Lafayette is Open

[photo: digestny] the manAndrew Carmellini, Josh Pickard, and Luke Ostrom's highly-anticipated French restaurant Lafayette opens for dinner tonight. We started covering the restaurant's progress on June 20th last year. Only back then, we had no idea it was going to be called Lafayette. Or that the menu would offer such an extensive array of French cuisine. You can get a glimpse of the menu here (courtesy of Eater). Classic bistro dishes like beef tartare and steak frites are joined with dishes inspired by the cuisine of France's neighbors: Italy and Spain. There's pasta on the menu, a result of Italy's pasta-making traditions crossing the Pennine Alps and making their way into Southern France. Black linguine with seafood and chorizo combines this influence with the combination of seafood and chorizo that's common throughout Spain. The restaurant's rotisserie lends itself to dishes like wood-fired Dorade and roast chicken for two. On his inspiration for the menu, Carmellini said, "It's food I want to eat everyday."

The cafe and bakery opens at noon to serve coffe and pastries, but dinner service launches tonight at 5:30 p.m. Breakfast, lunch, and brunch coming soon. We got in for a coffee and pictures this morning. Take a look after the jump.

380 Lafayette Street | 212-533-3000 | www | map

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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]

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.

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Carmellini's NoHo Super Bistro Gets a Name: Lafayette

One of the most anticipated openings to come in the remaining months of 2012 is Andrew Carmellini's French project in the former Chinatown Brasserie space.  Carmellini took over the 380 Lafayette Street address on the corner of Great Jones and Lafayette in June this year.  As the pieces fall into place, Vogue brings us news that the restaurant will be called Lafayette. 

Damon Wise, formerly of Craft and currently at Monkey Bar, was recently welcomed to the team and named chef de cuisine (#CDC).  Other members of that team are Luke Ostrom and Josh Pickard, Carmellini's partners in The Dutch, Locanda Verde, and the newly opened The Library in the Public Theater Building up the street from Lafayette. 

Carmellini and Wise will work together to create food inspired by the south of France.  "The menu at Lafayette is Carmellini’s homage to the rustic fare of the southeast and southwest of France (niçoise ravioli with pistou and chèvre and slow-cooked lamb with burnt orange and olives) as Carmellini notes of his emphasis on regional cuisine: “it's the spirit of French cooking.”" 

The Lafayette experience wil be helped by an in-house bakery, a zinc-hooded rotisserie, blue-leather banquets, a private dining room, and a (probably really awesome) wine cellar.  Opening in December.

Andrew Carmellini's The Library is Open

The Library opened on the mezzanine level of Lafayette Street's Public Theater Tuesday night at 5:30.  It's the first to open from our Taste of Tastes to Come list and the new collaborative project from Andrew Carmellini, Luke Ostrom, and Joe's Pub proves to be a modern, jazzy, speak easy with the help of a World War II era jazz soundtrack and $14 cocktails from Tiffany Short.  Six draft beers are on offer at $6 each and a three act menu offers food under the direction of Carmellini.  Act I gives you options like pizza popcorn with Parmigiano ($5), Peekytoe crab rolls ($10 for 2), and French fries with malt vinegar mayo ($8).  Act II has roasted beets, grapefruit, goat cheese, and pistachio ($12), and a kale salad that might join the ranks of Battersby and Northern Spy Co. in the world of supreme kale salads.  The Library's version has Vermont Cheddar and Marcona almonds ($13).  Act III includes Joe's Burger with carmelized onions, bacon, and cheddar ($17), and Catskill Moutain Trout with lentils and butternut squash ($24).

Three sparkling options, four whites, and four reds make up the wine by the glass options.  The champagne heavy sparkling section and white wine in the form of Sancerre, viognier, riesling, and Chablis provide a thorough tour of France while the eleven reds on offer cover five different countries and range from $45 to $110.  See the full food and drink menu here.

The Library | 425 Lafayette Street | 212.539.8777 | 530pm - 2am nightly | www

Former Chinatown Brasserie Gets Cleaned Out; Signs Go Up

On Wednesday, June 20th, there was a same day announcement that Chinatown Brasserie would be closing at the end of the day.  Workers were inside cleaning out the 380 Lafayette Street address yesterday and a look through the doors revealed a completely gutted space. 

Partners Josh Pickard, John McDonald, and chef Joe Ng said they would look for a smaller space in the same neighborhood to reopen later this year.  A few hours after it was announced CB was closing, Andrew Carmellini, who is a partner with Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom in Locanda Verde and The Dutch, confirmed his group was taking over the space and planning a French restaurant.

There are "Nous somme la cuisine" posters on the windows of the yet to be named Carmellini space: