Michael Mina and his SF–based Mina Group, which owns blockbuster venues in the San Francisco Bay Area, Monarch Beach, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and—starting this month—Detroit with the launch of Salt water and Bourbon Steak, is casting his dining net to include Florida. A second Bourbon Steak will open this winter at The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club (Miami). Stay tuned for kitchen crew details. • Peruvian lauded chef Gastón Acurio, who, with his wife, pastry chef Astrid Gutsche, own numerous Astrid y Gastón and La Mar Cebichería restaurants throughout Latin America, is unveiling his first U.S. venture, La Mar Cebichería Peruana, at the revamped Pier 1 1/2 next spring. • A mix of seasonal Cal-Ital cuisine and global wines is the focus at Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant, a restaurant/retail wine shop combo opening this month at 330 First St. Owners are exec chef Ola Fendert (best known from his time at Oola Restaurant & Bar and Chez Papa), sommelier Mark Bright (formerly of Michael Mina Restaurant), restaurateur John Stricklin (partner at Sushi Groove South and Oola), and gm Maria Hilario-Fendert (who garnered front-of-the-house experience at Café de la Presse, Oola, Frisson, and Foreign Cinema). • Last summer Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants sold Hotel Palomar and (at press time) exec chefless Fifth Floor to the real estate investment firm Griffin Capital. Kimpton continues to manage the property. • The San Mateo–based Straits Restaurant Group (which owns three Straits Restaurants in the Bay Area and SINO Restaurant & Lounge in San Jose) recruited Parnell F. Delcham, from Hospitality Operational Partners in Las Vegas, to be its COO. • Jardinière marked its 10th anniversary last month with a gentle redo. The downstairs dining room is now a lounge serving trendy things like pork belly sliders and cocktails by Thad Vogler (creator of the drinks programs at The Slanted Door and Coco 500).
Last month The Light Group (Light Nightclub, FIX Restaurant & Bar, among others) unveiled Diablo's Cantina in the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, serving jumbo portions and swimming pool–sized pitchers of Margaritas. Exec chef Noé Alcalá came by way of Pink Taco. • Daniel Boulud Brasserie reopened in July after minor renovations with a new co-exec chef. Wesley Holton, a transplant from Café Boulud (Palm Beach), took over from Philippe Rispoli. • In August Russell Bellanca closed Alfredo of Rome at Epcot at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Epcot (Orlando) and will open a new Jeffrey Beers–designed Alfredo in the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino this fall. Mirco Grassini, exec chef at both the NYC and Orlando Alfredo outposts, will oversee the Las Vegas kitchen.
Chef Steven Brown, who fell off the radar when Levain closed last winter, is now cooking at Harry's Food & Cocktails at 500 Washington Ave. So. (Nochee in a previous life), which opened in July. Co-owners are Adam Smith and Dwight Bonewell (also co-owners of Nochee). • The new pastry chef at La Belle Vie and Solera is Michelle Gayer-Nicholson, formerly of Minneapolis' Franklin Street Bakery and before that Charlie Trotter's (Chicago). In August she replaced Adrienne Odom, who's rumored to be reuniting with former employer Marcus Samuelsson in NYC. • Chef/partner David Vloch left the perennially popular Talk Town Diner.
Brasserie Ruhlmann SteakHouse, a meaty variation on the NY original, opens this month with Christian Delouvrier as exec chef. Delouvrier is also chef/co-owner at La Goulue Christian Delouvrier in Bal Harbour, FL. Ruhlmann owners are Jean Denoyer, Miae Lim, Regis Marinier, and Rick Wahlstedt. • When Denver-based Sage Restaurant Group (Temple Down town, Providence; The Corner Office, Denver) wanted to create a Spanish tapas restaurant for the revamped Blackstone Hotel (opening early next year), Sage senior vp Peter Karpinski turned to Jose Garces, chef/owner of Philly's Amada, Tinto, and the forthcoming Mexican themed Chilango, whom he knows from their time working together at the Philly-based Starr Restaurant Organization. At Mercat, slated to open in early 2008, Garces focuses on Barcelona-style tapas. Heading up the kitchen on a daily basis will be Michael Fiarello, an alum of both Amada and Tinto. • Henry Adaniya, previously owner of the seminal Trio (Evanston), has returned to his roots. His family owned a beach concession selling hot dogs in Honolulu in the 1940s and 1950s, and Adaniya relocated to Hawaii and in July unveiled a hot dog stand, Hank's Haute Dogs, at 324 Coral St. (Honolulu). So does this mean he's finished with fine dining? "I doubt it. I'm a man who likes to play on both sides of the fence," he confesses. "This is something I needed to do to satisfy a kid-like dream." • After 27 years Lettuce Entertain You shuttered Ambria and will relaunch it as a yet-to-be-named restaurant under the leadership of Laurent Gras. Joining Gras is chef de cuisine Francis Brennen, who comes by way of NoMi and worked with Gras in San Francisco at Fifth Floor. • In August Art Smith (TV personality, cookbook author, and chef to Oprah Winfrey) opened his first restaurant, Table Fifty-Two (52 West Elm St.), serving American standards with a Southern twang in a cozy family-friendly atmosphere. Former model/interior designer Julie Latsko is co-owner. Chef de cuisine Rey Villalobos has worked with Smith since 2005. • Jerry Suqi and Jackson Miranda, who were both involved in the trendsetting (yet shuttered) Sugar: A Dessert Bar, morphed the space into a restaurant/lounge, La Pomme Rouge. Chef Jeff Mauro comes by way of Las Vegas' Bradley Ogden. • In July the team behind Keefer's unveiled Tavern at the Park (130 E. Randolph St.) with great views of Millennium Park and unfussy eats by exec chef John Hogan (also at the helm at Keefer's). Chef de cuisine is Michael Cisternino, formerly of Gioco. • Last month Jonathan Fox, formerly COO for Maggiano's Little Italy, opened La Madia (59 W. Grand Ave.), a wood-burning oven pizzeria with an ambitious wine program. • The new pastry talent at BOKA is Elizabeth Dahl, who comes via Naha. She replaced Leticia Zenteno in August.
Seafood heavy Continental fare is on the menu at Clark & Schwenk's Seafood and Oyster Bar (C&S for short), new to 3240 Cobb Parkway last summer. Owners are gm Rich Clark and Jon Schwenk, who met working together at Atlantic Seafood Company (Alpharetta). • Ray's on the River reopened in July after a sleeking of its interior. Also new is exec chef Tom McEachern, who replaced Sean McClendon and who recently cooked at Horseradish Grill. • The Feed Store in nearby College Park has new kitchen leadership. Peter Golaszweski, formerly of The Epicurean Restaurant (Decatur), replaced Scott Taylor. • Chip Ulbrich returns to the Fifth Group family after a stint as exec chef/partner at Bateaux (Beaufort, SC) to be exec chef at South City Kitchen Vinings (Smyrna). In related news, Fifth Group sold Sala-Sabor de Mexico in July to Twelve Grapes (which owns the adjacent restaurant Vine).
The dining lineup at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, slated to open next summer in Mashantucket, is taking shape. Michael Schlow, exec chef/co-owner of Boston area Radius, Via Matta, and Great Bay, plans to open an outpost of his Italianate Alta Strada. Chef de cuisine will be Luis Morales, who has worked at Schlow's other places. Also, rumor has it that a high gloss, NYC–based chef with places in Chicago and Las Vegas is also joining the property with two restaurants. Can you guess who? • Margot Olshan, a vet of the Martha Stewart empire and more recently chef/co-owner of SoNo Baking Co. (South Norwalk) opened Margot Cafe and Wine Bar in August at 59 High Ridge Rd. in Stamford. • At the recently opened Palomino (1392 E. Putman Ave. in Old Greenwich), chef Rafael Palomino and partner Moe Gad, who together own Sonora (Port Chester, NY) and Pacífico (Port Chester, NY; New Haven, CT; and Center Valley, PA), switch gears from Nuevo Latino to American market fare.
In the spring of 2008 Chris Douglass (chef/owner at Icarus in Boston and Ashmont Grill in Dorchester) plans to open Tavolo, serving pastas, pizza, panini, and salads, on the street level of The Caruth (1900 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester), a new condo project next to the Ashmont MBTA station. • The shtick at Stix is food cooked on flavor-infused skewers. The loungy space opened last month at 35 Stanhope St. (formerly Bomboa) and is the creation of 33 Management Group, which owns the neighboring 33 Restaurant & Lounge.
Ouch! This past summer patriarch Arrigo Cipriani and son Giuseppe, whose family owns The Rainbow Room, among many others, pleaded guilty to tax evasion and forked over a staggering $10 million in back taxes and court costs. At press time, sentencing hadn't yet happened, but it was looking like Arrigo, who pleaded guilty to a felony, while Guiseppe to a misdemeanor, would walk away with probation and dodge doing time in the clinker. A spokesperson for the family assured Food Arts that it's business as usual for the Cipriani family, i.e. very successful. • Will Goldfarb's critically acclaimed dessert haunt Room 4 Dessert closed in August. His plans? "To take over the world," he modestly declared in a recent phone chat. Barring that, he's looking for roomier digs for Room 4 Dessert and last month opened two green-minded sandwich kiosks in the Battery (downtown) dubbed Picnick. Also, in the works is a project in Brussels. "It's so superpowered I can't disclose details now," says Goldfarb, revealing only that it's a dynamic new concept for the European market. • John Fraser, who was recently seen cooking at Compass, will be chef/owner at a yet-to-be-named restaurant opening next month at 103 W. 77th St. Look for rusticated fine dining. • Hipster magnet The Double Seven, which closed last winter, will be reborn this fall in the ever packed meatpacking district at 63 Gansevoort St. (formerly Rhône). • Nearby at 71-73 Gansevoort. St., Los Dados started serving home-style Mexican fare in August. Owners are chef Sue Torres (chef/owner of Sueños) and David Rabin and Will Regan (co-owners of Lotus and The Double Seven). • Last month Market Table, a fresh market/restaurant combo, opened at 54 Carmine St., a collaborative effort of chef/owner Mike Price (previously of The Mermaid Inn) and Joey Campanaro and Gabriel Stulman of The Little Owl. • Speaking of The Mermaid Inn, next month its owner, Danny Abrams, will spawn a second Mermaid uptown at 568 Amsterdam Ave. with Laurence Edelman, formerly of The Red Cat, as exec chef. And this month Abrams unveils Smith's (79 MacDougal St.) with partners Cindy Smith and Gared Argeros (who worked together at Raoul's). The seasonal American menu is the work of Pablo Romero, recently sous chef at Bouley. • Young entrepreneur Carlos Suarez opened Bobo (short for bourgeois bohemian) last month to reflect its Greenwich Village 'hood at 181 W. 10th St. (former home to John Clancy). The studied interior is jammed with antiques and collectibles, while French born exec chef Nicolas Cantrel, who migrated from Country, strives for a European dinner party vibe. • Last month restaurateur Phil Suarez morphed Lucy Latin Kitchen into Lucy of Gramercy, updating the look and bringing on acclaimed chef Carmen Gonzalez, who returns to NYC after a 17 year stint in Coral Gables, Florida, at Carmen the Restaurant. The menu is now "post–new American," rooted in vibrant Puerto Rican flavors. • Alex Ureña and partner Martine Gren shuttered Ureña in August and reopened last month as Pamplona, shifting focus to Basque food and lowering price points. • Gordon Ramsay survivor Neil Ferguson, who was recently named exec chef/culinary director of Richard Friedberg's Monteverde at Oldstone Manor (Cortlandt Manor, NY), takes a crack at modern American cuisine at the newly minted Allen & Delancy (115 Allen St.) in NYC, which opened last month and is also owned by Friedberg. • With vintage doors and light fixtures imported from Paris and a menu packed with French classics, Belcourt nails the look and feel of a Parisian bistro. Opened last month at 84 E. Fourth St. (former home of cheap date mecca Frutti di Mare), Belcourt was still chefless at press time. Interesting sidenote: Owner Mehenni Zebentout, who also owns Cucina di Pesce and Nomad, started his culinary career as a Frutti di Mare busboy. • Up the street at 87 Second Ave., Kurve, an Asian restaurant designed by Karim Rashid, opens this month. Chef/owner is Andy Yang (former partner at Forbidden City and the closed Rochjin Asian Noodle); partners are exec chef Erik Cheah (formerly of Penang) and businessman Raymond Eng. • Anita Lo (exec chef/co-owner at Anissa) and Kenny Lao opened a second location of their Rickshaw Dumpling Bar at 50 E. Eighth St. last month and hope to roll out additional outlets in NYC. • New to the Upper East Side is Accademia di Vino (1081 Third Ave., previously home to Mainland), a 200 seat enoteca/restaurant/pizzeria opened in August. Owner Anthony Mazzola enlisted his 'Cesca exec chef Kevin Garcia to take on this kitchen as well. • Lynn McNeely stepped down as co-owner and chef de cuisine at Provence; co-owner Marc Meyer is now running the kitchen. In related news, Nick Morgenstern left Gilt to be pastry chef of all Meyer's restaurants (Cookshop, Five Points, and Provence). • Derrick Styczek started as exec chef at Devin Tavern in September, replacing Chris Dunn. • Sadly, SoHo trailblazer Jerry's lost its lease and was forced to close in August. Owner Jerry Joseph is looking for a new location.
