December 5, 2008
It's not often a restaurant opens under the radar, but Seasonal Restaurant & Weinbar did just that this week. This Austrian-German restaurant quietly opened its doors on 58th Street in midtown -- just a stone's throw away from Park Blue (one of my favorite watering holes) -- in the former 4 Fusion space. Co-owners and executive chefs Wolfgang Ban & Eduard Frauneder first met at the German Mission to the United Nations and have teamed up here on an Austrian/German menu, with starters like a wild king salmon carpaccio with a poached quail egg and honey mustard cream or sea scallops with red beet butter, black trumpet mushrooms and fresh horseradish. Mains include such classics as wiener schnitzel or braised milk fed veal cheeks with a quark chive spaetzle. The wine list focuses on German wines with a strong focus on Rieslings. There are a lot of chefs in this kitchen. Patrick Furst, the former chef de cuisine at Danube, oversees Seasonal's kitchen. The grownup dining room is accented with a mix of brown and white leather chairs, wood floors and white-washed walls. HIdden away behind the Jumeirah Essex House, Seasonal may not be an easy-sell of a location, but then again, it's not a bad option at all considering the alternatives in the neighborhood.
Address: 132 58th Street, btwn. 6th & 7th Aves.
Phone: (212)957-5550
Hours: 11a.m.- Midnight
Seasonal Website
March 1, 2008
A Lower East Side favorite, Chubo officially shut its doors this past Friday, February 29th. This LES eclectic Frenche We've been informed that chef/owner Claude Chassagne is already looking for a new location in the West Village. A Japanese cooking school plans to take over the space come summer.
Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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February 26, 2008
Owner Stephen LoCastro has transformed what was formerly Tribeca Studio Deli into Greenwich SteakNBurger. Don't be deceived by the name as LoCastro (Tre Scalini) to implement an American bistro menu with an impressive selection of gourmet burgers (ten to be exact) and homemade sauces.
Highlights include a New Zealand lamb burger with smoked onions, Maryland crab burger, and Sicilian veal burger with sweet potato gnocchi. There's also a sizeable bistro menu with a signature "NY steak tartar burger" appetizer, grilled skirt steak with coffee barbecue sauce as well as grilled salmon with balsamic reduction.
The 70-seat space is outfitted with cherry hardwood floors, iron chandeliers and Morroccan benches. Come spring, Greenwich SteakNBurger will also offer al fresco sidewalk seating.
Address: 369 Greenwich St., corner of Franklin St.
Hours: Mon-Sat, 11a.m.-11p.m., Sun, 11.a.m.-9p.m.
Phone: (212)625-1010
Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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June 12, 2007
It seems we've lost this airy, small plates osteria and not to the Department of Health's recently aggressive wrath. Situated in The Library Hotel, chef Rick Moonen had provided shelter from the storm of Grand Central with a Mediterranean-bent menu, that once offered risotto rice croquettes and shellfish pappardelle. Alas, no more. The owners of Bookmark, The Library's 14th floor bar, will be opening a bistro in its wake by the end of summer.
Address: 299 Madison Ave., at 41 St.
Phone: 212.557.3340
Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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February 16, 2007
The Crooked Knife
30th St., btwn. Madison & Park Aves.
212-696-2593
Opening Night - February 22 (Thursday)
Seating on a walk-in basis only for now
The owners of Arlene's Grocery, pioneers who brought music to the Lower East Side, are expanding their horizons into the restaurant realm. Come next week, they open The Crooked Knife, a New American spot with a decidedly British bent. I smell a gastropub effect in the Big Apple. Australian-born chef Kelly Quinn will head up the kitchen at this homey haunt with generous seating.
Poetessa
92 Second Ave., btwn. 5th & 6th Sts.
212-387-0065
CLOSED
It seems this East Village Italian has closed its doors for good. Formerly East Post, Poetessa seemed an attractive neighborhood go-to for predictable tomato-studded staples. While the fare was just "good enough", the candlelight and poetry-laden walls had a neighborhood charm. Hell, even Bruni seemed to have a soft spot for this restaurant. It's anyone's guess who will tempt the space next...
Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl
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