BY CAROLINE BENVENISTE Mimi Sheraton passed away in April. She was a longtime Village resident and is best known for her tenure as the restaurant critic for The New York Times. As many of her obituaries mentioned, she was highly opinionated. I had personal experience with this as she wrote to me a number of times to point out errors in my In & Out column in WestView News. Once I had included a meatball recipe but left out the meat, and another time she took issue with my grammar. I ran into her once at Agata and Valentina, apologized for my shortcomings, and was gratified to hear that she enjoyed the In & Out and read it monthly to see what new restaurants had opened in the neighborhood. She was a unique individual and she will be missed. This month it seemed that every other opening was an Italian restaurant. With Mother’s Day and graduations coming in May, several spots have added a brunch or breakfast option.
Top Openings:
Market 57 at Pier 57 — 25 11th Ave., at 15th Street
This new food hall is run by a partnership of organizations, including the Hudson River Trust and the James Beard Foundation (JBF). JBF is in charge of selecting the vendors, and the current lineup features more than a dozen options spanning the globe. Of particular note are the masala dosas at Ammi, an offshoot of the popular GupShup, beers from Harlem Hops and cookies and ice cream sandwiches from The Good Batch, a popular Brooklyn bakery. JBF has their own stand with offerings from their Fellows. In addition to the market, Pier 57 has a spectacular (and currently uncrowded) rooftop with views of the river, the Meatpacking District, Little Island and points north.
Alf Bakery – Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., between 15th and 16th Streets
Laminated dough (think croissant) is having a moment, and Amadou Ly, formerly of Arcade Bakery, may be leading the charge. The new bakery has a laminated baguette, laminated brioche and a chocolate babka. Cherry chocolate bread, a favorite at Arcade Bakery, is back, but the pizza is not. A few sandwiches are available, including a very French ham and cheese on a baguette, and Tunisian tuna, served open-faced on sourdough. To the right of the display is a window with views of the bakers at work. This is the most exciting bakery opening in the area in recent memory.
Carlotto — 100 E. 19th St., east of Park Avenue South
While there are myriad Italian restaurants in the city, this one is worth some attention because of the quality of the food and the attractive space. Some of the standout starters are baby artichokes with walnut bagna cauda (“hot dip”) and crispy potatoes “millefoglie” with Parmesan and truffle. The veal Parmesan features an impressive bone-in veal chop, and the spring risotto is served from a hollowed-out Parmesan wheel. The chocolate mousse with hazelnut croccante is a perfect ending to the meal. Exposed brick and Roman-looking columns add to the atmosphere, while in the back a chef’s table looks onto a pristine glassed-in kitchen.
Also Open:
Food:
Seemingly overnight, Shingane (480 Sixth Ave.,between W. 11th and W. 12th Streets), a Korean street food spot serving “Goddess Buns,” materialized. The Goddess Buns are bungeoppang, which is the Korean name for Japanese taiyaki, a fish-shaped waffle pastry. Here they are round, with the head of Lady Liberty on one side, and her torch on the other. They come with two fillings, either cheese or chocolate and nuts. A row of waffle irons lines the store, and the smell of eggs and butter travels out onto Sixth Avenue, beckoning passersby inside. Two long-awaited restaurants, Carriage House (142 W. 10th St., between Waverly Place and Greenwich Avenue) and Justine’s on Hudson (518 Hudson St., at W. 10th Street), have opened. Robert Sietsema reviewed the former for Eater and called the food “kooky.” Bedford Studios (62 Bedford St., at Morton Street), a new coffee shop and co-working space, has replaced Lian Laudromat. The concept is geared toward coffee lovers, who are exhorted to “caffeinate, create and congregate.” Monthly and annual memberships are available. Daisie’s Better Burgers (516 Hudson St., at West 10th Street) was replaced by Smashed, a smash-burger purveyor highly praised by Eater and The Infatuation. Italian restaurant Bandone (195 Spring St., at Sullivan Street) has opened where Bombay Bread Bar used to be.
Retail:
Mottive (33 Greenwich Ave.) is a jewelry store with new, antique and repurposed pieces. In addition, you can bring in your old jewelry and work with a designer to transform it into something more appealing. Jones Road Beauty has opened at 37 Greenwich Ave. Gucci has opened a store in the Meatpacking District at 400 W. 14th St., at Ninth Avenue. Saved, at 654 Hudson St., between Gansevoort and W. 13th Streets, a store that carries cashmere home goods, arts and antiques, has opened and brought in French Presse, a bedding and bath company to share the space. The products are lovely but the prices are stratospheric.
Closed:
ovenly (523 Hudson St., between W. 10th and Charles Streets), a Brooklyn bakery that opened in early 2022 has abandoned its Manhattan experiment. Gold Star Coffee Restaurant (200 W. 14th St., near Seventh Avenue), which served their own brand of coffee and Argentinian food, quietly shuttered. The end really seems to have come for horror-themed eatery Jekyll and Hyde (91 Seventh Ave. South, between Grove and Barrow Streets), which had already filed for bankruptcy. Now, a sign on the door indicates that their liquor license was suspended.
Coming Soon:
Signage is up in Hudson Square, at the corner of Hudson and King Streets, announcing the imminent arrival of Port Saïd, a restaurant from Eyal Shani, the Israeli chef who also has Miznon, Miznon North, Shmoné and HaSalon. I have been to Port Saïd in Tel Aviv, and it is a lively place with a perennial line, and a menu of mostly small, inventive dishes. In terms of atmosphere, it falls somewhere between the casual Miznon and the fancier Shmoné. Ambra Cucina Italiana is coming to 569 Hudson St. (at W. 11th Street), a space previously (and briefly) Summer Wind Café and before that Philip Marie. I spoke with Chef Eric, who said he used to run ’ino in the East Village and that the new spot will have a wine bar vibe. A loyal reader has alerted us to new plans for 117 Seventh Ave. South (between Christopher and W. 10th Streets): In February 2022, we reported that FYS Gourmet Inc. (Feed Your Soul), an upscale supermarket, was opening in the old Gourmet Garage space. Now, instead the Realmuto Hospitality group, which runs Filaga and L’Arte de Gelato, is planning to open an Italian restaurant called Realmuto. Signage indicates that the space will have a gelateria and pasticceria, in addition to the ristorante. māizon mediterranïa is coming to the Gansevoort Hotel (18 Ninth Ave., between W. 13th and Gansevoort Streets). The large, partly outdoor space will provide “a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant experience.” 2 STREET USA, a secondhand store with many locations around the city, is opening its latest storefront at 110 University Place (between 12th and 13th Streets). Osteria Nonnino – Cucina Italiana has signage up at 637 Hudson St. (at Horatio Street) where High Street on Hudson and then Sandbar on Hudson used to be.
Moved/Other:
One Fifth, Marc Forgione’s delightful Italian restaurant, is now open for weekend brunch. The large menu has pasta and pinsa (Roman-style pizza), as well as some upgraded brunch standards, like Morty Egg and Cheese (a BEC with mortadella), scrambled eggs cacio e pepe (“cheese and pepper”), and lemon ricotta pancakes. L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele is open for breakfast. The pastries are all baked in-house, and the croissants are used for breakfast sandwiches, including one with prosciutto, fontina and arugula. Also of note are the cacio e pepe scones, and the rainbow cookies, which, unlike most, are moist and taste strongly of almonds, jam and chocolate. The Wesley (310 W. Fourth St.) has also jumped on the brunch bandwagon, and their plant-forward and local emphasis extends to their daytime offerings. Le Pain Quotidien (10 Fifth Ave., at W. Eighth Street), along with a couple of its neighbors, is closed because, “The Department of Buildings has determined [after foundation drilling for a nearby construction project at 14 Fifth Ave. caused cracks in the building in February] that conditions in this premises (sic) are imminently perilous to life.” Moustache has moved from Bedford Street to 29 Seventh Ave. South (between Leroy and Morton Streets) and added “Mediterranean Fusion” to its name, although the menu remains the same. Moustache did not want to leave its previous spot, but Little Owl, currently at Bedford and Grove, has plans to expand into that space.
Please let us know what you see. Write to us vsuncandg@gmail.com. We love hearing from you!
Please give a history of the wine and liquor store at 62 Bedford Street in Greenwich village. It closed in early 1970s.