El Quijote in the Hotel Chelsea Reopens
Headliner
El Quijote
Its signature red neon sign has not changed, nor have the references to Don Quixote, the Spanish tilter of windmills, on its painted walls, frosted glass, ceramics and more. Now,this restaurant in the Hotel Chelsea on West 23rd Street, one of the city’s oldies — it first opened in 1930 — will open its doors again this week. (It closed in 2018 when the hotel’s renovations began.) The hotel will also reopen this month, but the restaurant is ready now, its size reduced from the original 220 seats to around 65. Sunday Hospitality, the owners of Sunday in Brooklyn, is running it with Charles Seich, a new partner here, and the company’s culinary director and partner, Jaime Young, is in charge of the food. At his side is the chef de cuisine Byron Hogan, who cooked in Spain for the past 12 years, mostly in Madrid, and moved to the United States to work here. “We want to make it authentic, looking more to the north of Spain with the Basque Country and Galicia,” Mr. Young said. Without straying far from the traditional, the chefs have come up with a dish that combines boquerones and oil-cured anchovies, a combination of preserved tuna with leeks and tomato, and squid with morcilla sausage. The paella for which the restaurant has long been known is now made mostly with seafood and also rabbit. The portions are not as massive as in the old days, but that era is evoked by pitchers with red and white sangrias. Spain dominates the wine list, and there are sherries, gins, vermouths and ciders. Burgundy leather, wrought iron, dark wood and a recently uncovered tile floor define the space, with a bar, a few tables and intimate booths. Later this year, Sunday Hospitality will open a French American bistro in the hotel. (Opens Wednesday)
226 West 23rd Street, 212-518-1843, elquijotenyc.com.
Opening
The Landing
This spacious new restaurant and bar sits on the second level of the newly reconfigured office tower at 1 Pennsylvania Plaza, now called Penn 1. Beyond a lounge, which serves coffee and tea by day and cocktails in the evening, is the main 150-seat dining room open for breakfast, lunch and dinner until 8 p.m. The executive chef Brian Huston and the chef de cuisine Jonathan Ho have devised an American menu with items like softly scrambled eggs and challah French toast for the morning, and for all-day dining, a Little Gem salad with grapefruit and avocado, white bean hummus, lemon chicken soup with orzo, cavatelli Bolognese, grilled branzino, and grilled chicken paillard. A turkey club, shrimp po’ boy and a burger are available for lunch and dinner. The restaurant is run by DMK, a hospitality group from David Morton, whose family founded the Morton’s Steakhouse chain. (Thursday)
Penn 1 (34th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), 332-216-4722, thelanding.nyc.
The Bronx Brewery
This South Bronx brewery, in business since 2011, has opened a satellite brewery, taproom and restaurant in the East Village. It is showcasing what it calls its pilot system, a mini-brewery in the dining room where limited-run beers are brewed. In the Bronx, Empanology does the food, and here it’s Bastard Burgers, a Swedish chain with many outlets known for smashed burgers dressed with various cheeses, sauces, onions and tomatoes. Pat LaFrieda makes a custom Black Angus blend for New York; vegan versions of all menu items are available.
64 Second Avenue (East Third Street), thebronxbrewery.com.
Charley
Kurt Gutenbrunner, the chef and owner of Wallsé in the West Village, has crossed the river to open a Viennese-style bistro in Harrison, N.J., a suburb of Newark. He’s partnering with David Barry, who also invested in the Standard East Village in Manhattan and the Chiltern Firehouse in London. Velvet, leather, marble and tile are used in the design, which echoes the Secessionists, Jugendstil and Josef Hoffmann. The menu features an Austrian flatbread with bacon and onions, Berlin currywurst, open-faced Viennese sandwiches, slow-roasted beets with Alpine cheese, classic wiener schnitzel, spaetzle, and apple strudel. Viennese-style coffees are served. (Opens Saturday)
202 Angelo Cifelli Drive (South Second Street), Harrison, N.J., 973-268-8000 charley.com.
Seabird Bakery
Shuna Lydon, a pastry chef who has been baking from her Brooklyn home during the pandemic, now has a counter at the new Manhattanville Market on the Columbia University campus. She’s baking the English muffins for which she has acquired a following, triple-dark chocolate chunk cookies flecked with sea salt, and New Orleans-style pecan pralines.
Manhattanville Market, 3229 Broadway (130th Street), 917-522-0391.
Peakaboo
Peak, the restaurant on the 101st floor of 30 Hudson Yards, now has this luxury lounge alongside, also with sweeping views and designed by Rockwell Group. The libations emphasize high-end brands, and the food knows no budget with oysters, black truffle tarts, shrimp with bottarga, and caviar with tater tots. It’s open Thursday through Saturday, 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.
30 Hudson Yards (West 33rd Street), peaknyc.com.
Whatever Forever
This bar and lounge is new to Gotham Market at the Ashland in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. It’s mainly about drinks, which are poured until 2 a.m., Thursday through Saturday, and 1 a.m. the rest of the week.Smashed Bk for burgers, and Taco Taco are also coming to the market.
Gotham Market, 590 Fulton Street (Ashland Place), Fort Greene, Brooklyn, gothammarketashland.com.
The Hideout at Gallow Green
The open-air rooftop bar and restaurant at the McKittrick Hotel, where “Sleep No More” is staged, has reopened. Added to its ski lodge vibe with tartan and sheepskin throws and a fire pit are individual and group yurts for sheltered dining.
542 West 27th Street, 212-904-1880, mckittrickhotel.com.
Looking Ahead
Pier 57
The landmark Hudson River pier that houses City Winery and was supposed to be the home of Anthony Bourdain’s street food market will now have a food hall under the auspices of the James Beard Foundation, to open in the fall. Clare Reichenbach, the foundation’s chief executive, said a name has not yet been selected for it. “It’s a relatively new idea for us,” she said. “It came about through our relationship with Jamestown.” (Jamestown is the real estate company that runs Chelsea Market, where the foundation has held events.) Also involved are Google, the nonprofit Hudson River Park Trust, and the real estate companies RXR and Youngwoo & Associates. There will be 17 vendors with kiosks in the market, selected by Jamestown with guidance from the foundation. The James Beard Foundation will manage its own kiosk with a rotation of participants who are up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and will also run a kitchen and demonstration space. Ms. Reichenbach said that, with this new facility, the foundation planned to feature events meant to appeal to consumers, with the focus of the James Beard House, its West Village headquarters, more on the hospitality industry.
Pier 57, 15th and West Streets.
Oceana
For its 30th anniversary, this Midtown seafood restaurant will bring back a lineup of chefs who have led its kitchen, first on East 54th Street, now on West 49th Street, on Feb. 11 to 19, Valentine’s Day weekend (closed on Feb. 13). A menu of à la carte dishes offered under Rick Moonen, Cornelius Gallagher, Ben Pollinger, Bill Telepan, and the current chefs, Michael Aungst and Tim Jocz, will be available.
120 West 49th Street, 212-759-5941, oceanarestaurant.com.
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