Dining Agenda: New Restaurants And Food News April 2017

Dinner is always on display at the Catbird Seat, where diners sit around the open kitchen like spectators at a prizefight. But on April 4 (and every first Tuesday of the month after that), chef Ryan Poli will bring guests even closer to the action with a multicourse tasting menu of experimental dishes, which, if all goes well, could end up on a future menu. The work-in-progress dishes remain top secret until they land, artfully plated, on the table. 1711 Division St., Nashville; 615-810-8200; thecatbirdseatrestaurant.com.

Bubbly aficionados take note: April 7 marks the first in a six-part Champagne dinner series at Nobu Cape Town, the Michelin-starred chef’s South African outpost at the One&Only resort. The events highlight renowned producers, starting with Billecart-Salmon, a 200-year old, family-owned house. Head chef Harold Hurtada will match the pours with the restaurant’s signature Japan-meets-Peru cuisine (think: langoustine with chili salsa and sea bass sashimi with dashi ponzu). V&A Waterfront Dock Rd., Cape Town; 866-552-0001; oneandonlyresorts.com.

On April 16, Ralph Lauren’s classic American eatery and bar in Midtown will open early for Easter brunch. The menu will include grill staples like corned beef hash, popover eggs Benedict, and mimosas, served in the restaurant’s clubby brown leather banquettes. Reservations required. 1 E. 55th, New York; 212-207-8562; ralphlauren.com.

Following a smashing three-year run at the Maltby Street Market, London’s artisanal delicatessen gurus, Mark Ogus and Owen Barratt, are opening a brick-and-mortar shop on April 18 in the city’s fashionable (and historically Jewish) East End. The hand-carved pastrami and salt beef will be brined in-house, as will the pickles accompanying them. An expanded menu promises Jewish soul food favorites—like schmaltzy matzo ball soup, crisp potato latkes, and creamy, cinnamon-dusted noodle pudding—offered in a former bakery turned sleek, sunlit deli temple. 227-229 Hoxton St. E1, London; 44-784/291-3939; montys-deli.com.

Fancy food halls are sprouting up across the country, but only one can claim Michael Shemtov at its helm. The founder of Charleston’s (and now Nashville’s) beloved Butcher & Bee restaurant is branching out to bring together an eclectic, rotating mix of eateries together under one roof. The first group of tenants includes barbecue pit master John Lewis serving up brisket-laden Tex Mex, and a brick-and-mortar location for Pink Bellies, the pork belly Bahn mi food truck by chef Thai Pi. Expect a late-April opening. 1503 King St., Charleston; 843-546-5512; workshopcharleston.com.

On April 18, NYC chefs will convene at the Institute of Culinary Education’s Brookfield Place kitchens to party—and cook—for a cause. While the sun sets over the Hudson River just outside ICE’s floor-to-ceiling windows, attendees will sample elevated takes on street food by Aaron Bludhorn (Cafe Boulud), Floyd Cardoz (Paowalla), and Daniel Holzman (the Meatball Shop), among others. Benefits go to Streets International, a non-profit that prepares disadvantaged youth in Vietnam for careers in the culinary and hospitality fields. 225 Liberty St., New York; streetsinternational.org.

Nearly a decade after Scarpetta vaulted him to the status of culinary icon, Scott Conant is back with a new solo restaurant in New York. Named after his nonna, Carmella Fusco, the Gramercy-based restaurant takes a cue from old-world glamour (banquettes, chandeliers, vaulted ceilings) and serves up inventive Italian fare, including ricotta gnudi with lobster and bagna cauda, and grilled escolar with black rice and oxtail sugo. Expect a mid-April opening. 43 E. 20th St., New York; fusconewyork.com.

The Major Food Group is expanding its already formidable empire (Dirty French, Carbone, Parm) in a big way late this month, opening an old-school style American chophouse in the former Four Seasons restaurant. Taking a cue from the previous tenant, midcentury grandeur will be at the forefront of the design, with sterling-silver trolleys wheeling prime rib and whiskey through the dining room. (Expect extensive table-side preparations.) MFG partner Mario Carbone will head up the kitchen, turning out indulgent classics like crab Louie and larded squab. The Grill will be the first of three MFG restaurants to open in the former Four Seasons space in the coming months. 375 Park Ave., New York; majorfood.com.

Dating back to 1946, when the glinting chrome and stainless-steel dining car that housed the original Empire Diner first opened for business, the Chelsea-based restaurant has witnessed decades of New York City evolution. Its newest iteration, reopening after two years of dormancy, plans to keep ties to the neighborhood’s storied past while looking to the future. Expect diner-inspired classics with a seasonal touch from chef Justin Neubeck (most recently of Bedford & Co), such as braised short ribs with horseradish gremolata, celery root soup with brown butter and crab, and (naturally) a killer double-patty burger with herbed French fries or buttermilk onion rings. 210 Tenth Ave., New York; empire-diner.com.

Set to open in mid-April, this farm-to-table eatery in the Hudson Valley is situated in a two-story, 18th-century Dutch colonial home, with a canopy of magnolia trees perfuming the backyard. Chef Sara Lukasiewicz, a Momofuku Noodle Bar alum (and James Beard Rising Star Chef nominee), will deep dive into the region’s rich agricultural heritage. Expect sophisticated seasonal fare from mussels cooked in hard cider and fresh cream, to braised stuffed pork served with ramps and pickled shallots. 6380 Mill St., Rhinebeck, NY; lovetheamsterdam.com.

This April, Michael Schulson (Izakaya, Sampan, Double Knot) will bring his signature take on modern Japanese cuisine to Florida. The open kitchen will turn out shareable plates of pastrami bao buns with Japanese mustard, big eye tuna rolls, and hamachi collar robatayaki. (There’s also a discreet karoke bar tucked behind the main dining room.) 3555 S. Ocean Dr., Hollywood, FL.

Candace Nelson made her name in frosting—specifically, the buttercream that covers most things at her Beverley Hills bakery, Sprinkles Cupcakes. (It now has two dozen locations around the country.) But in late April, she will shift her attention to pizza. Naples-born master pizzaiolo Daniele Uditi will man the wood-fired oven, turning out zucchini blossom–and-burrata-topped Neapolitan pies and charred vegetable sides in a relaxed space with a ceramic tile mural evoking the work of famed Italian architect, Gio Ponti. Nelson will head up the dessert selection, which includes salted caramel panna cotta and an ice cream terrine. 11712 W. San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles; pizzana.com.

Stunning Big Sky vistas, and a dose of western wilderness will serve as the backdrop for a live cook-off challenge between former Top Chef contestants Kristen Kish, Sam Talbot, Casey Thompson, and Brooke Williamson. From April 20-23, guests will get front row access to the showdown, and ample opportunities to mingle with the chefs and taste their creations. Downtime activities include hot stone massages with Blackfoot river rocks at The Resort at Paws Up, and a horseback ride in the surrounding mountains. 40060 Paws Up Rd., Greenough, Montana; 877-588-6764; pawsup.com.

Farm-to-table cooking as delicious as it is virtuous is the hallmark of Swedish-born chef Helene Henderson’s fare. Late this month, she will open an outpost of her beloved Malibu Farm restaurant in South Beach at the Nobu Hotel Eden Roc resort. Views of the sparkling Atlantic Ocean provide a fitting backdrop for the laid-back opulence of Henderson’s menu, which features dishes like green harissa shakshouka with chorizo, paella-style saffron couscous, and her signature Swedish pancakes topped with berries and cream utilizing hyper-fresh produce and eggs from local farmers (including Henderson’s own backyard farm). 4525 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-531-0000; malibu-farm.com.