Headliner
Smorgasburg WTC
A three-day trial run in November clinched this new Smorgasburg location in the shadow of the Oculus, in Lower Manhattan. More than 20 vendors are participating; most also have stands at the Smorgasburgs at East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Saturdays, and in Prospect Park on Sundays. In the financial district, participants will include Tojo’s Kitchen (above) with smoked Wagyu beef; Bona Bona Ice Cream with homemade marshmallow toppings toasted to order; and skewer specialists including D’Abruzzo and Yakitori Tatsu. Thai Bird, Bolivian Llama Party, Mao’s Bao, Ring Ding Bar, Parish Po’Boys and Afghan fare at Nansense will also be at the new location. (Opens Friday)
Fridays through October, Oculus Plaza, Fulton Street between Church and Greenwich Streets, smorgasburg.com.
Opening
Jiang Diner
Hearty fare from the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang is the specialty of this simple brick-walled spot in the East Village. Lamb, beef and noodle dishes dominate the menu. Though rice is the basis for some of the noodles, most of them, as well as dumplings and pancakes, are made with wheat flour. Cumin is used freely, and potatoes are in a number of dishes.
309 East Fifth Street (Second Avenue), 646-484-5333, jiangdiner.com.
Cafe Phin at An Choi
By day, the bar at this highly regarded Vietnamese restaurant will become a Vietnamese coffee bar. It will serve various coffee drinks made with products from Nguyen Coffee Supply, an importer and roaster. In addition to drip and pour-over styles, and the usual Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed milk, there will be sea salt shakeratos, made with strong coffee shaken over ice, and coconut iced coffee. Rare Vietnamese elephant and weasel coffees, gathered from the dung of the animals that ate the beans, will also be brewed. (Wednesday)
85 Orchard Street (Broome Street), 212-226-3700, nguyencoffeesupply.com.
Osteria at Avena Downtown
Roberto Deiaco, who with his wife, Giselle Deiaco, installed Avena Ristorante and Bar in the former Da Silvano space this year, has now added a more informal sibling next door, in what was Da Silvano Cantinetta. Specialties like braised veal cheeks with gremolata, roast duck with blood orange essence, and paccheri pasta with veal guanciale and aged pecorino are all prepared and served in copper casseroles. (Wednesday)
260 Avenue of the Americas (Bleecker Street), 212-505-9252, avenadowntown.com.
HaSalon
In Tel Aviv, the celebrity chef Eyal Shani, who has already opened two of his Miznon restaurants in New York, has a high-end restaurant with special menus prepared by the chef for a limited number of guests. The experience has been described as similar to dining in the chef’s home. He is about to replicate it in New York. The restaurant will be open only three nights a week, Thursday through Saturday, with two seatings at the chef’s counter. It will also depend on farms upstate for many ingredients. (Friday)
735 10th Avenue (50th Street), hasalonnyc.com.
Ortomare Ristorante Pizzeria
A homey new Italian addition to the Upper West Side has a wood-burning oven for pizza, and a menu of dishes to please red-sauce and traditional Italian tastes. A two-course lunch special is $14, three courses for $18.
994 Columbus Avenue (109th Street), 212-665-2970, ortomare.com.
I Love Panzerotti
The Hot Pockets of Apulia in southern Italy are panzerotti fried turnovers. Here they are given a new expression: In addition to the usual filling of mozzarella and tomato, there are more than a dozen other choices, including one made with mushrooms, ham, truffle oil and mozzarella. (Wednesday)
200 Varick Street (Carmine Street), ilovepanzerotti.com.
Marie Blachère
The immense French chain, which opened a sprawling bakery and cafe in Great Neck, N.Y., in February, now has a more compact space in Greenwich Village. There are more salads and some smaller baguette sandwiches on the menu at this location. (Thursday)
301-303 Avenue of the Americas (Bleecker Street), 917-261-4344, marie-blachere.com.
Hungryroot
This web delivery service that features plant-based, additive-free ingredients, prepared for cooking and packaged, opens its first brick-and-mortar store, a pop-up through June 28.
909 Broadway (20th Street), hungryroot.com.
