17 global restaurant openings to get excited about
IF THERE’S a prime time for restaurants in the northern hemisphere, it’s autumn. Following a slow summer season, chefs and restaurateurs — not to mention wine directors and bartenders — prepare to roll out their most anticipated projects. This particular fall sees the reopenings of two of the world’s best restaurants, in New York and Copenhagen, plus a spot for the world’s top sommelier to flex his wine muscles. California will have a particularly exciting season: Powerhouse chefs are opening venues in Los Angeles, and the fresh, healthy cuisine pioneered by the state is popping up as far away as Hong Kong. Read on to discover the upcoming must-visit places around the world.
CLASSICS REAWAKENED IN NY
Not many people would shutter their restaurant the same year it was ranked No. 1 in the World’s 50 Best List. But Eleven Madison Park (EMP) co-owners chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara decided it was time to update the landmarked space. The new EMP will have a more magnificent kitchen (with a custom made Molteni stove) and a bigger bar area when it reopens for service on Oct. 8, with eight- to 10-course menus of seasonal American dishes never served before for $295.
Meanwhile, it’s been four years since Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr left Keith Mcnally’s Minetta Tavern. In October, the pair will open Frenchette in Tribeca — an international hodgepodge with a design inspired by the cafés and restaurants of late 19th century Vienna, plus a rotisserie and Japanese charcoal grill in the kitchen. The food is French-inspired, with such dishes as spit-roasted lobster, as well as more casual items like veal knuckle sandwich with bitter greens and sauce gribiche. The acclaimed nearby bakery Arcade will supply the bread, and the wine list will lean toward natural selections.
The Hudson Yards development is one of New York’s biggest residential and office projects in decades, and it’s finally getting on its feet. There aren’t yet a lot of good dining options. Enter the expert food- and-wine team behind Manhattan’s buzzy Charlie Bird and Pasquale Jones. When it debuts in October, Legacy Records will offer a Mediterranean fish- focused menu, plus a wine program conceived by Arvid Rosengren, who holds the title of world’s best sommelier. Upstairs you’ll find a serious bar, with cocktails overseen by the elite bar team at downtown’s PDT. ( See Hong Kong, below, too.)
CHICAGO GETS SOME SUNSHINE
One of America’s top chefs, Paul Kahan, is partnering with two of his proteges, Erling Wu Bower and Cosmo Goss, to channel a sunny west coast vibe at Pacific Standard Time. The kitchen will feature two ovens: One is dedicated to roasting vegetables, fish, and meat, much of it sourced from California. The other is an Italian-style woodburning oven for flatbreads, pizzas, and foccacio. Look for such dishes as short rib and littleneck clam stew with Japanese broth, seaweed, and farro, and ovenroasted black cod with plums.
A WESTWARD MIGRATION TO LA
At Dialogue, Dave Beran, the former high-hand man to Grant Achatz at Next and Alinea in Chicago, will challenge diners to an intense, focused fine-dining experience in an 18-seat space in Santa Monica. His 21-course tasting menu (from $175 to $205, depending on what time and day of the week you eat) takes advantage of the long California produce season’s travel through time. The first few courses nod to spring, the middle highlights summer, with such dishes as pork belly with strawberry sambal and nasturtium; the end of the meal anticipates fall. “I couldn’t do this in Chicago, when strawberry season is so short,” Beran explained. Diners shouldn’t be intimidated, despite the avalanche of dishes coming their way. “We want guests to feel comfortable,” he said. “Within minutes of sitting down, you’re served a glass of champagne, so you can relax.”
Frankly, there’s an entire migration from New York to the Golden State. Chefs, from Eleven Madison Park’s Daniel Humm to April Bloomfield, are opening outposts in Los Angeles, and Momofuku’s David Chang is the latest to do so. His North Spring will be set on Naud St. in Chinatown, where Chang said the menu, inspired by his new city, will be completely fresh. (Sorry guys, no pork buns.) “At the end of the day, I think that the most driving factor for us [in coming to Southern California] is the divergence of cultures found in one city and how that’s represented in the food scene,” said Chang. “It makes LA one of the most exciting places, foodwise.”
‘MIDWESTERN NOSTALGIA’
Jonathan Brooks almost singlehandedly put Indianapolis on gourmet maps when he opened his brilliant day time café, Milktooth, in a former auto repair shop. At Beholder, a space opening in December with an open kitchen and bar and local artists’ murals, Brooks will focus on an ambitious dinner menu of small, shareable plates of what he’s calling “Midwestern nostalgia.” That might include bone marrow custard with lobster dashi and coffee-roasted rutabaga with Mexican chocolate.
WASHINGTON’S DEVELOPMENT
Known for the exceptional Italian food he serves to power players at Fiola in the nation’s capital, Fabio Trabocchi will open Del Mar this fall in Southwest Washington’s $2.2 billion Wharf development. The name of the restaurant nods both to the waterfront location and Trabocchi’s focus on Spanish seafood and coastal cuisine. (His