Headliner
Carriage House
The bread service at this West Village restaurant, owned by the television chef Jordan Andino and built into a former police carriage house, is straight out of a TikTok trend. Candles made from seasoned butters are lit at the table and, as they melt, provide a warm dip for a range of breads. A match can light the candles, but Mr. Andino and his business partner Philip Testa, who was at the Tao Group, had to wait a good five months for the gas to be turned on, so the real cooking could begin. They also gathered celebrity backers, like the hockey star Jacob Trouba and the rapper Tariq Trotter, also known as Black Thought and a founder of the Roots. The menu features a layered baked potato with a choice of toppings, shaved brussels sprouts salad, roast chicken marinated in peri-peri sauce, Wagyu skirt steak, and rigatoni with lobster. The space is divided into a bar area up front with tables, a dining room with blue velvet seats, and an open kitchen to permit Mr. Andino to be on view as he attends to his sauté pans. He is a native of Toronto, attended Cornell University’s hotel administration school and worked at Spago and the French Laundry.
142 West 10th Street, 646-524-5222, chnyc.com.
Opening
Justine’s on Hudson
With the blessing of her father, the wine importer Neal Rosenthal, Justine Rosenthal has opened an intimate, velvet-upholstered bistro on a corner in the West Village. She hired Jeanne Jordan, who was the chef de cuisine at Galen Zamarra’s Mas Farmhouse, to execute a menu that includes a copious garden salad, beef tartare served with a crackle of carta de musica crackers, roast chicken with roasted potatoes and truffles, and a carpaccio, influenced by her Filipino childhood, of sea bass with coconut, chiles and turmeric. Ms. Jordan often relies on produce from the Rosenthal family farm in Dutchess County. But his major contribution is not as a farmer, but as a wine expert. Bottles are mostly from France and other Old World regions, often well aged and sometimes from his personal cellar.
518 Hudson Street (West 10th Street), 646-649-5271, justinesonhudson.com.
Odo Lounge
Hiroki Odo’s esteemed restaurant, Odo, is a multifaceted affair, with its chef’s counter surrounded by Hall, a wood-paneled cocktail bar, and the Gallery, an exhibition space that doubles as a traditional Japanese restaurant. In addition, there is now a dimly lit, speakeasy-style lounge tucked behind the chef’s counter with an inventory of Japanese spirits, and a menu of cocktails inspired by tastes of Japan. Small plates to accompany the drinks include grilled skewered freshwater eel and bluefin toro tartare with uni. (Opens Saturday)
17 West 20th Street, no phone, odo.nyc.
Blu on the Hudson
Dining in Weehawken, N.J., is a feast for the eyes with the panorama of the Manhattan skyline on display. This new sprawl — 30,000 square feet of generously windowed restaurant, bar, lounge, private dining rooms and a separate sushi bar seating more than 300 — features seafood and steaks by the executive chef, Juan Carlos Ortega. He can handle volume, considering his experience at places like Blue Water Grill and Catch Steak. Appetizers like Basque shrimp with garlic, caviar service and oysters can segue into fresh pastas, like gnocchi in spiced vodka sauce; a dish combining shrimp and scallops; whole branzino; and assorted cuts of steak, including several from Wagyu beef.
1200 Harbor Boulevard (Waterfront Terrace), Weehawken, N.J., 201-636-1200, bluonthehudson.com.
