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Let’s meet in the middle.
From Rockefeller Center to Grand Central Zone to Hudson Yards, Midtown Manhattan has become a high-profile culinary hub. This year has seen a slew of restaurant and lounge openings from renowned chefs in prime locations.
Here’s a look at six notable newcomers.
Hwaro | 776 Eighth Ave.
Go to Hwaro hungry. You’ll need your appetite for the phenomenal 12-course tasting menu created by chef Sungchul Shim of NYC’s Michelin-starred Mari and Kochi restaurants, among others.
Named after the traditional Korean brazier, a gathering point for shared meals, this gastronomic journey takes place in a private, wood-lined room within Gui, Shim’s elegant Theater District steakhouse. Guests sit at a 22-chair marble chef’s table overlooking the center island, where the culinary team prepares gorgeously plated delicacies.
Inspired by Shim’s Korean heritage and the classic French cuisine he perfected at Le Bernardin and Per Se, the ever-evolving menu is seasonal and unique. A few highlights: a layered foie gras gâteau, a charcoal-grilled dry-aged lamb saddle and a smoked persimmon with Meyer lemon sorbet and a dollop of chevre sabayon. Reserve about three hours for an insanely delicious dinner.
Revel in la dolce vita at Giulietta, the new coastal Italian destination from Mark Barak of La Pecora Bianca Group. Decorated with sun-kissed orange-and-white striped furnishings and a leafy faux lemon tree, this hot spot brings the Med to the MetLife Building. Big and buzzy with a glamorous bar and Cinecittà-level lighting, it seats 275 inside and 100 outside.
The kitchen is led by culinary director Ed Scarpone — who helmed Washington, DC’s Michelin-starred Fiola and worked for Daniel Boulud for a decade — and gusto is a key ingredient. Share the Riviera green beans with pistachios, smoked ricotta salata and herb vinaigrette (an amazing combination), truffle pizza or lobster spaghetti “fra diavolo” with a 2-pounder in shell, sweetened with a tall slice of lemon meringue tart. Next month sees the opening of the Giardino at Giulietta, a seasonal outdoor aperitivo bar with seating for more than 150 guests.
Salute!
Saverne | 531 W. 34th St.
The food world is ablaze with excitement: Chef Gabriel Kreuther, whose namesake restaurant in
Bryant Park has two Michelin stars, just opened a new restaurant in the Spiral, Tishman Speyer’s office building in Hudson Yards.
The modern brasserie is named Saverne after the historic town in Alsace’s Bas-Rhin region of France, at the foot of the Vosges mountains, not far from the farm where Kreuther grew up. The open kitchen, steered by executive chef Andy Choi and executive pastry chef Nicolas Chevrieux alongside Kreuther, showcases wood-fired ovens stoked with oak, cherry and applewood.
Bluefin tuna with black garlic anchoïade, cured venison with blistered cherries and vanilla creme brulee with fresh raspberries are among the temptations. Polished and warm, the timber theme is reflected in the patterned wood floors and rosewood-hued paneling. This place is lit.
With two sceney levels and both sushi and robatayaki skewers, Double Knot NYC is twice the fun.
This supersized import from Philly — the original jawn at 13th and Sansom is considered “the best” — fits perfectly in the Rockefeller Center neighborhood. Award-winning chef, restaurateur and television personality Michael Schulson of the acclaimed Schulson Collective (behind 15 hip Philadelphia and Miami restaurants) has tried-and-truly tasty signature dishes: crispy Japanese fried chicken, black cod fried rice, A5 wagyu beef and Kobe beef skewers, alongside small plates like wagyu soup dumplings and big eye tuna rolls.
Paired with sake or a Knot cocktail, this izakaya is an awesome umami experience. Soak up the festive atmosphere at the two bars, the sushi and skewer counters or the chic dining rooms.
Home (cooking) is where the heart is. That’s one of the philosophies at Bar Rocco, the convivial new Italian-American brasserie from charismatic chef, TV personality and James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Rocco DiSpirito.
The first of four restaurants to open under the direction of the Apicii hospitality group in the new Kimpton Era Midtown New York hotel near Rockefeller Center, it’s all about market-driven ingredients and authentic recipes, some passed down through generations. Savor Mama’s Meatballs, oysters “Rocco-Feller” on the half shell with guanciale and herbal broth, and pappardelle Genovese with 24-hour smoked short rib ragu while admiring the iconic streetscape through floor-to-ceiling windows.
Make dinner here a tradition, just like Mama Nicolina’s cooking.
Da Toscano has debonair new digs. The celebrated Greenwich Village Italian joint decamped from Minetta Lane to the historic Iroquois Hotel, where it opened earlier this month in a bijou glass-roofed room, along with Lantern’s Keep, a swanky Italian aperitivo and antipasti bar.
Chef Michael Toscano — who trained under Thomas Keller and Mario Batali before becoming executive chef of Manzo, Eataly’s fine-dining restaurant, and opening Perla in the Village — is a seasoned veteran who owns a quartet of concepts in Charleston, SC.
Find all his faves in this handsome establishment, from octopus carpaccio with pickled eggplant and lamb-neck agnolotti to veal New York strip parmigiana with mozzarella di bufala, tomato sugo and basil. Finish with a tiramisu gelato sundae. Divine.
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