnie, some of whom also own La Parenthèse, a natural wine bistro in Marseille, France. The cooking is contemporary, mostly French, with snacks like gougères and duck rillettes, duck breast, Arctic char scattered with tiny tomatoes, and a frilly salad of lettuce, lentils and raw vegetables. The chefs are Ben Traver, who was at the Modern and Café Boulud, and Nate Kuester, from the Cecil and Aquavit.
302 Bleecker Street (Barrow Street), 917-409-1407, accolade-ny.com.
Arthouse Wine Bar
The Arthouse Hotel on the Upper West Side, home to RedFarm and Serafina restaurants, has added this wine bar with a deep list of Champagnes and sparklers, and red, white and rose wines from various regions, including a number of half-bottles. Wine-infused snow cones and a brief menu of bar snacks like cheeses, charcuterie, hummus and chicken lettuce wraps complete the picture.
Arthouse Hotel, 2178 Broadway (77th Street), 212-362-1100, arthousehotelnyc.com.
The Lookout at Pier 17
Another element of the food and drink lineup for Pier 17, the Howard Hughes Corporation development in the seaport district, is open. This waterfront lounge adjacent to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s the Fulton is seasonal, serving until the end of October. The signature cocktail is a blackberry cooler with gin, lemon, mint and blackberries, served individually as well as in a larger format for six people. In addition to cocktails, wines and other drinks, the bar serves assorted tacos and a lobster roll.
Pier 17, South Street at Fulton Street, 212-582-3030, pier17ny.com.
Looking Ahead
Kindred
The East Village wine bar Ruffian, with French-Mediterranean fare and a list that appeals to adventurous palates, has taken over the nearby space that was the Eddy. In early fall, it will become a restaurant with an emphasis on the Adriatic region, notably Croatia, Slovenia and Italy, and a menu that includes handmade pastas. The same partners — Moshe Schulman, Alexis Percival, Patrick Cournot and Josh Ochoa — will be in charge. The chef de cuisine, Amy Mattulina, comes from Maialino and Charlie Bird.
342 East Sixth Street (First Avenue).
Closed
Bistro Pierre Lapin
The chef Harold Moore’s charming French bistro in the West Village has closed. Mr. Moore said he and his partner, Julia Grossman, “made a financial decision,” and decided to stop pumping money into the restaurant. “Our customer base is relatively affluent, and they can afford to be somewhere else in the summer.” For the time being, he will concentrate on his other restaurant, Harold’s in Hudson Square, but added that he was open to other opportunities.
Henry at Life Hotel
This restaurant in NoMad has closed. Named for the publisher Henry Luce and in a building that was once Life Magazine’s headquarters, it featured a pan-African menu from the celebrity chef JJ Johnson. He was in the kitchen for less than a year, and has just opened his own place, FieldTrip, in Harlem.
