Headliner
Vacations Bar & Rooftop
New York is blessed with rooftops galore for drinks and dining amid stupendous views. Given a felicitous location, even the second floor will do as at this sprawling new bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn, with the Manhattan skyline as its backdrop. Come September, the building below will be turned into an all-seasons restaurant; for now, there is a bar on the rooftop, with a second coming soon. (A third will be located downstairs.) It has a tropical influence, with greenery, weathered wood, green tiles, chessboard stone flooring and blue walls. Drinks and food are self-service, to order at the bar, with choices like fried smashed fingerling potatoes with aioli and brava sauce, shrimp cocktail, fish and chips, and a broccoli rabe hero. Drinks, all $12, include a Tropicale, made with Meyer lemon vodka, passion fruit liqueur, lime and guava juice; and the Proposal, made with pineapple rum, lime and simple syrup. Vantage Point Hospitality owns and runs Vacations with Annie and Andy Shaner, restaurant veterans who live in the neighborhood.
321 Starr Street (Cypress Avenue), Bushwick, Brooklyn, vacationsbk.com.
Opening
Ferdi
This intimate new West Village spot distills a family’s restaurant history. Decades ago, Ferdinando Scarpati came to New York from the island of Ponza, west of Naples, and opened Ferdi’s in the Bronx. His son, Guiseppe, was a chef at the Rainbow Room, and now Ferninando’s grandson, Fernando Scarpati, is opening this intimate spot with his sister, Aida Scarpati. The contemporary Italian menu is extensive, and the restaurant’s name pays homage to their grandfather.
15 Seventh Avenue South (Leroy Street), ferdinyc.com.
Bar Pasquale
The Delicious Hospitality Group, which runs Pasquale Jones (and other restaurants), have opened a Sicilian wine bar next door. As at Pasquale Jones, the chef, Ryan Hardy, is in charge, with the chef de cuisine Christopher Roderick, preparing fresh pastas like culurgiones, a dumpling-style pasta with porcini; smoked eggplant panelle; and Sicilian sfincione pizza. There’s an open kitchen, red leather banquettes and seating indoors and out.
98 Kenmare Street (Mulberry Street), 833-446-8666, barpasquale.com.
