Kitchen Dish
UPSCALE BURGERS Daniel Boulud has tapped Jim Leiken, executive sous chef of DB Bistro Moderne (55 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-391-2400), as the executive chef of his burger restaurant to open on Bowery and 1st Street. The new restaurant does not yet have a name or opening date.
MOVING UP Chef Richard Farnabe, formerly of the night club Lotus, is now chef de cuisine of Picholine (35 W. 64th St., between Central Park West and Broadway, 212-724-8585).
DINNER WITH DE NIRO Ago (377 Greenwich St., between Franklin and North Moore streets, 212-925-3797), Robert De Niro's Italian restaurant at the Greenwich Hotel opened yesterday.
HOT POTATOES Baked potato restaurants, which populated food courts for a brief time in the 1980s, are back. Totally Baked (8 W. 18th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 646-336-6118) provides large spuds and a bar loaded with toppings for about $9. It joins New York Stuffed Idaho (240 E. Houston St., at Avenue A, 212-677-0507), which opened earlier this year.
NOODLING AROUND The much-anticipated Japanese ramen chain Ippudo (65 Fourth Ave., between 9th and 10th streets, 212-388-0088) opened its first New York location on Monday. The house specialty is pork-rich noodles, prepared like they are in Hakata, Japan.
MUSHROOMING Champignon Catering (200 Seventh Ave., between 21st and 22nd streets, 212-366-4410) has expanded to an adjacent space where it has opened Café Champignon (202 Seventh Ave., between 21st and 22nd streets, 212-929-3002), a wine bar and bistro.
VINTAGE DRINKS East Village cocktail lounge Antik (356 Bowery, between 3rd and 4th streets, 212-388-1655) is open, with table service rather than a bar. Reservations are required.
NOTABLE CLOSINGS The Midtown East watering hole P.J. Carney's (133. E. 56th St., between Park and Lexington avenues, 212-759-8446), will close before the end of July. The property it occupies will be razed to make way for a luxury condominium. The restaurant's West Side location (907 Seventh Ave. at 57th Street, 212-664-0056) will remain open.
SHACK AT HOME BLT Fish Shack, the casual ground-floor section of BLT Fish (21 W. 17th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-691-8888), is now delivering.
Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation's Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.
