Kitchen Dish
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
MOONLIGHTING Two veteran managers from TriBeCa restaurants are teaming up for their own project in the East Village. Robert Larcom from Myriad Restaurant Group (Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Mai House, Centrico) and Gregg Nelson from Dylan Prime and Devin Tavern have taken over the jazz bar Detour (349 E. 13th St., between First and Second avenues, 212-533-6212). Mr. Larcom says the space used to be a Mexican restaurant and has a large kitchen in the basement that he plans to use to turn the space into a “gastrosaloon,” serving American food along the lines of that of Cookshop or Blue Ribbon.
He hopes to open the restaurant, with an as-yetundisclosed name, in January.
TWO MENUS Marco Canora, the chef of Hearth restaurant, is taking over the space formerly known as Limoncello in the Michelangelo Hotel (152 W. 51st St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues) to open an 80-seat Italian restaurant.
The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will feature two menus, one with traditional Old World Italian dishes and the other with Italian-oriented contemporary New York cuisine.
“I think it will allow the Old World menu to be truly classical, as long as I have this other side to balance it out,” Mr. Canora said of the dual-menu concept. He said he hopes to open the restaurant on March 1.
MEATPACKING MEDITERRANEAN The Upper East Side restaurant Fig & Olive plans to open a new location in the meatpacking district on Tuesday. Starting that night and through December 22, Fig & Olive Downtown (420 W. 13th St., between Ninth Avenue and Washington Street, 212-924-1200) will be serving free wine and hors d’oeuvres between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. It also will provide free taxi service to patrons (two or more) of the uptown location (808 Lexington Ave., between 62nd and 63rd streets) to the new spot. The taxi fare will be deducted from your lunch or dinner check.
HOLIDAY AVOCADOS If you are hoping to serve avocadobased dips over the holidays, stop by Tour (102 Eighth Ave. at 15th Street, 212-242-7773) today at 5:30 p.m. for a demonstration by chef Kenneth Collins. A tasting will follow.
NEW AT LE CIRQUE Christophe Bellanca, formerly the chef of l’Orangerie in Los Angeles, is moving to New York to join the team at Le Cirque (151 E. 58th St., between Lexington and Third avenues, 212-644-0202), where he will work with executive chef Pierre Schaedelin, according to the blog Snack (snack. blogs.com).
Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.