Tarallucci e Vino
When Pepi di Giacomo and Luca di Pietro converted the East Village bakery that used to be Alcazar into Tarallucci e Vino, they went from selling coffee beans to brewing them. As American emissaries of Danesi, the Roman coffee roaster, they supplied Alcazar's beans, and when the space became available, they added a cozily rustic seating area and an excellent Italian-sandwich menu. But until the liquor license arrives, don't expect to find the namesake vino or tarallucci, the savory semolina cookies that accompany wine. Instead, sample an iced espresso, vigorously shaken in authentic Italian fashion, according to Di Giacomo, who confides, "We're very picky about it." We bet.
63 First Avenue
212-388-1190
· Cuisine: Cafe, Italian
Salute!
Roberto Ruggeri launched his Italian-food
empire with Bice, expanded it with Med Grill and Salute!,
and then inexplicably veered off the proven pasta path
at Grill on the Park, his multicultural conversion of
the old Wolf's Deli. The tourists, alas, weren't biting,
so two weeks ago, he reopened the space as a second Salute!,
with craggy stone columns, a warmer, woodier feel, and
a return-to-his-roots menu of crowd-pleasing pizza, crusty
focaccia, and hearty pastas.
101 West 57th
Street
212-445-0040.
· Cuisine: Italian
Cicchetti Bar at Scopa
According to Evan Kleiman's Angeli Caff�'s Pizza, Pasta,
and Panini cookbook, the oldest Venetian cicchetti bars
were a place for frazzled workingmen "to shoot back
a few tiny glasses of great white wine and quickly gulp
down two or three small rolls." Something like what
chef-owner Vincent Scotto had in mind, we presume, with
the opening of his Cicchetti Bar at Scopa, the
latest addition to his ever-expanding Scopa restaurant
complex. Tempting Venetian nibbles like cipollini-wrapped
sardines, grilled polenta with baccal�, and prosciutto-wrapped
figs stuffed with gorgonzola, plus a good all-Italian
wine list, should keep those hardworking expense-account
bankers and insurance types in top paper-pushing form.
79 Madison
Avenue, near 28th Street
212-686-8787
· Cuisine: Italian
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Looking
Ahead... |
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September
Fiamma,
206 Spring St., 212-653-0100
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
Marseilles,
630 Ninth Ave at 44th St., 212-333-2323
Set-up: Two-story, 4000 square-foot space designed
in 1940's French-Moroccan style with zinc bar and ebonized
mahogany accents.
Cuisine: French/Mediterranean
Chef: Alex Urena (Blue
Hill)
Owners: Simon Oren (Sushi
Samba, Le Express, Maritime)
The Minnow,
442 Ninth St., Park Slope, Brooklyn
Set-up: Cozy 60-seat space with exposed brick walls, hardwood floors and private garden.
Cuisine: Eclectic American/Seafood
Chef: Aaron Bashy (Slate,
Alva)
Owners: Aaron Bashy and wife, Vicki (Former pastry
chef at Boston's Four Seasons Hotel)
Suba,
109 Ludlow St., 212-982-5714
Set-up: Subterreanean, multi-level grotto with
moat, underwater lamps, and floor-to-ceiling glass-paneled
doors. Designed by Andre Kikoski.
Cuisine:Pan-Latin
Chef: Stephane Bucholzer (L'Actuel)
Owners: Yann De Rochefort and Phillip Morgan
The Harrison,
355 Greenwich St., 212-274-9310
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
St.
Set-up: Jazz joint with a built-in barbecue pit
at former 27 Standard space.
Cuisine: Barbecue
Chef: Pitmaster Kenny Callaghan (Sous Chef, Union
Square Cafe)
Owners: Danny Meyer (Gramercy
Tavern, Union Square
Cafe, Eleven Madison
Park)
—
TISA COEN
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Openings Archive
Week
of August 20
Citarella: The Restaurant, Sugar Hill Bistro
Week
of August 13
Haru
Week
of August 6
Arezzo, Lunettes et Chocolat, Sherwood Cafe
and
more ...
Photos: Patrik Rytikangas.
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