Headliner
Hutong
In Northern China, particularly in Beijing, hutongs are old, narrow alleyways. They’re lined with small houses that have courtyards, some of which house restaurants. The branch of Hutong about to open in the Bloomberg L.P. headquarters is in a courtyard, to be sure, but it has turned the far-from-humble space that housed Le Cirque into a statement of jaw-dropping Art Deco grandeur, with a soaring blue and silver dining room and white marble details. “I consider New York to be the Art Deco capital, and I wanted to pay homage to it and also to Art Deco of Shanghai,” said David Yeo, the founder of the Hong Kong-based Aqua Restaurant Group, which owns this Hutong, as well as others in London and Asia. He said his mandate for Robert Angell, the designer, was “no red lanterns, no stereotypes.” This branch contrasts with the one in London, on 33rd floor of the Shard building, which has an Imperial Palace profusion of gilt, black and red. Mr. Yeo’s Hutong restaurants specialize in Northern Chinese food, so expect impressive platters heaped with crisp soft-shell crabs, chile-fueled beef tenderloin ma la style, the inevitable Peking duck and, specifically for New York, deep-fried prawns with pickled vegetables, broad beans with Sichuan sauce, and squid “flowers” with chile dressing. In the evening, dim sum are served in the warmly lit contemporary bar and the dining room. It will also be served for lunch, which starts in a week. (Opens Monday)
731 Lexington Avenue (entrance at 151 East 58th Street), 212-758-4800, hutong-nyc.com.
Opening
HK Food Court
This bright, bustling pan-Asian food court offers tastes of Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Tibet and various Chinese regions. Lots of noodles, especially in a diverse array of soups; dumplings; pork, lamb and beef dishes; bubble tea and traditional desserts are sold to eat at communal tables or to take away.
82-02 45th Avenue (82nd Street), Elmhurst, Queens, no phone, no web.
Speakvino Wine Bar
Wines from Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East share an intriguing list with selections, usually naturally and biodynamically made, from France, Italy and Spain. The food menu, all small plates, sails the Mediterranean.
1063 Bedford Avenue (Greene Avenue), Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 347-295-1015, speakvino.co.
Montesacro Pinseria Romana
Yes, there is another style of pizza to be had, this one from Rome via San Francisco and Portland, Ore., where Roman pinsas, or flatbreads, are served. There are more than a dozen on the menu. In this dramatic greenhouse-like space, the chef, Riccardo Buitoni, also looks to Rome for cacio e pepe, all’amatriciana and carbonara pastas, and porchetta.
432 Union Avenue (Metropolitan Avenue), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 347-916-1062, montesacrobk.com.
Muji
From Thursday through Sunday, the latest store from this Japanese chain will be serving free red, white and blue shaved ice from Bonsai Kakigori, the dessert shop that recently opened on the Lower East Side. Strawberries and cream, coconut-lime crunch and blueberry lavender are the flavors that will be dispensed. This new branch of Muji will have a full coffee bar, in collaboration with Variety Coffee Roasters of Brooklyn and featuring pastries from Ceci Cela.
127 East 59th Street, 646-905-5770, muji.com/us.
The Central Park Boathouse
On Tuesdays from July 9 through Sept. 10, the restaurant in the Loeb Boathouse at Central Park Lake will serve a summer cookout menu on its dock and in the dining room. It will include grilled skewers, a lobster boil, steaks and fish, from $7 to $54. The dock opens at 4 p.m., the dining room at 5:30.
Park Drive North (East 72nd Street), 212-517-2233, thecentralparkboathouse.com.
Chefs on the Move
Emmanuel Niess
Mr. Niess, a native of Belgium, is now the executive chef at Majorelle on the Upper East Side. He has worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants, and had his own place in Belgium.
Mark Iacono, Jess Shadbolt and Clare de Boer
Mr. Iacono, an owner of Lucali in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, is the consultant for Rossi Pizzeria, which will open in the new Delta Concourse at La Guardia Airport in October. Also at Delta, Ms. Shadbolt and Ms. De Boer, of King restaurant in SoHo, will be consulting on Flatiron Tavern & Provisions. Both restaurants are from the airport hospitality company OTG.
