New York Restaurant Openings - Week of June 17, 2002

EDITED BY ROB PATRONITE AND ROBIN RAISFELD
Week of June 17, 2002

best of the week
NYLA
Restaurateur Bobby Ochs insists this New Orleans-inflected brasserie isn't a theme restaurant -- but it's still owned by Britney Spears. Please note: Nobody at your table will laugh if you spill your vegetarian hominy stew and say "Oops, I . . . "
52 East 41st Street
212-682-2860
· Cuisine: New Orleans brasserie

Dokpa A common misperception about Tibetan food is that it's vegetarian, and in fact at Tsampa, a popular East Village Tibetan restaurant with a health-food slant, the water is filtered, the produce is mostly organic, and red meat is eschewed in favor of chicken and fish. But Tibet also has a yak-eating tradition that, despite the presence of a Jackson Heights restaurant called Tibetan Yak, hasn't caught on here. So when the four Tibetan sisters behind Tsampa opened Dokpa, they decided to distinguish their new restaurant with more spice, more sauce, and, in place of the long-haired Asian ox, lean organic beef -- all of which can be found in the dokpa shapta, saut�ed sliced beef with jalape�os, ginger, and garlic. 136 West Houston Street 212-995-5884 · Cuisine: Tibetan
Press 195 Now that the panini trend has reached critical mass, with tiny electric kitchens dispensing crispy grilled and pressed sandwiches everywhere from Wall Street to the Bronx, it's hard to stand out from the pack. Which is why Chris Evans, co-owner of Park Slope's new Press 195, reveals that he and partner Brian Karp are "staying away from panini." That's not to say they're boycotting Italy at their sunny new sandwich-and-wine bar -- only that they're also offering offbeat alternatives, like marinated spicy grilled chicken cutlet with blue cheese and carrots, roast pork with queso blanco and pickled jalape�os, and grilled apples with yogurt cheese and wildflower honey (one of several Hudson Valley condiments Karp discovered during weekend jaunts and added to the menu) 195 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn 718-857-1950 · Cuisine: Sandwich-and-Wine Bar

Openings Archive

Week of June 10
The Gowanus Yacht Club and Beer Garden
Week of June 3
Django, United Noodles, Noche, Hope & Anchor
Week of May 27
The Basil, Loggia, Bot, Vida

Photo: From top to bottom- Deborah Ory; Kenneth Chen