The Plaza hotel's Grand Ballroom reopens next month, restored to its original 1929 splendor, and in an unprecedented coup, NYC–based caterers Great Performances and Buffalo, NY–based Delaware North Companies signed a 25 year lease with the hotel's parent company, Elad Properties, and will operate as Events at The Plaza out of the space. "It's definitely a nontraditional situation," notes Great Performances CEO Liz Newmark of the lease. "Elad's dream is for this to be six star, six diamond dining." To facilitate this ambitious upgrade, the renovation of the space included the build-out of a full tilt professional kitchen with all the bells and whistles. • Coming to town: Guenter Seeger, who's relocating to Brooklyn from Atlanta and looking for a fine dining restaurant space in Manhattan, and Toronto's Susur Lee, who'll open in a new Lower East Side hotel. • Daniel Boulud is joining the downtown fray with the opening of a yet-to-be-named place in the summer of 2008 in restaurant supply land at 299 Bowery. Look for fancy burgers, among other sure-fires, and creative ice cream parfaits. • The unstoppable NYC–based BLT Restaurant Group and Laurent Tourondel are bringing their French-accented designer steakhouse concept to five cities. This month BLT Steak opens in Dallas at 5301 Alpha Rd. (no details yet on the chef de cuisine) and in the shiny new Ritz-Carlton Westchester (White Plains), where Jesse Davis, a protégé of Michael Lomonaco, is chef de cuisine. Next month BLT Steak will take over the former Le Dome space in West Hollywood (8720 Sunset Blvd). And next spring look for outlets in South Beach, FL in The Betsy Hotel and in Scottsdale, AZ in The Camelback Inn. • Although a Bouley rep sniffily declined to confirm specifics, in October the New York Times reported that David Bouley and Yoshiki Tsuji (who runs the legendary Tsuji Culinary Institute in Japan and France) will open Brushstroke at 111 W. Broadway) with a robata grill downstairs and pricey ultrarefined kaiseki-style dining above. • The Smith opened last month at 55 Third Ave. A zinc bar and chalkboard menu of seasonal bistro eats set an easy American brasserie mood. Owners are Glenn Harris and Jeffrey Lefcourt (Jane and The Neptune Room); chef Brian Ellis comes from Jane. • Madaleine Mae, a solid neighborhood place serving urbanized Southern food, opened last month in the former Kitchen 82 digs (461 Columbus Ave.) The Barbuto trio, Jonathan Waxman, Philip Scotti, and Arnold Penner, are partners. • In October, brothers Mario and Sergio Riva, who together own restaurants in NYC and New Jersey, turned their Candela (116 E. 16th St.) into the market-driven Irving Mill, with John Schaefer, former exec chef at Gramercy Tavern, at the helm. Suzanne Letulle Riva, who is married to Mario and has tons of wine and front-of-the-house experience at places like Picholine, is also an owner. • Last month Andrew Silverman moved Steak Frites to 225 Varick St., and this month he morphed the original Steak Frites location (near Union Square) into Cafe Society, a high-energy 1940s-style spot serving well structured American cuisine. • Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis, who together own Anthos, are reincarnating their defunct Italian/Greek hybrid, Dona, next month at 204-206 E. 58th St., but at press time had not yet settled on a new name. The duo are also moving Kefi, Psilakis' rustic Greek place, to a larger Upper East Side venue by March. • Athens Tavern, serving gutsy "gastro-tavern" fare, opened in October in Astoria, Queens. Owners are Antonia Panelli, a former server at Avra Estiatorio, and Nicos Gregoriou, a well-regarded Astoria restaurateur. The plan is to have a rotating roster of guest chefs from Greece for six month periods, starting with the celebrated Yianni Baxevanis, who runs Yiorti in Athens and recently opened a place in Dubai. Dimitra Vallas, a Baxevanis disciple, is chef de cuisine. • After a 12 month restoration, The Mansfield Hotel reopened in September as a boutique property. Original Beaux Arts and Second Empire details were integrated with a more modern, masculine look throughout the 126 rooms. • Magnolia Bakery is bringing its iconic cloying cupcakes uptown this month with the launch of a second location at 200 Columbus Ave. • The spruced-up 212 Restaurant recruited Vincent Chirico, recently of Frederick's, as exec chef/partner in September. He replaces Michael Zavata. • Replacing Scott Bryan in October at Veritas is Ed Cotton, who earned his stripes at Daniel and beyond. • Gavin Kaysen, a San Diego émigré last seen cooking at El Bizcocho, is the new exec chef at Café Boulud, taking over from Bertrand Chemel this month. • Pastry chef Deborah Snyder packed up her whisks at the Lever House to create dolci at Alto and L'Impero in October, taking over from Tim Butler. • In September Ivy Stark returned to the Dos Caminos fold after a stint helming Amalia. Stark is exec chef at the Park Ave. South branch. Meantime at Amalia, sous chef Adam Ross is now top toque. • In related news, B.R. Guest Restaurants will open a Dos Caminos in Las Vegas at The Palazzo this month, a new stand-alone resort adjacent to The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino. • Patricia Yeo, who recently left her chef/partner role at Sapa, is out as exec chef at Monkey Bar. No word yet on her replacement.
Bastide, a standard-bearer in French fine dining until it closed in January 2006, reopened in September, but with a looser French style and lighter mood. Owner Joe Pytka dressed down the interior and recruited Walter Manzke, formerly Patina exec chef, and his wife, pastry chef Margarita Manzke, also from Patina. Curating the ambitious international menu is Pieter James Verheyde, who learned the trade working for Alain Ducasse. • Last month Patina Restaurant Group opened Paperfish, a designer seafood eatery, at 345 N. Maple Dr. (Beverly Hills). Joachim Splichal tapped Yianni Koufodntis as exec chef, a Patina alum who, incidentally, worked in the same kitchens back when the space was Maple Drive.
At press time the rumor mill spat out this tasty morsel. Details are few, but, NYC–based Terrance Brennan is in final negotiations on a downtown space for an offshoot of Artisanal, which will open next fall. • Lovers of bubbly will swoon over Prosecco (710 N. Wells St.). Opened last month, it boasts an extensive Italian sparking wine list, alongside robust Italian fare. Owners are Kathryn Sullivan (creator of the shuttered Narcisse) and chef Mark Sparacino (who also owns Sparacino's Ristorante). His sister Stefania Sparacino is managing partner. • Lockwood Restaurant is the new, 200 seat upscale dining venue at revamped Palmer House Hilton, which opened last month. Exec chef Phillip Foss, who cooked at Le Cirque in NYC and Bistrot Margot in Chicago, is serving contemporary cuisine with Italian and French roots. • The team behind Bin 36, exec chef John Caputo, Dan Sachs, Brian Duncan, and Joanne Chessie, and James Terlizzi, a Bin 36 employee, took a crack at Italian with the October debut of A Mano (335 N. Dearborn St.), a lively trattoria with an urban edge. Caputo divides his time between the two kitchens and Duncan is handling the wines. • In October, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises converted enoteca at Osteria Via Stato into Pizzeria via Stato, serving Roman-style pies created by exec chef David DiGregorio. • LEYE also opened the Reel Club, an upscale seafood concept with prime meats on the menu for fishphobes, in the Oakbrook Center mall last month. Mychael Bonner, recently of Di Pescara (Northbrook), is exec chef. • Maya de Sol, opened in October at 144 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park takes patrons on a culinary journey through Mexico, Central and South America, Cuba, and California. Exec chef is Ruben Beltran, former Frontera Grill sous chef. Owners are Anan and Margi Abu-Taleb (founders of the Chicago-based Pizza Capri) and investor John Hartin.
Wolfgang Puck's first restaurant in the Capital, The Source, opened in October at the Newseum. The bi-level space has approachable casual dining downstairs and Asian accented fine dining upstairs. Exec chef is Scott Drewno, who worked with Puck early in his career and is fresh off a fruitful NYC run cooking at Vong and Ruby Foo's. Pastry chef Karen Crawford decamped from SeaBlue in Atlantic City. • Dan Mesches and Star Restaurant Group (Red Sage, Zola, and Indigo Landing) is planning a yet-to-be-named downtown Italian eatery at 733 15th St. N.W. to open in fall 2008. To prepare the menus, company exec chef Bryan Moscatello will stage at restaurants in Italy.
Last month Michelle Bernstein (chef/owner of Michy's, Miami) joined the Ocean Reef Club resort (Key Largo) as exec chef of its fine dining venue, The Craysfort Restaurant, redubbed (after some updating of the interior) Michelle's at Craysfort. • The kitchen team at Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak opening this month in the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club (Aventura), is led by Andrew Rothschild, formerly of The Forge (Miami Beach). GM is John Riccardo, who was director of operations for The Norman Van Aken Companies. • In October, chef Joachim Splichal and Nick Valenti and their Patina Restaurant Group unveiled Tutto Italia Ristorante in the Italy Pavilion in the World Showcase section of Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort (Lake Buena Vista). The restaurant, while elegant, is also geared toward its client base and includes "abbondanza" family tables serving regional food on generous platters meant for sharing. Renzo Barcatta, who hails from Junior's Restaurant (NYC), is exec chef; Charlie Restivo, formerly of Naples 45 (NYC), is chef de cuisine. • Ralph Pagano, a Hell's Kitchen finalist, is corporate exec chef and culinary director for Fort Lauderdale–based Mancini Restaurant Group, which is opening Mbar Global Kitchen and Cocktail Lounge and Rare Prime Steakhouse on Fort Lauderdale's restaurant row, at 1301 and 1307 East Las Olas Blvd., next month.
• Alex Patout is no longer chef at Christabelle's Quarter (Coconut Grove). No word yet on his next move or who will fill those big shoes at Christabelle's.New Orleans–based Emeril Lagasse will open his third venue in Las Vegas next month, Table 10, at The Palazzo. Chef de cuisine Jean Paul Labadie, with Lagasse since 1994, is currently at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House in Las Vegas. • With thriving interstate locations in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Mobile, and Birmingham, The Baton Rouge–based loungy wine bar franchise, The Wine Loft, is expanding next year to include locations in Denver, Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Tallahassee, and beyond. CEO is Jason Doyle, and vp of operations is Chris Demers, both seasoned restaurateurs. Corporate chef Jeff Scott worked with Robert del Grande at his Cafe Express concept.
Got Dish? Send it to juliet.glass@gmail.com
