Top two new restaurants you need to know about this Feb
I'm serious!!!! Two new stars debut on the scene, plus other restaurant news
Hi everyone! I get it that it’s Valentine’s Day, but this newsletter is not about that. Everyone who knows anything knows that it’s useless to recommend places to go on V-day — every restaurant is 1) twice as expensive as usual and 2) already booked — so my official Hannah is Eating stance is to stay home.
Anyway, here’s hoping this missive, about two fantastic new restaurants you should check out this month, will be a breath of fresh air in contrast to your fully pink-and-red feed. I’m also featuring some more restaurant news at the bottom because people have told me they find that exciting. (Get ready for this to become a once-a-month feature.)
Pitt’s
Pitt’s (347 Van Brunt St) is possibly the weirdest restaurant I’ve ever frequented, for one simple reason: Every single thing on the menu sounds bad.
Just look at these options. “Confetti salad” — huh? “Oysters with jalapeno salsa verde & bone marrow butter toast” — how on earth do those things belong together? “Cold ‘meatloaf’ tea sandwich” — why the eerie quotes around “meatloaf”? What is it actually, and why the emphasis on it being cold?
And yet the magic of Pitt’s is that everything I dared try was actually fantastic. Just like its sister restaurant Agi’s counter, this place is pushing typical food boundaries and sticking the landing. The bone marrow butter bread was decadently fatty, melt-in-your-mouth; the grilled country captain poussin (what?) was perfectly crisped; I loved the eggy ice cube garnish for my apricot-y Bullseye Margarita. I left the meal amazed at how food can transcend even the expectations set by its own name.
But forget all about everything else I said, because the most delightful thing at Pitt’s has a name I can get behind: The pancake souffle. Here it is, being cut into and drizzled with syrup:
I haven’t seen a soufflé on a menu in a minute — whatever happened to chocolate soufflés? — and this one was even more nostalgic than a normal soufflé, because it was pancake-flavored. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this dessert, but I am happy to report that it’s bright and airy, as eggy as you’d expect, and well-salted, more savory than I anticipated. Such a perfect, weird ending note to this perfect, weird meal.
In sum, I wasn’t brave enough to order the “Veal sweetbreads over yellow eye beans,” but after my meal at Pitt’s I would allow these chefs to lead me into a dungeon with my eyes closed.
Lulla’s
Lulla’s (169 Graham Ave) is the new little sister restaurant to next-door Casa Ora, and it’s billing itself as the first Venezuelan cafe in NYC. On opening day a couple of weeks ago, the cafe apparently welcomed over 2,000 customers. Owner Ivo told me that they were totally overwhelmed by demand; I met him the next morning, and he said he had essentially been awake and baking for 24 hours straight.
I can certainly understand people getting excited about Venezuelan pastries done this well. Lulla’s bread dough is milky and delicately sweet. I loved the cachitos, stuffed with ham, a sweet oozy cheese, and Parmesan for an extra kick. (Ivo told me that all his Venezuelan customers lose their minds over the Parmesan innovation — in a good way.)
The golfeado, a Venezuelan cinnamon roll made with CHEESE instead of frosting (!), is sweetened with panela, an unrefined cane sugar used predominantly in Central America, and enhanced with a star anise flavor. It’s an unforgettable bite. For the less adventurous, there are still exceptionally solid nutella cruffins and a very dependable almond croissant.
In addition to the fantastic pastry array, Lulla’s offers small dishes, like the cachapa, a corn pancake stuffed with cheese, and a chicken salad arepa. The room, a 110-seat, comfort-forward lounge modeled after hotel lobbies, is a fantastic work-from-home location. Soon, they’re also starting up a cocktail program designed by another former Eleven Madison Park employee (fancy!). All things considered, Lulla’s is set to become a really wonderful place to spend a couple of hours, as long as there aren’t 2000 people lining up every day.
Other restaurant news to be excited about
L’appartement 4f is in the news this month in two ways. First, they’ve expanded to the West Village — the new location (119 W 10th St) opened Feb 1. This is an unsurprising expansion; honestly, I’m hopeful that it will mean the location near me in Brooklyn Heights becomes less mobbed? I would love a chance to finally experience their psychotic croissant cereal.
Second, a new bakery by L’appartement alums called Welcome Home (1047 Bedford Ave) opened two months ago in Bed-Stuy and somehow escaped my notice, probably because I’ve forgotten this name 5x since writing it. Rumor has it that they’re serving a good cinnamon roll, though, so I’ll be on my way here soon.
I’ve been obsessed with the baths recently (more on that very soon!), so I was very excited to hear about Brooklyn Bathhouse (731 Flatbush Ave) opening in Prospect Lefferts Garden. This is — stay with me here — a bathhouse that serves Caribbean-inspired pizza, for some reason? Think oxtail… Wild.
I’m forever frustrated by the dim sum options in Brooklyn outside of Sunset Park, so was thrilled to learn that Prospect Heights’ swanky new Nin Hao (609 Dean St) is expanding their offerings to add some Fujianese dim sum options. Dumplings will be crafted by a chef who formerly worked at Tim Ho Wan, one of my absolute favorite spots, so my hopes are very high.
Ugly Baby, a cult favorite Thai restaurant in Carroll Gardens where I had the spiciest meal I’ve ever eaten, closed in December of 2024, causing mass hysteria. Now, Hungry Thirsty (407 Smith St) has arrived to take its place, owned by former Ugly Baby workers. It is unclear to me whether the new restaurant will be just as spicy; I will report back.
In Other News
Food Writer Hannah Berman Tells Us Where to Eat in Park Slope — The lovely
let me take over her newsletter to write an agenda for my perfect food tour of Park Slope, which is a story I’ve been basically writing since I moved there at the age of five (see photo as proof).
Anyway, I had some hot takes (and, as much as I detest the term, “hidden gems”) for the best places to bring out-of-towners in the Slope. If you haven’t checked it out yet, read it here.
That’s it. Happy Valentine’s Day! You are all my loves!
xoxo
Hannah
They were out of cinnamon rolls when I went to Welcome Home but the “pigs in a bed(stuy)” was *chefs kiss*
can confirm welcome home is yum and so excited to try these spots u recced <33