 Tenement
Its name evokes rusting fire escapes and bad plumbing. But the
restaurant-lounge Tenement, opening this week in a building that at various
times served as a brothel and a gambling parlor, describes its menu in
decidedly upscale terms, as "dressed-up comfort food." That means potato
pancakes, pork loin stuffed with dried fruit, yucca dumplings, and
pierogies, all making reference to immigrants past; the décor does the same,
with reproduced Victorian-era wallpaper and framed Berenice Abbott
black-and-whites. Nevertheless, some of the newfangled customs here might
confuse your grandparents: There's a D.J. in the house Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday nights, and a fun bar menu-New York-style pretzels, mac and cheese,
BLTs-is offered nightly from 11 p.m. into the wee hours.
157 Ludlow Street
212-766-1270
· Cuisine: American
 Shula's
Don Shula wants a meaty bite off Michael Jordan's plate: The legendary
ex-coach of the Miami Dolphins is opening the sixteenth branch of his
steakhouse chain, Shula's, in the brand-new Westin hotel at Times Square.
Upon arriving, you'll be passed (!) a menu-listing the expected shrimp,
lobster, snapper, certified Angus beef cut every which way-hand-painted on
an official NFL pigskin. Serious carnivores who successfully polish off
Shula's football-size porterhouse will be inducted into the 48 Oz. Club—now
18,000 members and counting.
270 West 43rd Street
212-201-2776
· Cuisine: Steakhouses
 General Store
Given the results of the midterm elections, a whole lot of New Yorkers feel
utterly distant from the rest of America. So think of the General Store as a
theme restaurant where you can pretend you're visiting one of the red states
on the electoral map. Everything on the menu, from the Wisconsin cheese in
the ham-and-cheese sandwich to the Maine lobster in the lobster potpie, is
American in origin, and the combination restaurant-bar-ice-cream
parlor-flower shop-bakery allows Manhattanites to visit an idealized,
cuddly, and mercifully apolitical version of middle America. If you really
need to drown your left-wing sorrows, there are desserts like Key-lime pie
and homemade fudge-as well as twelve American beers on tap and 30 American
wines by the glass.
29 Avenue B
212-254-0055
· Cuisine: American
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