Dining Agenda: New Restaurants and Food News This August 2017
A global list of new and notable places to eat and drink, plus food news from our favorite chefs and restaurants.

Late summer can be a sleepy time, but this year August is filled with an unusually exciting lineup of debuting restaurants and festivals. From Jean-Georges’ long-awaited return to London and Jessica Koslow’s two-week residency in New York City, to a foraging dinner in Asheville, there are plenty of reasons to rally before Labor Day.

Kauai, Hawaii: St. Regis Princeville Resort’s Royal Dinner with Dom Perignon
Starting August 1, resort guests can enjoy a secluded dinner for two with an intimate view of the ocean. The seven-course tasting menu will include homemade angel hair with vodka creme fraiche and bottarga, and grilled Kona lobster with wilted spinach and garlic. Each dish will be paired with a champagne. Diners can bring unfinished bottles back to their room and ship any unopened bottles home. Those who dare can also try their hand at opening a champagne bottle by sword after a private tableside sabering lesson. 5520 Ka Haku Rd.; stregisprinceville.com.

Asheville: Wild Foods Foraging and Dinner Series
James Beard-nominated chef Katie Button (Cúrate) recently launched a new dinner series at her Appalachian small plates restaurant, Nightbell. On August 2, 16 guests will sit down to a five-course meal made from wild foods they helped to gather earlier that day. The dinner will be built around whatever is foraged, but will include dishes like venison tartare with blueberries, pickled milkweed and duck egg, and ramp cavatelli with black walnut. 32 S. Lexington Ave.; 828-575-0375; heirloomhg.com.

London: Craft Beer Festival
From August 4–6, London beer lovers will join together for a mashup of top DJs, eats from East London’s buzzy restaurant scene, and copious amounts of artisanal suds. The bacchanal will include hoppy ales from local favorite Hackney Brewery, chocolate stout from Sweden’s Dugges Bryggeri, and craft beers from America’s Brooklyn Brewery. On deck for pub grub: Radio Alice pizza, inventive Indian dishes from Gunpowder, and Middle Eastern-inspired grilled meats from Berber & Q. Hoxton Square. 44-20/7099-4132; londoncraftbeerfestival.co.uk.

London: Jean-Georges at The Connaught
In early August, living legend Jean-George Vongerichten is returning to London after more than a decade away. Partnering with the five-star, Mayfair-based hotel, his new restaurant will offer farm-to-table cuisine in a breezy 90-seat dining room. Peas on toast, dosas with avocado, and crispy salmon sushi with chipotle will be on offer. So will an afternoon tea service menu and take-away, truffle topped pizzas baked in a wood-fired Pavesi oven. Carlos Pl., Mayfair; 44-20/7499-7070; the-connaught.co.uk.

New York City: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar
In early August, Bruce and Eric Bromberg will expand their Blue Ribbon empire with a new sushi bar at Rockefeller Center. The upscale-casual spot will feature an extensive array of sushi and sashimi at the 11-seat bar, along with donburi bowls and vegetable sides like hijiki and edamame with sweet soy sauce. The Brombergs and their longtime partner, Toshi Ueki, also plan to offer a sake and hand roll-focused happy hour menu, and Japanese-style breakfast options. 30 Rockefeller Center; blueribbonrestaurants.com.

Lake Como, Italy: Tasting menu at L’Escale
The newly opened restaurant at the 100-year-old, five-star Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como will launch a tasting menu in early August. Diners can cook alongside Chef Martin Vitaloni and eat cacio e pepe risotto and suckling pig with morel mushrooms while overlooking the Grigne mountains and the beautiful town of Bellagio. Via Regina 8; 39-03/444-2491; grandhoteltremezzo.com.

Chicago: Pearl Brasserie
In mid-August, chef Jason Paskewitz (The Blanchard) is opening a French-inspired restaurant with modern twists on the Chicago waterfront. The open kitchen will turn out raw seafood, including six daily oyster varieties and dishes like soft shell crabs with sautéed garlic scapes and foie gras with cherries for diners to enjoy at the 40-foot marble bar or on the expansive patio overlooking the glinting Chicago river. 180 N. Wacker Dr; 312-629-1030; pearlbrasserie.com.

Detroit: Lady of the House
In mid-August, Detroit’s stylish Corktown neighborhood will welcome an American eatery that features produce grown in downtown Detroit’s network of urban farms and cocktails using gin from the local Detroit City Distillery. Chef Kate Williams’ (Republic) menu will be produce-forward and, thanks to the kitchen’s in-house butcher station, will also feature a nose-to-tail approach to meat dishes. Out front, a vibrant garden of more than two-dozen flower varieties will offer respite from the urban landscape. 1426 Bagley Ave.; 313-818-0218; ladyofthehousedetroit.com.

Los Angeles: Wexler’s Deli
In mid-August, the popular nouveau Jewish delicatessen, headed up by chef Micah Wexler (Mezze) will open a new, larger spot in the glitzy Westfield Century City. The 400-square-foot counter spot will be outfitted with a white subway tile counter topped with a layer of maple butcher block. The expanded menu will include several signatures from the original downtown location, including hand-carved pastrami on rye and the Uncle Leo: lox, scrambled eggs, and caramelized onion on a bagel. 10250 Santa Monica Blvd.; wexlersdeli.com.

Denver: Urban Farmer Steakhouse
Mile High City restaurant group, Sage, is bringing its celebrated steakhouse to Denver in mid-August. In-house butchering and a nose-to-tail philosophy will be at the core of chef Chris Starkus’ menu. Meanwhile, locally made cheeses will be featured on the roving cheese cart, and a communal charcuterie station will allow diners an intimate and interactive behind-the-scenes peek at the kitchen’s process. 1600 17th St.; 303-262-6070; urbanfarmerrestaurant.com.

Washington, D.C.: Succotash DC
Six-time James Beard finalist Edward Lee (610 Magnolia, Milkwood), is opening a D.C. branch of his beloved Succotash restaurant in late August. The menu will feature Lee’s signature fusion of Southern American cuisine with the flavors and ingredients from his own Korean roots. Think grilled ribeye with Carolina rice and gochujang butter, and hot fried oysters with duck fat glaze and bread and butter pickles. The landmarked building, which dates back to 1911, will hold a 310-seat dining room. 915 F Street NW; 301-567-8900; succotashrestaurant.com.

Monterey, CA: Salt Wood Kitchen and Oysterette
In late August, the Monterey Peninsula will welcome this locally driven, seafood-focused restaurant. Chef David Baron (Coi, Atelier Crenn) will split his attention between raw and wood-fired dishes, turning out red abalone with brown butter, porcini-rubbed hanger steak, sea urchin with yuzu and melon, and more than a dozen types of oysters. 3295 Dunes Drive Marina; 831-883-9478; saltwoodkitchenandoysterette.com.

New York City: Seaport Food Lab
From August 20 through September 2, Los Angeles favorite Jessica Koslow (Sqirl) will take up residence in NYC’s summer pop-up restaurant, Seaport Food Lab. She’ll serve some of her inspired breakfast fare favorites and preview dishes from her forthcoming restaurant, Tel—things like khobz flatbread with pickled vegetables in creamed yogurt and malabi pudding with Persian mulberry jam. 203 Front St.; seaportdistrict.nyc.

Paris: Alain Senderens Menu at Le Gabriel
Through the end of August, Le Gabriel’s Michelin-starred chef, Jérome Banctel, will pay tribute to the world-renowned leader of Nouvelle cuisine, Alain Senderens, who passed away in June. Banctel’s menu is inspired by the eight years he spent working alongside Senderens, and will include cabbage foie gras and blue lobster with vanilla bean. 42 Avenue Gabriel; 33-15/836-6060; lareserve-paris.com.
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