Three New Restaurant Hot Spots in NYC!
From top rbbts in Soho; next four images Fat Radish; bottom two, Acme.
One of the things we miss most about NYC is the food scene. New hip restaurants with exquisite food seem to be opening every other week... not so out here in LA! While we returned to a few old favorite haunts (Raoul's, Peels, Waverly Inn and the Cupping Room), we were dying to try The Fat Radish and Acme, the two most buzzed about openings.
The Fat Radish is located way down on the southern end of the Lower East Side. A few blocks south of the "gentrified" part of the LES, this new cozy spot is about the only thing on the block. Due to the gentlemen behind the restaurant knowing a thing or two about renovation and design as well as food and drink, the space is terribly inviting with white washed brick walls, lit up spring-y cherry blossoms, and an old school map as art. Ambiance is hugely important and thankfully the service was friendly and timely and the food was very good. Some stand outs from the menu-- the kale caesar salad, the hedgehog mushroom crostini, pan seared black bass with artichokes and arugula and bannoffee (bananas, toffee and some other sort of heaven in a pie meets cake) for dessert. A delightful dinner! And rumor has it that they might just be opening an oyster bar across the street...
Everyone we encountered from friends to shopgirls was talking about Acme this trip. So we went. Having walked past the old Acme a million times, we maybe wouldn't have noticed the new incarnation as the old sign still hangs out front. But inside is a totally different story. The folks behind Bond St. and Indochine have breathed new, hipster and happening life into the space. A chic crowd fills the dimly lit room with soaring ceilings and a wall of lit up bottles of booze behind the bar. Danish chef Mads Refslund turns out truly delicious fare- don't miss the crisped sunchokes, lobster, and beer pudding for dessert.
Finally, Rbbts, a teensy tiny, adorable cafe that can probably fit 12 people, is not new-- it's been around about two years, but for some reason we'd never stopped in. Next door to one of our favorite late night wine bars, the room on Sullivan St., Rbbts offers up grilled sandwiches, salads, coffees and the most heavenly homemade banana bread with melty chocolate chips. It's an added bonus that chef and owner Tommy DeSimone who made that banana bread, is handsome...