Convivio
Michael White has gone from three-star chef to “Con” man: After earning a troika from the Times at Alto, the acclaimed chef, along with partner Chris Cannon, has now turned Alto’s stately (if somewhat stiff) sibling L’Impero into Convivio. Southern Italian cuisine is the focus here, which White characterizes as “not wussy, it’s not pussy food: It’s ballsy. It’s got gusto.” Upping the gusto-ness: small plates (or sfizi) like pepperoncini with anchovies and mozzarella, along with richly flavored pastas (saffron gnochetti with crab and sea urchin) and mains (grilled swordfish with tomatoes, mint and garlic). White, who describes himself as “Norwegian by heritage but Italian by marriage” (his wife is from Southern Italy, natch), took over from former Alto/L’Impero chef Scott Conant in 2007 and completes the transition with a full aesthetic overhaul at Convivio: sleek surfaces, orange banquettes and mod-ish chairs. Says White, “What’s important to me is to get the bones out and make this restaurant my own.” (45 Tudor City Place at 42nd St., 212-599-5045)
Kurve
Chef-owner Andy Yang (Rhong-Tiam) had to deal with some kurve balls when construction hiccups delayed the opening of this trippy pan-Asian restaurant straight out of “The Jetsons.” It’s now back in orbit, with splashy Karim Rashid–designed digs that, turns out, weren’t always inspired by all things futuristic: “I believe in feng shui,” Yang tells us, “so everything is curved. We believe in energy flowing. Everything round.” The menu—so very now with its mix of Asian tapas and haute fare like foie gras shumai—also has some serious history: Yang’s great-grandmother once cooked for the King of Siam, and Yang is using some of her pedigree’d recipes here, including a massaman curry with chicken breast and a king salmon green curry. So you can now drum up that whole “food fit for a king” spiel to your oh-so-impressed date without batting an eye. (87 Second Ave. at Fifth St., 212-260-8018)
Delicatessen
Having conquered Chelsea with 24-hour comfort food, the folks behind Cafeteria head south with this latest venture, which is located in the space that was home for 80 years to Buffa’s Luncheonette and which shares Cafeteria’s comfort-food concept. Befitting its name, however, comfort will be served up in American and European varieties, with dishes like halibut carpaccio and short rib stroganoff. Chef Doron Wong is in charge of the kitchen, which, true to Cafeteria's winning formula, will stay open late. Expect the restaurant—with its bi-level space, multiple lounges and color-decked courtyard—to share its older sibling’s sceney vibe. (54 Prince St. at Lafayette St, 212-226-0211)
Macondo
Like a mash-up of Menudo and Tom Jobim, this new tapas joint is a risky mixture of Latin styles, with each dish intended to showcase the whole Spanish-speaking world in a few bites. Chef Maximo Tejada, whose other restaurant, Rayuela, is named for the novel by Julio Cortázar, named this one after the doomed city of García Márquez's “One Hundred Years of Solitude” as part of an effort to “elevate the Latin stereotype,” he says. “We want the young Latinos to start noticing our culture in different ways.” Nope, he hasn't opened a bookstore, but here his dishes are as intricate as they are culturally informed, like an arepa of quail stuffed with spinach and figs, and the Buenos Aires, a flatbread with grilled skirt steak. We bet this updated comida de la calle will be enough of a draw to spare Macondo the fate of its namesake. (157 Houston St. between Eldridge and Allen Sts., 212-473-9900)
Also open:
It’s all Greek in the Garment District, where reliable chain Uncle Nick’s has opened a new outpost. (382 Eighth Ave. at 29th St. 212-609-0500)
Midtown takeout spot Fresco on the Go expands to the Financial District, where you can now lap up salads, pastas and pizzas in its café-style seating area. (114 Pearl St. at Hanover Square, 212-635-5000)
Good things come in threes for the folks behind Smoke Joint and Little Piggy, who now have a Southern-themed American joint, Peaches, in Bed-Stuy. (393 Lewis Ave. at Decatur St., 718-942-4162)
A second spot for Brooklyn Heights café Tazza—yep, with the same kind of table-service policy as its original location (i.e. ditch the book and laptop). (72 Clark St. between Henry and Hicks Sts., no phone)
Bites both sweet (cupcakes, scones) and not so sweet (croque monsieur, Jamaican curry) at Village spot Sweet Revenge. (62 Carmine St. between Bedford and Seventh Sts., 212-242-2240)
Make like Basquiat at UES Italian newcomer I Vandali, where you draw on the white-boarded walls before digging into linguini with crabmeat. (1590 First Ave. between 82nd and 83rd Sts, 212-585-3339)
Closed:
Cafe Socialista (West Village)
Frankie & Johnnie’s Steakhouse (Midtown West)
DIP (Murray Hill)
Arezzo (Flatiron)
Additional reporting by William Akers and Rebecca Marx. Photo by Sam Horine.
