DELICIOUS DEBUTS
“We’ve gone and changed breakfast forever,” the Dunkin’ Donuts website proclaims alarmingly next to an image of its new Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich, available nationwide this Friday.
With a charming outdoor seating area along the tree-lined sidewalk of 73rd Street, Casimir & Co. brings the taste of French bistro fare to the Upper East Side. After the success of Casimir & Co.’s sister restaurant in the East Village, owner Mario Carta along with fellow French restaurateur Patrick Laurent expanded their brand uptown. Diners looking for authentic French bistro fare without the stuffiness often associated with French dining will find themselves at home in the comfortable, laid-back atmosphere four in the bi-level Casimir & Co.
Members of the team of Avra and Tim Pappas are the team behind Anassa Taverna, the newest Greek restaurant in Midtown East.
Anassa's grand opening on Thursday, May 30th let guests take a first look at the impressive two-level interior, which features a large wood-paneled bar as the centerpiece of the first floor. Stairs lead to an upper level with white-cushioned booths, exposed white brick, and a view of the streets below. Traditional Greek worry beads and evil eyes are displayed and available for purchase at the entrance to the restaurant.
Burgers on the move! Shake Shack plans on opening a new burger branch in Grand Central Terminal by the end of the year. Known for its amazing burgers and creamy custards, the Shake Shack will be moving its delicious goodness into the space that was previously operated by Zocalo in the dining area.
You have not tasted an actual burger until your mouth meets a Shake Shack burger. Each bite is more delightful than the previous one; a complete ecstasy of flavors. Made with 100 percent all-natural Angus beef, Shake Shack burgers rest in warm buttery buns. You can cover your burger in melted cheese, lettuce and tomato to your desire. The original ShackBurger is just this, in addition to the specialty ShackSauce to give it extra tastiness.
Black Tree Sandwich Shop (131 Orchard Street)
Black Tree bills itself as a “next generation” sandwich shop using “ingredients and techniques more closely associated with a top restaurant kitchen—not a modest sandwich shop,” explains Sandy Hall who runs Black Tree with friend Macnair Sillick, a political reporter for NY1. Their new location on Orchard Street is the sandwich shop's first outpost in Manhattan after finding great success in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Black Tree on Orchard will offer seasonally inspired American sandwiches with ingredients sourced exclusively from local farmers and farmers markets. The spring menu includes a Spring Pig Sandwich made with house smoked ham, Prairie View cheddar, Mona sheep milk cheese, and house made spicy pickles, spicy aioli, and mustard or the Spring Mushroom Sandwich prepared with white wine and herb marinated cremini mushrooms with sautéed kale, onion, garlic, and Landaff cheese. With a hyper-local theme, the Black Tree cocktail assortment is made up of mostly New York-based spirits. With wine mainly from Long Island wineries and beers brewed right in Brooklyn, and house made bitters. Black Tree may be the most locally sourced sandwich shop in the city.
The name of this newly opened West Village brasserie, Charlemagne, may ring a bell if you were paying any attention in History class in high school. Back in the Eighth Century, King Charlemagne reigned over most of Europe and united the region as the Holy Roman Empire. Just like Charlemagne did for Europe, Executive Chef Jodi Bernhard, along with owner and veteran restaurateur Vanessa Repice (Sel et Gras), have set out to unite the culinary traditions of Europe and America under one roof. Nestled in a gorgeous corner space between Greenwich and Christopher Streets in the West Village, Charlemagne offers diners a new take on French-American cuisine with both American and Spanish influences. The unique corner space allows for plenty of natural light and encapsulates the Greenwich Village Historic District that Charlemagne lies on the cusp of.
Dining in Manhattan can be an adventure—culturally or otherwise. You consider yourself an adventurous foodie type, don’t you? Do you wear your culinary exploits like a badge of honor? Well then, have you ever had an appetizer of salmon carpaccio topped with ice cream or a tomato marshmallow? We didn’t think we’d ever be able to say that either, but after a recent dinner at Melibea, we can say we’ve ate that and from this day forward Mediterranean fare is forever altered.
Lovers of Asian cuisine should not stray away from the recently opened Mira Sushi & Izakaya, located in the Flatiron district. The giant menu reinterprets Asian street food, overseen by Chef Brian Tsao and Chef Owen Wu.
Chef Wu is a fifteen year sushi veteran, overseeing the sushi bar, which makes up half of Mira's menu. Offered on the sushi menu are a number of cold small plates, as well as both signature and whimsical sushi rolls and sashimi, ranging from the classic California Roll to the inventive TNT Roll (made with yellow tail tuna, crunch, and cucumber topped with spicy tuna and jalapeno relish). Chef Tsao, formerly of Telepan, comes from a Chinese-Korean background, which serves him well at this new venture. The fare here is really out of this world—favorites include the Beef Bulgogi Tacos, Kyoto Crunchy Sloppy Joe, Spicy Wontons, Honey Yuzu Chicken Wings, and the Spicy Tuna Pizza. All of the dishes are great recreations of classic plates and are accompanied by delicious cocktails. Bartender Raphael Lester has created complementary cocktails to go with the unrivaled food. We love the Crimson Moon (made with Kokuto umeshu plum, sweet potato shochu, orange, lemon, plum bitters) for something refreshing, but can't say no to the wide selection of sakes they have to offer. To end your night the right way, make sure to order up one of their desserts, like a unique Malaysian cookie, the Honeycomb Dream or Sticky Bun Poppers. Furthermore, the venue itself is comfortable and unpretentious, yet is inviting to all. Best of all, everything on the menu is priced so that you won't have to save a month's paycheck to order...even though we gladly would.
Located in a two-story West Village townhouse, the Greenwich Project, offers diners a whimsical take on traditional and contemporary American cuisine with both French and Mediterranean flavor profiles. The Greenwich Project also boasts a robust cocktail program and a well-paired, thoughtful wine list curated by sommelier Ryan Mills-Knapp. The Greenwich Project is essentially two eateries in one with the two floors offering different atmospheres while both offer Executive Chef Carmine Di Giovanni’s inventive menu of unique small plates and signature modern dishes with a twist.
Little Italy was thought by some New Yorkers to be a thing of the past as the neighborhood quickly began to shrink. Today the neighborhood is on the rebound with a reinvigorating Italian restaurant scene that is back serving al dente spaghetti pasta and Italian dishes that made the neighborhood famous. Besides the authentic Italian dishes, Little Italy has been know for its pizza. A new pizzeria, 180, has just debuted to reclaim the neighborhood as a hotbed of Italian fare.
Opening today, 180 is located on the second floor of a tenement building on the corner of Hester and Mulberry Streets at, you guessed it, 180 Hester Street. This wood-burning pizza speakeasy of sorts is hidden but for good reason. The eatery gives diners an authentic taste, as well as a little family history, as diners enjoy their freshly handmade pies. Owned by Little Italy natives, Louis and Anthony Fontana, who grew up working in their family’s restaurant Giovanna’s (downstairs from 180), opened their new joint venture in a space that pays tribute to their grandmother who still calls 180 Hester Street home. With seating for only 36 the dining room displays knick-knacks and even a chandelier from their grandmother’s upstairs apartment.
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