Wait you guys September is kinda big for new restaurants
NYC's twelve most exciting new restaurants of Fall 2024....
Last week, I learned that Blue Sky, my favorite bakery since I was five, had closed suddenly without explanation. Oh, cruel world!
Blue Sky was the best — quiet, warm, filled with the scent of fresh muffins — and its loss is mostly just going to affect me but trust me, Park Slope is worse off for it.
Still, life goes on, I suppose — and actually, in NYC, it goes on quite quickly. There are so many exciting new restaurants opening this season that I kind of can’t imagine even getting around to all of them. For now, I’m writing this newsletter as a way of convincing myself that there will still be things to look forward to in this life without the promise of a big, crusty cinnamon roll around the corner from my parents' house — hopefully I manage to fool even myself.
New restaurants I’m excited about
Thea (Fort Greene)
Theodora was my favorite new restaurant last year, so when I heard that a new bakery by Miss Ada/Theodora’s owner Tomer Blechman had already opened, I got very excited. Sadly, my subscriber-turned-friend Eeva informed me that she felt meh about every pastry she tried at Thea (she gave it a 5.5 out of 10!), which was deflating; but soon after, my mentor-turned-friend Scott told me that he loved everything. Excited to discover who I can trust more moving forward when I bite into my own slice of harissa carmelized onion babka or mango labneh maritozzi (?!?!).
Laziza (Bed-Stuy)
Laziza’s tagline of “falafel + funk + good vibes” is so immediately convincing that I feel like writing a blurb is superfluous. This longtime Middle Eastern food popup turned new restaurant/bar manages to already seem fun, and I see weekly DJ sets to come, so am super curious about what the dining room space will look like/whether it will be as loud in there as I’m imagining. The Laziza concept comes from Jilbert El-Zmetr, the same guy who started Republic of Booza, where they sell that wild/exciting stretchy ice cream alternative that I was obsessed with in high school. Funky indeed!
Pitt’s (Red Hook)
Jeremy Salaman, chef at the remarkably-well-regarded Agi’s Counter, is starting up a new restaurant called Pitt’s in the former Fort Defiance space in Red Hook. To be honest, I didn’t love the one meal I ate at Agi’s Counter, mostly because my waitress sweet-talked me into ordering the chicken liver mousse (above) and then tried to steal my date, but I have been in Red Hook a lot these past few weeks, and I would go even more often if there were more than two acceptable dining options, so I’m keeping an open mind about this one.
Gus and Marty’s (Williamsburg)
The owners of Egg Shop are opening this new restaurant that serves Greek food made the Brooklyn way. What could that mean? Excited to find out.
Sal Tang’s (Carroll Gardens)
Sal Lamboglia is the mastermind behind Cafe Spaghetti and Swoony’s. Now, he’s teaming up with Chinatown alum Wilson Tang to open a Cantonese American restaurant. Weird, right? But Swoony’s is so good — I think about that perfect Swoony’s burger oft — and I have full confidence that if Lamboglia thinks he can pull this off, he probably can.
Salt & Straw (Upper West Side)
I went to a sick Salt & Straw tasting a couple months ago and tried some of their seasonal flavors, including their hand-picked Lucky Charms scoop, which was ridiculous. I had a fantastic time, then got really bummed/pissed because there were exactly zero Salt & Straw locations in NYC. Thankfully, they’re now working to fix that massive error in judgment. Technically, a location on the Upper West Side is opening first on 9/20, but I’m never going up there so that’s immaterial to me; but the West Village location will soon follow, and I will be heading there ASAP with Lactaid in tow.
Monkey Thief (Hell’s Kitchen)
The opening of Monkey Thief marks an exciting Brooklyn-to-Manhattan expansion for the Sama Street team, who have been serving inventive cocktails in Greenpoint for the past couple of years. In addition to more fun drinks playing with Asian ingredients, I hear Monkey Thief is going be lit by lots of neon. To be honest with you, due to a latent childhood obsession, any bar named after a monkey works for me; but I’m excited for Monkey Thief in particular because I love a pandan drink.
Soft Butch (Bed-Stuy)
Soft Butch is a new coffeeshop/bar in Bed Stuy that’s even more queer than your average barista fleet. The owners, Antaeus Matheiu and Mika Turbo, are both trans men who have worked in the food industry for many years, and got together the money to open this new spot via crowdfunding. It opened 9/6 with a Soft Butch Soft Launch (cute) and seems to be chugging happily along.
Pasta Night (Brooklyn Heights)
This week my friend Lia sent me this picture of a cinnamon bun from Ciao, Gloria with the note, “so fluffy… made me think of you.” (It’s not Blue Sky, but it reminded me that there alternatives out there — and all the pastries from Ciao, Gloria are visually stunning and usually pitch-perfect, taste-wise. According to its Kickstarter, Ciao, Gloria’s new sister spot Pasta Night will be a goods market by day and a casual pasta bar by night — authentic arancini are already on the menu, and the operative word here seems to be cozy.
Zabb PuTawn (Cobble Hill)
A new location of this Northeastern Thai restaurant from the Upper East Side is opening on Brooklyn’s Court St this fall. Strong crispy duck presence on the menu. Need I say more?
Kellogg’s Diner (Williamsburg)
Did I ever eat at the original Kellogg’s Diner (which is ancient, btw)? Nope. However, I have been to new owner Jackie Carnesi’s other former haunts Nura and Roberta’s, both of which serve reliably wonderful food. I’ve always been somewhat intimidated by Tex-Mex — maybe because of its tendency toward slop consistency, or maybe just because of the double Xs (raunchy) — but I’m ready to face my fears when Kellogg’s reopens in its new Tex-Mex iteration, with Jackie at the wheel.
Elbow Bread (Dimes Square)
I have been spending an unfortunate amount of time in Dimes Square as of late, a fact I am hesitant to admit in print. Yet slightly-toxic scene aside, it’s hard to deny how lovely it is down there — drinking and eating at little tables out in the street is such a naughty delight, and once this cheeky new bakery by alums of Court St Grocers and the S+P lunch counter opens, Dimes is about to get even better. Welcome to the revival!
In Other News
I’m back in school — MFA time, baby — and I’ve started three more part-time jobs (don’t ask), so I’ve been dialing back how much I’m freelancing on a weekly basis. (Quality over quantity, I hope.) My only article offering for you today is this, The vegan, celiac-friendly curry house hiding in a Park Slope market, which happens to be my last for BK Reader. I am only slightly exaggerating when I say that BK Reader took me in off the street and turned me into a journalist, and I will always be grateful to them for taking a chance on me. My profile is still up, if you want to scroll back and see all the lovely things I was able to write in my time there.
That’s all! Hope to see you all at one or more of these new spots in the weeks and months to come.
Hannah
Paper off windows at Pasta Night!! Also I am obviously correct about Thea :)))
So excited to try these!! (besides thea. I already tried that. Sorry!!)