Clara
The New-York Historical Society, founded in 1804, has gradually upped the ante when it comes to dining. Its Storico, run by Stephen Starr’s organization, closed in July. Next up is the Oberon Group from Brooklyn, where it runs Rucola, Rhodora, June Bar and more, with a focus on sustainability. Diego Moya, the group’s culinary director and a chef who rose to prominence during his pre-Covid stint at Racines, in TriBeCa, is the executive chef here, with Joseph Gaglio as his chef de cuisine. The restaurant takes its name from Clara Driscoll, who was in charge of the women’s glass-cutting department at Tiffany Studios from 1892 to 1909. She designed many Tiffany lamps, some of which are in the museum’s outstanding collection. A few Tiffany pieces and other items from that era fill the shelves that decorate the airy, off-white dining room but, like shards of truffle over pasta, not enough to make a statement. Mr. Moya’s menu has its eye on New York history with a lobster Newburg and a charlotte russe. Other dishes, like winter chicories with green goddess dressing, fluke crudo, carrot tartare, duck breast au poivre, steelhead trout and bay leaf mousse with burnt cranberries, depend on local and regional purveyors. The adjacent Café 77 for salads, sandwiches and other quick-serve items, run by Purslane, Oberon’s catering division, will open in two weeks. (Opens Wednesday)
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, 212-485-9211, nyhistory.org/dine.
Opening
Kawabun
New York’s Delmonico’s, going on 200 years, is a newcomer compared with Kawabun, in Nagoya, Japan, a Methuselah in business since the 17th century Edo period. It now serves Italian food. A branch, the first outside Japan, has arrived in New York with soba, not tagliatelle. Done in traditional Japanese style with a modern feel on the two floors that had been Kajitsu, it serves sushi, tempura, donburi, soba and more interpretive hot and cold specialties like salmon in miso, Wagyu stew, shrimp sando and a cold vegetable platter. It is owned by Plan Do See, a global hospitality company based in Japan that also owns Azabu in New York; the chef is Yoshitaka Ito.
125 East 39th Street, 646-370-3364, kawabunnyc.com.
Altair
With a concept that might suit the American Museum of Natural History better than the garment district, Renwick Hospitality’s new restaurant attempts to channel air, fire, earth and water, all with a seasonal approach. Vegetables like Tokyo turnips with black garlic tahini and a mushroom ragù with mafaldine and ricotta represent earth. Bucatini with lobster and fire-roasted tomatoes provide sea and fire, and air, also showcased by the modern, sky-lit setting, is worked into some of the drinks. The executive chef is David Taylor, working with Renwick Hospitality’s chef and partner, Carsten Johannsen, and the managing partner Gary Wallach. (Wednesday)
Arlo Midtown, 351 West 38th Street, 212-343-7000, altairnyc.com.
87 Ludlow
Aris Tuazon, the chef and an owner of this new Lower East Side spot, interprets tapas through the Filipino lens of his heritage. Oyster sisig uses the mollusk to refashion a Filipino pork dish, chorizo gambas al ajillo includes longganisa, pork belly humba is braised with star anise, and there’s a black seafood paella. The two dining rooms are simply framed by whitewashed brick walls.
87 Ludlow Street (Delancey Street), 212-510-7605.
