Headliner
Blue Bird
Jon Howard, the bar and hospitality director for Sayless Hospitality, is taking a seasonal approach to cocktails at this new bar and bistro on the edge of the East Village. Fruits and vegetables, including red and green tomatoes, peaches, mushrooms, cucumbers, carrots, onions and rhubarb figure into his culinary cocktail creations. Red heirloom tomatoes are combined with fino sherry, bianco vermouth and basil oil for the Heirloom Tomato cocktail; and cucumbers meet gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon and Lillet for the Cucumber cocktail. Mr. Howard has returned to New York after eight years doing bar work in Nashville. French aperitifs, after-dinner drinks and a zero-proof quaff made with watermelon are also on the drinks list, along with a limited choice of red, white and sparkling wines, all natural. Traditional French fare like escargots, steak tartare, salade Lyonnaise, steak frites and steak au poivre share the menu with fritto misto, beet carpaccio and lobster spaghetti. The restaurant is on two levels, with some French touches in the décor.
106 Third Avenue (13th Street), 212-254-3825, bluebird-nyc.com.
Opening
Pita Shop by Sami & Susu
Like the restaurants that have become hosts to satellite pizzerias, Sami & Susu, a Mediterranean wine bar on the Lower East Side, has tucked a sandwich shop into the premises. A brief menu of cauliflower, chicken or lamb kebab in pitas, with garnishes like ras el hanout, tahini, harissa and charred vegetables; and bowls of salad or lamb neck over rice, are served and sold to-go Wednesday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m., and to be expanded.
190 Orchard Street (East Houston Street), 646-559-2856, pitashopnyc.com.
Shake Shack Veg Out Picnic Kit
Timed alongside the introduction of its veggie burger made with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots, faro and quinoa, Shake Shack is offering nicely fitted wicker picnic baskets for pickup this weekend. Along with two Veggie Shacks (burgers on buns piled with garnishes, including real American cheese that can be omitted), two orders of fries, a pint of nondairy chocolate frozen custard and two lemonades, the basket also contains a blanket, sunscreen, a sturdy reusable insulated ice cream container, a Frisbee, playing cards, bamboo dishes and utensils, cloth napkins and a Bluetooth speaker, all for $60. Orders can be placed starting Tuesday for pickup on Saturday and Sunday, at locations in Madison Square Park, in Manhattan; Piedmont Park, in Atlanta; Chicago Athletic Association, in Chicago; Central West End, in St. Louis; Brackenridge Park, in San Antonio; Dallas Uptown, in Dallas; Edgewater, in Denver; Santa Monica, near Los Angeles; Cow Hollow, in San Francisco; and The Wharf in Washington, D.C.
El Verano
Julian Medina, best known for his Toloache restaurants in Manhattan and El Fish Marisqueria on the Upper West Side, has added a Southampton, N.Y., restaurant to his portfolio. The Mexican menu puts a spotlight on local ingredients, including corn, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, carrots and Chinese broccoli, from farms like Sang Lee Farms on the North Fork. He’s also supplying the restaurant with zucchini flowers and assorted chiles that he’s growing in his garden in Quogue. Duck, clams and fluke also make an appearance, and a few local wines and some from Mexico dot the drinks list. Mr. Medina plans to keep the restaurant open year-round.
10 Windmill Lane (Hill Street), Southampton, N.Y., 631-377-3050, elveranony.com.
