New York City—Harry's of Hanover Square, once a financial center mainstay but shuttered since 2003, was reborn last month as the 150 seat Harry's Café and the 70 seat Harry's Steak. Owners are Peter Poulakakos (he rents the space from his father, Harry Poulakakos) and Danny McDonald and Michael Jewell (the trio also own Ulysses together). Exec chef Patrick Vaccariello cooked recently at Maloney & Porcelli. • Joey Campanaro, who last cooked at The Harrison and Pace, teamed up with former Pace bartender Gabriel Stulman to open The Little Owl last month, a tiny spot seating 28 in a bohemian country club setting. • Silverleaf Tavern did a great lounge business but was slow at dinners, so after closing in April to convert the dining room into greater lounge space, it reopened last month with a menu of flashy signature cocktails and tavern snacks. • Last month Michael Chow opened a second location of his famous Mr Chow at 121 Hudson St. David Hor, once exec chef at Mr Chow in London, is creating 30 new dishes for the TriBeCa outpost. • Josephs by Citarella closed in April and is relocating to a Citarella-owned building at 205 East 75th St. The reopening date is still up in the air, but Jeremy Culver is still on board as chef. • At the tender age of 25, Anne Saxelby, a Murray's Cheese veteran, last month struck out on her own with Saxelby Cheesemongers, an All-American cheese shop specializing in farmstead cheeses, at the Essex Steet Market. • Matthew Kenney (Blue/Green, The Plant) opened a vegan café, JivamukTea Café, in the new Jivamukti Yoga Center at 841 Broadway last month. In related news, just five months after opening, Kenney's Heirloom shuttered in April, perhaps temporarily. • In March Jack and Grace Lamb closed Jewel Bako Robata, a tiny space next to their sushi temple, Jewel Bako, and reopened it as Degustation, seating 16 at the counter and serving French/Spanish small plates created by Wesley Genovart, formerly of Perry St. • French native Laurent Tourondel (BLT Fish, BLT Prime, BLT Steak) channels his ancestral cuisine in his new post as exec chef at Brasserie Ruhlmann. He replaced George Masraff in April. • SoHo mainstay Jerry's has a new chef, Nathaniel Korsh, formerly of Café des Artistes and Prune. He replaced Eric Thomas in March. • 'Cesca's new exec chef Kevin Garcia, formerly chef de cuisine at Del Posto, started last month, taking over from Tom Valenti, who was top toque at both 'Cesca and Ouest. At press time Valenti was negotiating to purchase Ouest from Off The Menu Restaurant Group (owner of 'Cesca).
MINNEAPOLIS—Lenny Russo, owner of Heartland (St. Paul), is the exec chef for all dining operations at the new home to the Guthrie Theater (806 Second St. S.), which debut this month and include Cue at The Guthrie, a 200 seater serving modern American fare filtered through a local lens and a more casual pre-theater dining venue seating 200, along with two full-service bars, a crudo bar, and catering facilities. Managing the food operations is the Palo Alto–based Bon Appétit Management Company, an on-site restaurant company committed to sourcing sustainable local food supplies (a perfect match for Russo, who's known for his close ties to local farmers). Russo maintains his ownership stake in Heartland but is devoting himself full-time to the Guthrie and is leaving day-to-day operations in the capable hands of his wife/partner Mega Hoehn and chef de cuisine Robert Moore.
SAN FRANCISCO—Last month Matt Strum, Chris Cronk, and Leslie Shirah (partners at Solstice Restaurant & Lounge and Fly Bar) opened Brick at 1085 Sutter St. (formerly Tappe's Bar and Grill). Noah Tucker, who has cooked at SF's Michael Mina and NYC's Town and Oceana, is at the helm turning out Modern American. • In March David Cohen, recently an instructor at the Professional Culinary Institute (Campbell), stepped in as exec chef at Scala's Bistro. He replaces Staffan Terje, who opens Perbacco this month. • Christophe Hille (who is certified by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Assn.) left his post as exec chef at A16 and sold his stake to partners Victoria Libin and Shelley Lindgren to move back to the East Coast to be with his family. Replacing Hille is his righthand man, chef de cuisine/partner Nate Appleman, also certified by the VPNA.
LOS ANGELES—Calling a spade a spade, next month The Huntley (Santa Monica) will open a seafood-centric spot called Sea on the top of the hotel (former home to Toppers). Rodelio Aglibot, recently of Yi Cuisine, will be exec chef; L.A.–based Thomas Shoos is doing the design. • Speaking of Yi Cuisine, upon Aglibot's departure, Derek Zimara was promoted from sous to exec chef. Jeffrey Stivers is the new gm. He hails from Cicada and takes over from Orazio Afrente. • Koi Hospitality Group, creator of the ultrahip Japanese spot Koi (L.A., New York City, Bangkok), is giving Italian cuisine the cool treatment at Bridge (755 N. La Cienega Blvd., across the street from Koi's L.A. outpost), opened in April. Mirko Paderno, who last cooked at Dolce Enoteca e Ristorante, is exec chef. • Wolfgang Puck and his L.A.–based Wolfgang Puck Catering are bringing his California cuisine to the nation's capitol in the fall of 2007. The Source by Wolfgang Puck will be the fine dining spot in the new digs of the Newseum (an interactive museum of news currently in Arlington) on Pennsylvania Ave. and Sixth St., N.W.
PORTLAND, OREGON—Last month, industry locals Kevin Dorney, Marcus Ginther, and chef Jon Beeaker (formerly exec chef at Fivespice) debuted Acme Food & Drink, a Northwest barbecue joint doing the seasonal/sustainable/local dance. • There are some new faces at The Heathman Restaurant & Bar. John Gayer, who's been at The Heathman for three years, was promoted to exec pastry chef, replacing Heidi Weiser in April. Erica Landon, recently of Dundee Bistro (Dundee) is the new sommelier. She took over from Tysan Pierce last month. Garret Peck, a McCormick & Schmick's alum, started as gm in March, replacing Ted Swigert. • In April, Michael and Naomi Hebberoy split, with Naomi taking control of Ripe and then closing Gotham Bldg. Tavern and Family Supper, two of the company's three restaurants. At press time, the third, Clarklewis, remains open.
Chicago Area—The City Council of Chicago sent shock waves through the city's fine dining establishment when, in a vote of 48 to 1, it outlawed the sale of foie gras. The ordinance, effective 90 days from the vote of April 26, states that restaurants and retail stores can be subjected to a fine of $500 for peddling the fatty livers. "It's just unbelievable," states Rick Tramonto of Tru. "It's the law now, albeit unfortunate. We'll comply with it, but the losers are the customers. Fortunately, I'm opening Tramonto's Steak & Seafood in the Westin Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, a suburb, and I'll just put it on our menu there but take it off the menu at Tru." Ariane Daguin of the Newark, NJ–based D'Artagnan notes: "There are other fish to fry in Chicago, the meat capital of the world. The kosher way of killing beef, for example, is cruel. Raising ducks for foie gras is not cruel." Speaking of the Westin, Tramonto and Gale Gand are set to open a quartet of fancy eateries there: Osteria di Tramonto and Gale's Coffee Bar (serving pastries and sandwiches) are opening in September, followed by Tramonto's Steak & Seafood and RT Lounge in October. These four concepts are the first for the newly formed Buffalo Grove–based Cenitare, a restaurant development and management company owned by hotel and real estate developers Peter Dumon of The Harp Group (Lombard, IL) and David Bossy and Mike Firsel of Mid-America Development Partners (Oakbrook, IL). Tramonto's title is Cenitare exec chef/culinary director; Gand is consulting exec pastry chef. Plans are in the works to take these concepts (together and separately) into other markets, starting with downtown Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, and Washington, D.C. • Dale Levitski, formerly of the much lamented Trio Atelier, is now at Stone Lotus Lounge, opening this month in the old Pluton space (873 N. Orleans St.). Levistski, in charge of the small plates menu, is inserting the "chef" in the term "bar chef" by overseeing the cocktail list. • Chris Peckat, owner of Meritage Café and Wine Bar and The Ashland, debuted Fixture (2706 N. Ashland Ave.), a small plates spot that's open until the wee hours, in April. Troy Graves, exec chef of Peckat's venues, and chef de cuisine Sarah Nelson (recently Meritage sous chef) collaborated on the menu. • In March Bradley Rubin, whose front-of-the-house experience includes stints at MK and Bin 36 Lincolnshire, opened Eleven City Diner, a classic Jewish deli, at 1112 S. Wasbash Ave. Look for brick-thick sandwiches of corned beef, pastrami, and brisket, along with matzoh ball and kreplach soups, latkes, and chopped liver. Consulting chef Norman Robinson has clocked time at Chicago's best delis (and moonlights as a jazz trombonist).
ARMONK, NEW YORK—In April Norma Olarte-Becker, formerly director of operations at Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills), opened Café Norma's (387 Main St.), a prepared food spot that strikes a bistro vibe thanks to tables that invite patrons to eat in rather than take out. Specialties include arroz con pollo; arugula salad with Gorgonzola, apples, and walnuts; and made-to-order sandwiches on breads from NYC's Eli's Bread, Balthazar Bakery, Amy's Bread, and Tom Cat Bakery.
NAPA VALLEY—Thomas Keller has purchased the shuttered Wine Garden at 6476 Washington St. (Yountville). He doesn't know what he'll do with it yet but is toying with the ideas of a burger joint, a steak place, or a sushi restaurant (his favorite food) and aims to open in 2007. • Starting in September The Culinary Institute of America will be offering an associate degree program in occupational studies (AOS) at its Greystone campus, a program previously only offered at the college's main campus in Hyde Park, NY.
Got Dish? Send it to juliet.glass@gmail.com
