Opening
Darjeeling Kitchen & Café
Tsering Dolkar Sherpa and her aunt, the chef Pupu Chhangi, are the owners of this new base camp for Tibetan and Himalayan food. They’re from the hill town of Darjeeling, one of India’s most renowned tea-producing areas. In a simple room with walls washed in gold, they offer a halal menu of momos (dumplings with various fillings) steamed; as jhol, with a sesame seed, cashew and tomato-based broth; or kothey, pan-fried. Aloo dum (curried potatoes) provide sustenance from breakfast through dinner. Other options are shaptak (a stir-fried beef dish) and a Sherpa stew with a spicy tomato and blue cheese-based broth. The Nepali thali makes for a nice sampler.
31-12 36th Avenue (32nd Street), Long Island City, Queens, 718-304-5050, instagram.com/darjeelingnyc.
Le Vin Coeur
Tucked a few steps below street level, this very French brick-walled wine bar offers a nice array of reds, whites, rosés, orange and sparkling wines by the glass ($15 to $30 for now), with the Trimbach pinot noir reserve ($18) a notably fine choice. Plates to go alongside provide enough to make a meal: olives, gougères, charcuterie, onion soup, foie gras, salads that include one fortified with duck magret, croque monsieur, steak tartare and chocolate cake. The owners include Jérome Mathieu and Massire Sissoko.
108 West 81st Street, 646-682-9868, le-vin-coeur.com.
12 Matcha
How green is my Basque cheesecake? Infused with matcha, it would put the Yankee Stadium outfield to shame. It’s among the desserts by Francisco Migoya, the pastry chef at Noma, who’s helping at this airy new duplex cafe. The matcha, sencha and hojicha are imported from Hotta Katsutaro Shoten, a 180-year-old company in Kyoto, by a group led by Alan Jiang, 25, a native of Hong Kong who was schooled in the United States. Verdant lattes (hot or iced) and sweets are served Wednesday through Saturdays; the cafe will have expanded hours and days during the summer, and tastings by appointment are planned. Teas and other items will eventually be sold retail.
54 Bond Street (Bowery), 12matcha.com.
Leonessa
Ariel Arce, a wine and spirits expert who has put her stamp as an owner or partner on a number of spots, including Air’s Champagne Parlor, Tokyo Record Bar, Niche Niche, Heroes and RoscioliNYC, has added this Lower Manhattan rooftop to her inventory. It offers views, drinks with an Italian accent and complimentary snacks like olives, Parmesan twists and carta di musica.
Conrad New York Downtown, 102 North End Avenue (Vesey Street), no phone, leonessarooftop.com.
Provisions Market
The chef and restaurateur Jesse Schenker, who left Manhattan in 2017, continues to expand his empire in the heart of the Nassau County village of Oyster Bay. This, his latest, and like the restaurants, in partnership with Claudia Taglich, is a market for a discerning array of foods prepared, ready to cook and fresh from local farmers and fishermen. Breads from the company’s bakery, and small goods selected by Ms. Taglich, including tableware used in the restaurants, are also sold. After closing time, Dinner Table at Provisions, seating up to 10 guests, can be reserved ($1,000). (Saturday)
108 South Street (West Main Street), Oyster Bay, N.Y., 516-922-3332.
Branches
Toastique
The first Manhattan franchise of this 20-state chain serving toasts with toppings, bowls, coffee and juices, has opened steps from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library.
445 Fifth Avenue (39th Street), toastique.com.
Looking Ahead
Nina Compton and Osayi Endolyn at Pier 57
You’ll want to take “Kwéyòl/Creole: Recipes, Stories, and Tings from a St. Lucian Chef’s Journey” into your kitchen the minute you crack it open. This colorful new cookbook is the work of Nina Compton with Osayi Endolyn. Ms. Compton is the chef and an owner of three restaurants in New Orleans. The recipes, which trace Ms. Compton’s life and career from St. Lucia to Jamaica, Miami and New Orleans, braiding African, Caribbean and American influences, are mouthwatering and accessible — coconut rice with peas and chicken, fried flying fish (or whiting), shrimp ceviche. The book will be featured at the James Beard Foundation’s Platform program, with the authors. Her ackee fritters, coconut-braised collard greens and passion fruit rum punch will be served.
“Books and Bites: Kwéyòl/Creole: A Book Talk and Tasting,” 6 p.m., April 24, $45 or $83 with a copy of the book, Pier 57, 25 11th Avenue (15th Street), jamesbeard.org/platform.
Time Out Market New York, Union Square
After its debut with a flagship in Dumbo in 2019, the international collection of food halls and cultural spaces run by the Time Out publishing company is adding a Manhattan location. It will replace what was an Urbanspace market in the fall.
124 East 14th Street.
Michelin
A guide to the American South, covering Alabama, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, including the previously published Atlanta guide, will be added to the company’s lineup, with the restaurant selections to be announced later this year.
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