Kitchen Dish

By BRET THORN | March 7, 2007

TAVERN TALENT Brian Young has been named executive chef of Tavern on the Green (Central Park at West 67th Street, 212-873-3200), replacing John Milito.

Mr. Young, a native of Vancouver and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, most recently was executive chef of the now-shuttered Mainland on New York's Upper East Side.

Mr. Milito had already developed the restaurant's spring menus before leaving, so you will are unlikely to see food developed by Mr. Young at Tavern until June.

JAPANESE & ITALIAN Natsumi (226 W. 50th St., between Eighth Ave. and Broadway, 212-258-2988) is scheduled to open Monday. The menu will be Japanese-Italian fusion — think hamachi carpaccio with balsamic vinaigrette, or green tea ravioli stuffed with lobster and mushrooms.

QDOBA IN TOWN There is a new burrito chain in town. Qdoba Mexican Grill (208 E. 34th St., between Second and Third avenues, 212-686-3600) has opened its first unit in the city. The setup is similar to Chipotle's, but the menu is more extensive, with tortilla soup, quesadillas, and a wider variety of burritos, including one with chicken and mole, and another with poblano pesto.

CRAB COCKTAILS Fatty Crab (643 Hudson St., between Gansevoort and Horatio streets, 212-352-3590) now has a liquor license, and a cocktail list to go with it. The $12 drinks were developed by Dave Wondrich and include the Poona Club — made with Rangpur-lime gin, vermouth, blood orange juice, and bitters — and the Fatty Crabtail, which has high-proof rum, pineapple juice, ginger ale, bitters, and Pernod.

COFFEE ON THE HOUSE New Yorkers are in for a lot of free coffee in the next couple of weeks. The first freebie is tomorrow, when McDonald's will hand out free cups of the stuff to anyone who asks for it, at any location. It's in celebration of being named by Consumer Reports as having the best coffee for the price (compared with other fastfood chains).

Then next Thursday, Starbucks is celebrating its second annual "coffee break" by pouring free 12-ounce cups (tall, not grande or venti) of brewed coffee between 10 a.m. and noon.

And then finally, on Wednesday, March 21, Dunkin' Donuts will celebrate the first day of spring with a free 16-ounce cup of iced coffee all day long.

Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation's Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.