Abracadabra, Fiamma Costata
Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 1:07PM 
Michael White made his New York debut in 2002 as the executive chef of Fiamma. The restaurant closed at the beginning of 2009 and has sat dormant since, but former building owner, BR Guest’s Steve Hanson, recently sold it. The new owners have leased the space to White and his business partner Ahmass Fakahany, and while the ghost of Fiamma still stands, the pending project marks the third on Altamarea Group’s horizon.
The Butterfly has been on our radar the longest, having been granted a liquor license almost a year ago last March. The smallish, 55-seat space will be opening this spring on West Broadway in Tribeca. Butterfly's menu will be inspired by White's Midwest upbringing, and bartender extraordinaire Eben Freeman, who hasn't worked behind a bar since his time at Tailor over two years ago, has been resurrected to head-up the cocktail program.
The Upper West Side will welcome White later this year on Madison and 86th Street, where Ristorante Morini will open in the former Centolire space. The restaurant will be an uptown, upscale version of the more casual Osteria Morini, which has locations in Soho and Jersey. The two-story 1167 Madison Avenue address will have a cafe downstairs with white tablecloth dining on the upper level, and the menu will take a broader tour of Italy's cuisine, rather than the Emilia Romagna-focused fare served at Osteria.
The new SoHo restaurant taking over the Fiamma space is going to be called Costata, the Italian name for a particular cut of beef, which suggests this might be White's first go at a steakhouse. Costata will likely happen after The Butterfly and Ristorante Morini, but this early in the year, a 2013 opening isn't out of the question.