Headliner
Ci Siamo
This major restaurant from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group is set to open in Manhattan West, the multiblock Brookfield Properties development opposite Hudson Yards, in September. It will be the group’s first new restaurant in New York City since Manhatta in 2018. The executive chef will be Hillary Sterling, 42, the executive chef at Vic’s in NoHo for the past seven years where she became known for her take on Italian food. She was at A Voce Madison before that. Mr. Meyer named the new restaurant after an expression that can mean “Here we are!” or “We’ve arrived!” in Italian, and, following suit, the menu will also be Italian with touches of France. Ms. Sterling said she would strive for simplicity, something that has increasingly informed her cooking. Pastas, like pappardelle with rabbit, will be essential, she said, but there will be no pizzas. Her wood-fired grill, a kitchen centerpiece, will sear vegetables, seafood and meats, like a crispy chicken with potatoes. The restaurant, on the second floor of a building at the center of the development, will seat 120, including outdoor tables on a terrace. A bar and lounge, where Ms. Sterling plans to serve aperitivo snacks, will have another 40 seats. Event space will take up part of the third floor.
435 West 31st Street.
Opening
Fulgurances, Laundromat
Like the French Laundry, which was once a working laundry, this new restaurant, a transplant from Paris, occupies what was a laundromat. The word “fulgurances” means flashy or dazzling moments. It’s the umbrella name of a French culinary events agency, a magazine and restaurants in Paris and now New York. The restaurants do not have full-time executive chefs but operate with a chef-in-residence program to showcase up-and-coming chefs: sous chefs and those who have never had their own restaurants. The New York branch’s chef for its first three months will be Victoria Blamey, formerly the executive chef at Chumley’s and Gotham Bar & Grill. Is she still “up and coming”? She will prepare a five- to six-course menu for $80, with an optional wine pairing for $50.
132 Franklin Street (Greenpoint Avenue), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 347-223-4106, fulgurances.com.
Em Vietnamese Bistro
The chef Ly Nguyen and her husband, Patrick Lin, have created this companion to Em Vietnamese Kitchen, a mere swatch of a place, which they opened in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in 2017. The spacious restaurant offers some dishes served at the other spot — what Ms. Nguyen describes as Vietnamese comfort food — and a number of new items. Highlights are chao so diep, a rice porridge with scallops; ngheu xao bo, butter clams with banh mi for dipping; and bo kho, a beef stew the couple calls beef Bourguignon Vietnamese-style. (Opens Thursday)
57 Front Street (Main Street), Dumbo, Brooklyn, 718-875-7888, emrestaurants.com.
Skorpios
Ioannis Chatiris, known as Yiannis, a native of the island of Rhodes, has had a hand in a number of New York’s Greek dining spots, including Mykonos Blue and Kyma. Now, he is the chef and owner of this space, which was Charlie Palmer Steak. Greek classics like assorted spreads, spanakopita, fried calamari and flamed halloumi are featured, in a setting with whitewashed island décor replacing dark wood. Seafood, notably whole fish sold by the pound and grilled over charcoal, is also on offer. The spacious room seats 200, and there’s also outdoor seating. (Wednesday)
5 East 54th Street, 212-777-5454, skorpiosny.com.
