 Chango
Andrew Silverman already had four restaurants
on one block of Park Avenue South -- from L'Express at
the north end to City Crab at the south, and Duke's around
the corner -- when yet another space there became available,
and he puzzled over what else he could possibly feed the
Gramercy neighborhood. After much soul-searching and market
research, plus the occasional California sojourn, he reached
a conclusion: frozen margaritas and chili-roasted chicken,
both of which can now be found at Chango, his new
piñata-hued cantina. Designer Nancy Mah (who built Sushi
Samba, next door, for Silverman and his partners) transformed
the old Medusa space with swooping dropped-ceiling panels,
coyote fencing, and a perimeter of raised booths. And
nothing on the menu (which will soon be available for
delivery) costs more than the $18.95 dry-rubbed gaucho
steak.
239 Park Avenue
South, near 20th Street
212-477-1500
· Cuisine: Mexican
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Ciao for Now
If the East Village's Ciao for
Now already has a small-town, lived-in feel about
it -- a coffee-mug collection dangles from hooks along
the counter -- that may be because the husband-and-wife
owners, Northern California transplants Kevin and Amy
Miceli, hauled in all the furniture (a kitchen table,
some chairs, and knickknacks like those mugs) from their
Jane Street apartment. Further contributing to the homeyness
of this bakery-café are Amy's breakfast pastries and
homemade granola, an organic coffee from Woodstock with
a cult following, grilled cheese sandwiches, and the
irresistible scent of baking brownies, for which customers
willingly wait. If not for an engaging scruffy-chinned
Henny Youngman -- in -- training counterman, you might
never guess you're in a former tattoo parlor off Avenue
A.
504 East
12th Street
212-677-2616
· Cuisine: Baked goods/ Sandwiches
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Alma
Ronald Starns spent ten years at March,
working the front of the house and coolly deciphering
Wayne Nish's intricate tasting menus for nonplussed diners.
Gary Jacobson spent fourteen slinging huitlacoche as executive
chef of Zarela.
That's enough combined stress and Manhattan restaurant
experience to convince us that their new Carroll Gardens
collaboration, Alma, should come off without a
hitch. Built from the ground up on a gritty stretch that's
on its way to becoming yet another Brooklyn restaurant
row, the duplex is all carefully crafted wood and exposed
brick with a showpiece American-walnut bar. The slightly
upscale pan-regional menu, with entrées from $10 to $18,
spans all the requisite spicy stuff -- from mashed-to-order
guacamole to mole poblano -- but will emphasize seafood
specials like striped bass wrapped in hoja santa leaf
and braised in a shrimp-and-mussel broth. Come summer,
when the outdoor upper deck is completed, you'll be able
to quaff your margaritas alfresco with a lovely view of
Brooklyn piers and the Manhattan skyline.
187 Columbia
Street
718-643-5400
· Cuisine: Mexican
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Compass
After the beating this place took as Marika,
the new management kept the chef -- Lespinasse
alum Neil Annis -- but changed the name, and made just enough
minor renovations to justify a relaunch. This time out, the
idea is for the food (confit of Alaskan king salmon, roast rabbit
and grits) to garner as much attention as the design.
208 W. 70th Street
212-875-8600
· Cuisine: French-American
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The Little Bigger Place
The much-loved Mexican-American lunch counter
formerly known as the Little Place closed after 9/11, and
in one of downtown's most inspirational stories has ambitiously
expanded into the space next door. Now there's a high, molded
ceiling, funky colander chandeliers, and table service. But
nostalgic regulars still park themselves at counter stools
to watch the cooks dish up tacos, turkey burritos, and the
$6.25 house special: soup, a blintz, a roll, and a brownie.
73 West Broadway
212-528-3175
· Cuisine: Mexican-American
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Openings Archive
Week
of April 1
Washington Park, Wild Lily Tea Room, Kitchenette Uptown, Industry (food), Cinnabar, Chateau, Osteria del Sole
Week
of March 18
Fiamma, Blue Smoke, Rouge, Tournesol
Week
of March 11
Elmo, Rochjin Asian Noodle, Soy, Nong,
Si Si
and
more ...
Photos: From top to bottom- Carina Salvi (2),
Patrik Rytikangas
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