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.

RETURN OF A CLASSIC
A sleeker, more uptown version of the 2nd Avenue Deli had its first family-and-friends lunch yesterday, and is on track to open to the public on Monday in Murray Hill (162 E. 33rd St., between Lexington and Third avenues , 212-689-9000). The original East Village landmark restaurant closed last year after the landlords threatened to raise the rent by more than 30%, according to reports quoting owner Jack Lebewohl.
His son, Jeremy Lebewohl, will be running the new location, which has just 65 seats, about half the number of the original location, but an expanded deli case — just under 25 feet instead of just under 15 — and a full bar. The new restaurant will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In addition to classic menu items such as matzoh ball soup, pastrami, knishes, gefilte fish, and chopped liver, the restaurant, certified kosher by Rabbi Israel Steinberg, has added a line of smoked fish appetizers — not typical for a traditional Jewish delicatessen — including smoked tuna loin, sable, baked salmon, and assorted herring.
At press time Jeremy Lebewohl was working on perfecting a kosher “crab salad,” probably to be made with pollack, he said.
“I’m still messing around with it as we speak,” he said.
The space was most recently a tapas restaurant called Marbella, from which the owners inherited the liquor license.
Given the smaller space, Mr. Lebewohl said he hoped to focus more on catering and takeout — hence the larger deli case — but also to provide a more intimate atmosphere in the dining room, which is separated by a glass divider from the take-out and bar area.
SWOOPING DOWN
Dovetail (103 W. 77th St. at Columbus Avenue , 212-362-3800), the first restaurant to be owned by chef John Fraser, is likely to open this weekend.
Mr. Fraser, who earned a name for himself first as the chef of the small, low-budget Snack Taverna in the West Village and then as the chef at the larger eatery, Compass, on the Upper West Side, says his new restaurant will be just right. With 70 seats in the dining room and another 20 in the restaurant’s sherry cave, Mr. Fraser says he can give the time and energy needed for each dish.
The menu will change often, but items that might be available opening night include a terrine made of the meats and cheeses normally found in a New Orleans muffuletta sandwich — provolone, Genoa salami, and ham — served with a salad of olive, parsley, and pimiento and topped with fried lamb tongue.
Another possibility is gnocchi with duck confit, apples, and foie gras butter. His tater tots will be made from potatoes slow-cooked in olive oil, then crushed, shaped into rounds, and fried. As one would expect from a restaurant with its own sherry room, Dovetail will offer a wide array of the fortified wines as well as a rotating list of sherry cocktails.
ITALIAN INFLUENCES
Tre (173 Ludlow St., between Houston and Stanton streets, 212-353-3353) opened on Monday, serving Italian-ish food and cured meats. Appetizers include fried calamari with your choice of chorizo or scallion and garlic-chile aïoli; sardines with fennel, pink grapefruit, and peanut-raisin relish, and Angus beef carpaccio with avocado, bacon, and mâche. The cavatelli comes with a broccoli rabe foam, and the pappardelle has ricotta salata foam, but diners also can get a skirt steak with kale and potato nuggets.
MEXICAN MENU
Qdoba Mexican Grill opened its second Manhattan location yesterday at 875 Third Ave. (at 53rd Street, 212-755-7938). It is the first city Qdoba owned by the chain’s parent company. The others, in Manhattan and Queens, are franchised. Qdoba has a larger menu than its main competitor, Chipotle Mexican Grill.
POP GOES THE BURGER
Pop Burger’s Midtown location (14 E. 58th St., between Madison and Fifth avenues, 212-991-6644) has opened next to Bergdorf Goodman Men’s. The ground floor is devoted to counter service; customers who want to sit down can go to the second floor. The third floor, for private events, has a pool table. It is open until 4 a.m., seven days a week.
SUSTAINABLE CUISINE
Urban Rustic (236 N. 12th St., between Driggs and Union avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-388-9444), a grocery store, café, and deli owned by the same people who own Lodge and Lodge General Store, is scheduled to open on Friday. Its focus will be on local, sustainable goodies.
A NEW HARU
A seventh Haru has opened. This one is in the Beaver Building (1 Wall Street Court, at the intersection of Pearl and Pine streets, 212-785-6850), with a 17-seat sushi bar, 160 other seats, and two 15-seat private rooms. It opened for lunch on Monday. Dinner service will be available later this week.
Sushi is the mainstay of this chain, founded by the same people as Benihana; but some hot entrées, plus ceviche, are on hand, too.
Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.