A Voce (“word of mouth” in Italian), the first New York City venture of London-based MARC, which owns Umu, Morton’s, and The Greenhouse (London) as well as Gaia (Greenwich, CT), opened at 41 Madison Avenue in March. Designer Tony Chi created two garden spaces, one literal—a serene outdoor patio seating 100—and the other conceptual—an indoor art installation dubbed Falling Twig that anchors the 100 seat dining room. Executive chef Andrew Carmellini, who earned James Beard Award fame at Café Boulud, turns out soulful Italian fare. Pastry chef April Robinson was formerly at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House and Café Gray. Apps ($7 to $18): frutti di mare salad with cranberry beans and chile vinaigrette; lamb shank tortellini with escarole, Tuscan beans, and Piave cheese. Mains ($19 to $28): glazed duck agrodolce with Swiss chard, organic figs, and potatoes sautéed with onions and pancetta; wood-grilled tuna with broccoli raab and citrus. Desserts ($8): classic tiramisù; Sicilian diablo gelato (bittersweet chocolate ice cream with chile flakes).
In their first foray into bluegrass country, the New York City–based Myriad Restaurant Group launched the 100 seat Proof on Main inside the new boutique property 21C Museum Hotel in March. Partners in the project are local philanthropists/business owners Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson. Top toque Michael Paley, who’s been with Myriad for five years, weaves local products and Tuscan accents into his modern American menu, and Sue McCown of Seattle’s Earth & Ocean consulted on the desserts. General manager Cassandra Hobbic (formerly of Lilly’s) fortifies the bar with an ample cache of Kentucky Bourbons. Original brickwork, prismatic leaded glass transoms, and reclaimed wood floors make a handsome backdrop for choice pieces from Wilson’s personal art collection adorning the walls. Apps ($5 to $10): pork cheeks alla milanese with arugula, grape tomatoes, and 12 year old balsamic vinegar; bison tartare with herbed French fries, pine nuts, lemon, and parsley. Mains ($13 to $26): buckwheat pappardelle with rabbit cacciatore; braised heritage pork shank with grits cake and green tomato marmalade. Desserts ($6 to $10): skillet lemon pie with lemon/buttermilk gelato and local Kentucky honey; warm soft vanilla cake with Bourbon soaked cherries and mascarpone gelato.
Hospitality veteran Jay Gross man and businessman Ray Sidhom opened the 160 seat Four Food Studio and Cocktail Salon, a $4 million project, at 515 Broad hollow Road in Melville in December. Executive chef Robert Gur vich, whose résumé includes stints at Daniel in Manhattan and Alison by the Beach in the Hamptons, turns out New American fare with a new menu introduced with each season. Man hat tan-based designer Karim Rashid (Morimoto in Philadelphia) captures the restaurant’s seasonal concept with a spring lounge in shades of green that progresses to a summer bar and moves into a wood-lined autumn dining area and a winter room, with an oval igloo fireplace raised off the terrazzo floor. Apps ($8 to $14): crab cakes with paprika oil and spicy garlic mayonnaise; risotto with duck confit, wild mushrooms, and mascarpone. Mains ($23 to $38): seared sea scallops with butternut squash, bacon, celery root, and spinach; slow braised lamb shank with broccoli raab, white beans, roasted garlic jus. Desserts ($8): “coffee and doughnuts” (warm Krispy Kreme bread pudding with Turkish coffee ice cream); warm apple/cherry crisp with walnut/spice topping and cinnamon ice cream.
The Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Belle vue shuttered the Founder’s Room and The Library Lounge and reopened the space in March as XIX/Nineteen, An American Brasserie. Perched on the 19th floor, the 225 seater affords diners panoramic views of the city in a setting rich in historical details such as 36-foot-high domes, antique mirrored ceilings, and plaster cameos. Helming the culinary team are executive chef Richard Hebben, recently of Hotel Adolphus (Dallas), chef de cuisine Marc Plessis, formerly of Miami’s Vix, and executive pastry chef Jason Etzkin, who hails from the Park Hyatt Los Angeles. The menu is a seafood-centric take on new American classics. Apps ($9 to $14): smoked sturgeon with roasted celery root salad and fresh horseradish; warm white jumbo asparagus with hard-boiled eggs, nutmeg, and parsley. Mains ($19 to $38): roasted salmon with Yukon gold potatoes, wilted mustard greens, and vermouth/cream sauce; roasted Amish free-range chicken with trumpet mushrooms, white beans, and garlic sausage. Desserts ($7 to $9): lemon foam carrot cake with walnut crunch, sweet carrot sauce, and cream cheese sherbet; warm peanut butter/chocolate chunk bread pudding with raspberry sauce, peanut brittle, and raspberry ice cream.
Michelle Bernstein, who operates MB at Fiesta Americana Grand Aqua hotel in Cancún, Mexico, and is consulting chef at Social Hollywood (Hollywood), opened Michy’s, a high-energy spot with a neighborhood vibe, at 6927 Biscayne Boulevard, in February. Partners are husband David Martinez, who runs the front of the house, and local restaurateur Steve Perricone. Jason Schaan, who worked with Bernstein at Azul, is her chef de cuisine. Her sister, designer Nicolette Bernstein-Cohen, gave the 72 seater a funky late 1960s look, swaddling it in hues of orange, gold, and blue and pillaging local thrift shops for floral oilcloth-covered chairs and funky chandeliers. Everything on the savory menu is available in half ($5 to $13) or full portions ($8 to $27). Cold: house-cured gravlax carpaccio with fennel slaw, rye toast, and crème fraîche; beet salad with Cabrales foam and candied walnuts. Hot: rabbit loin with Moroccan lentil stew and fried olives; sautéed quail with pearl onions and peach vinaigrette. Desserts ($7): baked Alaska with dulce de leche ice cream, passion fruit sauce, and berries; caramelized banana/chocolate tartlet with banana mousse and cinnamon ice cream.
In February, chef/co-owner Christian Shaffer and John Langley, his business partner at Avenue (Manhattan Beach), took over the former home of L’Auberge (314 El Paseo Road) and morphed it into the low-key, white tablecloth concept Auberge at Ojai. Shaffer, who shuffles between his two kitchens, is joined at Auberge at Ojai by chef de cuisine Nickos Rovello, a Patina Group alum who cooked in New York City’s DB Bistro Moderne and Ouest. The menu of progressive French fare filtered through an American lens is matched by a rustic wine country interior that seats 60. An outdoor redwood patio accommodates an additional 30. Apps ($6 to $15): house-cured gravlax with watercress, pine nuts, and carrot syrup; duck rillettes with yellow beets, blood orange, and walnuts. Mains ($22 to $29): braised oxtail with barley and cèpes; grilled venison with butternut squash, chestnuts, and chocolate. Desserts ($7): hot chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow cream; honey/rosemary parfait with candied Meyer lemon.
Kyle Lynch, principal at KL Design Group (credited for the stylish looks of Fenouil and Fivespice, among others) and owner of Gower Street Bistro (Cannon Beach), nabbed the lease on the former Torrefazione space (1140 N.W. Everett Street) and in January launched European-style Everett Street Bistro. KL gave the 50 seater a generous dose of old shoe Old World charm with pressed tin ceiling, tables clad in butcher paper, chalkboard menus, and a large take-out deli case hawking imported charcuterie and house-made pâtés. Executive chef Ethan Powell, recently of Andina Restaurant, turns out Continental fare bolsterd with Northwest bounty. Apps ($6 to $14): trio of pâtés with cornichons, diced onion, spicy mustard, and toast points; oven-roasted globe artichokes with lemon aïoli. Mains ($10 to $26): wild mushroom/spinach quiche with mixed green salad, Fourme d’Ambert, pan-fried pancetta, and garlicky pecans; pan-seared French-cut pork chops stuffed with apples, figs, and sausage, served with braised prunes, roasted turnips, and braised Brussels sprouts. Desserts ($4 to $8): poached pears with Cognac caramel; Black Beauty (a chocolate biscuit with chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse, and vanilla syrup).
