Fatty 'Cue Round Two

Zak Pelaccio's fusion-barbecue was an instant hit when Fatty 'Cue opened in Williamsburg. But the restaurant's back room closed for renovations not long into its run, and it left the small, front barroom to accommodate the droves that sought Pelaccio's cue. Then, in January 2012, the restaurant closed completely to undergo renovations. Those were originally scheduled to take two months, but lasted almost a year and a half. On Tuesday night, though, Williamsburg got its Fatty 'Cue back. The restaurant reopened with a new design, new menu by Momofuku Noodle Bar alum Anthony Masters, and cocktails by Death & Co.'s Phil Ward.

The Fatty Crew was busy elsewhere during the Fatty 'Cue renovations. In the last year, the team partnered with Top Chef alum Leah Cohen to open Pig & Khao on the Lower East Side (Pete Wells gave the restaurant two bright stars in March). The crew opened a Fatty 'Cue outpost in Barclays Center, and Rick Camac, a partner in Fatty Crew, established Fatty Crew Hospitality Group, which is going global and has a Hong Kong satellite in the works.

Houston, We Have a New York Times Restaurant Review

[photos: michael stravato for the nytimes] clockwise from top left: oxheart, justin yu, underbelly, chris shepherdPete Wells files on two restaurants in Houston, Texas this week in Oxheart and Underbelly, and it looks like we can expect more cross-country reviews from the Times critic. "[Oxheart] is also an example of the growing ambition of the Houston dining scene, and one of two places that lured me here to kick off this occasional series of reviews of restaurants outside New York City." At Oxheart, Justin Yu serves three menus on a nightly basis. Two are four courses ($49), one is seven ($79). But each highlights much of what Yu learned in Northern European kitchens, "he creates plates that take their visual cues from the colors and shapes of nature," Wells writes.

"Some things about Oxheart reminded me of other new restaurants that emphasize the personal and the handmade. The naturalistic look of Mr. Yu’s dishes, too, is familiar. But every course of my meal," Wells continues, "showed an instinct for the delicious that is rare in any city."

A few miles to the southwest of Oxheart on Westheimer Road is Underbelly. There, Wells explains, chef/owner Chris Shepherd tells "a story of many cultures and cuisines meeting in a place that has become the most ethnically diverse metropolitan region in the United States." For one dish, "Mr. Shepherd tosses chewy rice cakes with butter and gojuchang, the Korean chile paste," Wells explains, "which together make something like what you would get if you fermented Buffalo wing sauce and aged it in a barrel."

The star-system isn't in place for the new "Critic on the Road" series, but Wells is a clearly a big fan of both Oxheart and Underbelly. He writes that the restaurants "share Houston, the city that they are both helping to make into one of the country’s most exciting places to eat." [NYTimes]

Oh Mon Dieu: Awnings and Menus at Lafayette

Lafayette is the most anticipated opening of the year so far. Awnings are in place now and, early next week, owners Andrew Carmellini, Luke Ostrom, and Josh Pickard will open the doors to their Noho masterpiece. To hold us over, Grub Street got ahold of the food, drink, and dessert menus.

Lafayette has a great list of apéritifs, ranging from $9 to $16, a la Pernod Absinthe, Bonal, Byrrh, Floc de Gascogne, and Camut Pommeau de Normandie. Beers start at $7 with Belgian and domestic options making up most of the selections, and the wine-by-the-glass list hits France's big wine regions: Loire, Alsace, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Rhone, and Bordeaux. There's a focus therein on country-style wines from smaller producers, and pours start at $9 and go up to $22. Some of the food includes asparagus, orange, mimosa, oysters, beef tartare, and bouillabaisse for two. Most desserts are $10 each, cookies du jour are $8, and for $19 there's an apple tart for two. We'll see you there. [GS]

Finalmente Franny's: New Location Opens Tonight

After months of construction, the new, long-awaited, stronger-faster-bigger-better location of Franny's is opening tonight at 5:30pm. The new space, at 348 Flatbush, has two ovens, a private dining room, takes reservations for 6 or more, and offers delivery. For now, pizzas are the only thing to go, but more of the menu will be available as the restaurant gets settled.

The new location is also open for lunch Friday through Sunday; from noon to 11:30pm Friday and Saturday, and noon to 11 pm on Sunday. Dinner hours Monday through Thursday are 5:30 pm to 11 pm. No menu on their website yet, but we'll be there soon to find out and get back to you. If you make it there before us, let us know how it is!

348 Flatbush Avenue | 718-230-0221 | www | map

Eat the Week; April 1st - April 5th

Dinosaur Barbecue's Brooklyn facade starts to take shape | We taste two very different nebbiolos | Pete Wells awards two stars to Hooni Kim's Hanjan | Signage starts to go up at Lafayette | Donde Dinner? - 5 Bleecker Street

Donde Dinner? - 5 Bleecker Street

Donde Dinner? wants to make your next dining experience an adventure. So, every Friday, we pick a restaurant and post its address for you. The catch is, that's all the information you get. No name, no type of cuisine, and no Googling. But first, here's last week's address:

202 Centre Street = Red Egg

This week's restaurant follows typical Donde Dinner? fashion. Price, quality, and accessibility have all been taken into account. You won't be waiting at the bar for two hours with $15 cocktails and you never have to worry about a dress code. Just hop on the train, or your feet, or your bike, and head to:

5 Bleecker Street (map)

Show Me a Sign: Lafayette

All sorts of things are happening at Lafayette, the massive French project from Andrew Carmellini, Luke Ostrom, and Josh Pickard that's set to open this month. There's still plenty to be done, but signage started going up and we couldn't help but give you some updates. Two of the window's have been gold-leafed, the once clunky, brown cement on the building's facade got a coat of primer, and handsome gold light fixtures are in place just inside the windows. A menu hasn't been released yet, but the culinary superhero team is in place: Damon Wise is the chef de cuisine, James Belisle, formerly of Per Se, is the sous chef, and Jen Yee, who previously worked at Gilt, Aureole, and SHO Shaun Hergatt, is the pastry chef. Can't. Wait. Click ahead for more pics.

Click to read more ...

My Hooni Said Shine Two Stars on the World

[sasah maslov for the nytimes]Sam Sifton gave Hooni Kim's "wee little restaurant on 52nd Street" one star in August 2011. That restaurant was Danji, Kim's first in New York. About a year and a half later, Kim opened Hanjan in Flatiron on the same stretch of West 26th Street that's home to Hill Country and Maysville. At Hanjan, Kim turns out Korean fare using the casual, whimsical, and small-plate template borrowed from the izakayas of Japan, where eating and drinking are regarded with the same ferver. Today, Pete Wells awards the newcomer two stars.

"Like Mr. Kim’s slightly older restaurant, Danji," Wells writes, "Hanjan has a menu divided between traditional Korean dishes (the pajeon) and new ideas (slices of raw wild salmon that you wrap around salad greens in a spicy sesame dressing). And once again, the cover versions and the original compositions are so much in touch with the spirit of Korean cooking that it can be hard to tell which is which."

"Mr. Kim may be more confident in his cooking this time around," Wells notes, "or more certain that New Yorkers will get it." He finds ingredients and menu items that suggest "Mr. Kim trusts his audience, and vice versa." Hooni Kim has built a relationhip with New Yorkers via the Korean pantry, and the two-star review reinforces the claim others have already made about Kim: he's the city's king of Korean. [NYTmes]