Headliner
TabeTomo
People line up for ramen all the time. But in Los Angeles and Hawaii, they’ll evidently wait hours for tsukemen, a style of ramen invented in Tokyo that involves serving the noodles and broth in separate bowls so you can dip one into the other. It’s not new in New York; Masaharu Morimoto’s Momosan in Midtown Manhattan serves it. But it’s the showcase item at this compact new spot in the East Village, co-owned by Tomotsugu Kubo, who worked at the Tsujita restaurants, tsukemen hotspots in Los Angeles, and who was head chef at one of them. In New York, Mr. Kubo says he will take up to 60 hours to simmer his broth to deep perfection. The noodles are thicker than garden-variety ramen, the better to sop up the soup, and additions like eggs, pork belly, spinach and dried seaweed can dress up the meal. Regular ramen bowls are also served. Donburi rice bowls topped with sashimi or fried chicken, among other options, are also on the lineup, along with appetizers like crisp chicken skin, braised pork belly, edamame and pickles. The focus of the room is a large counter with seating on three sides.
131 Avenue A (St. Marks Place), 646-850-6414, tabetomonyc.com.
Opening
La Rossa
Stefano Callegari, a former Alitalia flight attendant, studied pizza during more than 100 stopovers in Naples, and wound up opening pizzerias in Rome, Florence and Milan. Now he is bringing his signature style to SoHo. Individual round pizzas come with toppings that are classic and inventive, like cacio e pepe, and mozzarella, Stilton and port. He will also sell square Roman-style sheet pizzas whole or by the slice, and supplì large, gooey rice balls. There is waiter service for the 32 seats and a few outdoors. (Opens Friday)
267 Lafayette Street (Prince Street), 917-262-0302 larossa.love.
Encore
Fresh from opening Swan in the design district of Miami, the French celebrity chef Jean Imbert, who also runs several places in Paris, is now in the kitchen at this spacious meatpacking district addition. Eric Cerato, a restaurateur who moved to New York from France with ambitious plans, is behind the venture. Mr. Cerato has opened Wanderlust in Midtown Manhattan and taken over La Mangeoire, which he plans to reopen soon. The new restaurant, with 175 seats spread over several dining areas, features Mr. Imbert’s inventive French-American dishes like sea urchin toast; cauliflower three ways; eggs with leeks and avocado; gnocchi with vegetables and radish leaves; his grandmother’s blanquette de veau; and pork ribs with honey and potatoes Anna. Showy desserts include a passion-fruit soufflé and a peanut butter tart. (Wednesday)
1 Little West 12th Street (Greenwich Street), 929-341-4890, encorenyc.com.
Teo
His popular Brooklyn Star closed this year; the next act for Joaquin (Quino) Baca is this izakaya-style spot. He’ll be at the stove, in an open kitchen with a counter on two sides, dishing up his take on some Japanese and not-so-Japanese items. Expect eggplant katsudon with charred cabbage chow chow, sweetbread teriyaki, duck leg ramen, and an okonomiyaki pancake with shaved Benton’s ham, mayonnaise and smoked tobiko roe. (Saturday)
321 Starr Street (Cypress Avenue), Bushwick, Brooklyn, 347-627-6156.
Franks Wine Bar
As promised, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, known as the Franks, who own the Frankies Spuntino restaurants in the West Village and Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, have closed Prime Meats, their less Italian, more protein-heavy spot adjacent to their Brooklyn place. Overnight they have turned the Prime Meats tavern room into this wine bar where the décor is accented with brass, with marble tabletops and leather upholstery. Biodynamic, natural and organic describe some of the selections on the wine director John Paterson’s list. The food menu features sausages, croquettes, crab salad, lamb ribs, charcuterie and cheeses meant for either snacking or piling into a full dinner. The Franks are still working on the expansion of Frankies Spuntino into the rest of the space.
465 Court Street (Luquer Street), Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, 718-254-0327, frankswinebar.com.
Ends Meat
John Ratliff, who has a busy salumeria in Industry City, Brooklyn, has started serving dinners in his no-frills space: Diners can leave it all up to Mr. Ratliff, or they can pick items from the butcher case as the basis for the meal. The dinners are usually multiple courses ($70 and up) and are served at a butcher-block counter. Mr. Ratliff said he has worked as a chef, notably at A Voce. “I like curating special dinners,” he said. “And this is a way to make the business more visible.” There are 22 seats and more than one seating each evening. Reservations are required.
Industry City Food Hall, 254 36th Street (Third Avenue), Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 718-801-8895, endsmeatnyc.com.
Ralph’s Coffee
A pop-up coffee shop is being installed in the Ralph Lauren women’s store, to be open at least through the winter. It amounts to a warm-up for a more permanent cafe that the company plans to open next year in the Flatiron district. In addition to the designer’s brand of organic coffee, the cafe, with seats for 30, will serve and sell pastries by Umber Ahmad’s elegant Mah Ze Dahr bakery in Greenwich Village. Some, like brioche doughnuts and a chocolate sandwich cookie, are exclusive to the cafe. There will also be a savory frittata and some Ralph Lauren items including brownies. The cafe will be open earlier and later than the store. (Thursday):
888 Madison Avenue (72nd Street), 212-434-8000, ralphlauren.com.
Sushi by Bou
David Bouhadana has cranked out another express sushi bar, this time in a hotel room. It seats four at a time for a one-hour, 17-bite omakase, $100. A 25-seat cocktail lounge and waiting area is on an adjacent enclosed terrace. (Wednesday)
10th floor, Hotel 3232, 32A East 32nd Street (Madison Avenue), no phone, sushibybou.com.
Seppe Pizza Bar
The brothers Joe and John Iovino offer pizza, in 12- and 18-inch squares, at their airy new brasserie-style restaurant in Stapleton, Staten Island, an area that’s becoming a dining hub. Italy also flavors the appetizers, salads and pastas.
3 Navy Pier Court (Front Street), Stapleton, Staten Island, 718-727-3773, seppepizzabar.com.
The Seneca
A tavern-style restaurant, this tiptoed in last summer, serving only breakfast, a burger and cocktails. It’s now serving a dinner menu that includes roasted brussels sprouts, fish and chips and steak.
582 Seneca Avenue (Menahan Street), Ridgewood, Queens, 347-559-0010, thesenecanyc.com.
R17 — The Rooftop at Pier 17
An elegant candlelit cocktail bar has been installed on the roof of Pier 17 on the East River in the Seaport District. It’s enclosed, and currently offers seating near a pair of fireplaces, but come summer, it will be open-air.
89 South Street (Beekman Street), 917-512-7540, r17nyc.com.
Benelux
The partners behind Little King, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, have set out to deliver the food of Belgium, as well as neighboring Netherlands and Luxembourg, in a diner setting. Colby Rasavong, who was at Husk in Charleston, S.C., is the chef. Mussels and fries, a ham-and-cheese sandwich that comes piled with fries, braised cabbage steak and a waterzooi stew of lentils and vegetables are on his menu, along with a collection of beers.
25 Bogart Street (Varet Street), Bushwick, Brooklyn, 718-366-3262, beneluxbk.com.
Fire & Water
For these two restaurants from Ravi DeRossi, whose specialty is vegan dining, it’s the water that comes first. Water is a Japanese restaurant serving an eight-course fishless omakase, $65. There is room for 20 diners at each of four seatings. Fire, which shares the divided space, will be a 36-seat Chinese dim-sum parlor opening in January.
111 East Seventh Street (First Avenue), 646-767-0476, fireandwaternyc.com.
Looking Ahead
Emma’s Torch at BPL
Emma’s Torch, a nonprofit restaurant in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, that trains refugees and asylum-seekers in food service, will take over the food concessions at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library in February. The new venture will allow the organization to expand its training program.
10 Grand Army Plaza (Eastern Parkway), Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Chef on the Move
Markus Glocker
The executive chef and partner at Bâtard in TriBeCa, Mr. Glocker has taken on the responsibility of running the kitchen at Keith McNally’s Augustine, near City Hall. He is creating a casual French-Austrian menu that goes into effect this week.
