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Arezzo
Margherita Aloi, the former executive chef at Le Madri and one of Pino
Luongo's original mail-order mammas (the trio of talented cooks Luongo recruited from the
Italian hinterlands to open his restaurant twelve years ago), has resurfaced at the
Flatiron District's spare but handsome new Arezzo. Aloi's unlikely partners are
Christopher Mazzilli and Michael Reisman, the owners of the Gotham Comedy Club down the
block, but their ambitious new venture is nothing to joke about. The menu, seasonally
inspired and showcasing Aloi's signature fresh pastas, includes an uncommon salad of
greens, lemon balm, violet leaves, and perfect tomatoes; "focaccina" halved and smeared
with Robiola cheese, fresh spinach, and a touch of truffle oil; and a sensational dry-aged
rib eye with herb-strewn Tuscan fries and tangy chopped dandelion.
46 West 22nd Street
212-206-0555
· Cuisine: Italian
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Lunettes et Chocolat
When you need new designer
eyeglasses and crave imported chocolates -- or vice versa -- Lunettes et Chocolat, the
multifaceted NoLIta boutique, is the ideal place to stock up on both. And this week
co-owner Maribel Lieberman (pictured) opens a lush garden café out back with a
small menu of sweet and savory crepes, corn arepas topped with seafood salad and
melted truffle cheese, and the dark, soupy Belgian hot chocolate that's made the shop's
Cacao Bar a neighborhood hangout.
25 Prince Street
212-925-8800
· Cuisine: Cafe
Sherwood Cafe
Decanali has outfitted many of Manhattan's better-known French bistros, like Lucien and
Casimir, but until recently he'd resisted the expat Frenchman's impulse to open one of his
own. He caved in late June and christened the garden (pictured) of his Boerum Hill antiques shop
Sherwood Cafe. Now he serves light French fare like the croque miss, an
open-face poached-egg-and-ratatouille sandwich, and the Sherwood Special, a shareable
charcuterie-and-cheese assortment presented on a handmade rustic board. Funky seating
arrangements are fashioned from an antique tin bathtub, a barbershop chair, even a
(well-scrubbed, we presume) carved bluestone Turkish toilet excavated from a French
castle. "I propose for people to relax, take their shoes off, stay two hours," says
Decanali -- and maybe drop $650 on a 1930 walnut buffet on the way out, too.
195 Smith
Street, Brooklyn
718-596-1609
· Cuisine: French
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Looking
Ahead... |
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September
Fiamma,
206 Spring St. (212) 653-0100
Opening Date: Early September
Set-up: Tri-level space in SoHo with exterior glass elevator and 130 seats
Cuisine: Italian
Chef: Michael White (formerly at the four-star Spiaggia in Chicago and chef di cucina at Ristorante San Domenico in Imola, Italy)
Owners: Stephen Hanson (Blue Water Grill, Park
Avalon, Ruby Foo's)
October
The Harrison,
355 Greenwich St.
Opening Date: Early October
Set-up: Designer Mark Zeff creates a 100-seat dining room filled with wainscoting, handmade chandeliers, and a walnut bar. Nine French doors will open onto the street, with an additional 40 seats available for sidewalk dining.
Cuisine: Eclectic American
Chef: Joey Campanaro (prot�g� of Jonathan Waxman)
Owners: Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams (The
Red Cat)
April, 2002
Blue
Smoke, 116 East 27th
Street
Opening Date: Spring, 2002
Set-up: Jazz joint with a built-in barbecue pit.
Cuisine: Barbecue
Chef: Pitmaster Kenny Callaghan (Sous Chef, Union
Square Cafe)
Owners: Danny Meyer (Gramercy
Tavern, Union Square
Cafe, Eleven Madison
Park)
—
TISA COEN
Hear about a restaurant opening? Post an announcement
- even a rumor - in the
Food Forum. |
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Openings Archive
Week
of July 30
Le Pain Quotidien, Danz�n, Medi
Week
of July 23
Mai-Lin, Fiorucci Fashion Cafe, Bread from Beirut
Week
of July 16
Pizza 33, Thom
Week
of July 9
Minotaur, Union Square Ballroom, Glass
and
more ...
Photos: Carina Salvi, Patrik Rytikangas, Bruce Katz.
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