Momosan Ramen & Sake
Photo Courtesy of Evan Sung
It’s no secret: food in New York City is some of the best in the world. This summer brings a whole slew of new restaurants to add to your list of favorites. Whether you live in the city, go there for work or are planning an epic vacation, don’t miss these five hot spots. From Nordic cuisine to celebrity chefs and fast-casual concepts, get ready to feast.
Günter Seeger NY
Since opening in May, there has been a lot of hype surrounding chef Günter Seeger’s New York debut. The chef hails from Germany and made a name for himself at award-winning Hoheneck in Pforzheim before opening a stateside venture, Seeger’s, in Atlanta. At his Meatpacking District location, the focus is on market-driven tasting menus. The 10- to 12-course menu runs $185 per person (hospitality is included).
Günter Seeger NY, Photo Courtesy of Brian Bloom
Chef Seeger’s menu features the freshest produce and highest quality products — dishes range from snap pea gazpacho to brûléed plum tart with fresh cinnamon leaf pastry cream and thyme — for maximum enjoyment. The “experience,” as they like to say, sets guests at the forefront; meticulous service is meant to evoke the feeling of being welcomed into someone’s home. The 34-seat space proves simple with white subway-tiled walls, sunny furniture and a honey wood floor that gives the space a cozy buoyancy.
Momosan Ramen & Sake
Even though the heat of summer is in full swing, you can bet there will be a wait to get into “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto’s new ramen and sake joint. The name “Momosan” is a nickname for the famed chef, and this Murray Hill spot, open since April, is his first ramen shop.
Order a ramen bowl with the rich, pork-spiked tonkotsu or the lighter Tokyo chicken, which has a soy-based broth. The tantan, a Japanese and Malaysian flavor bomb, is a unique, curry-style treat. To kick it up another notch, try the tsukemen, also called dipping ramen. To complete the experience, pair your ramen with one of the dozens of sakes. The list features samplings from all over Japan, so you’ll be sure to find the perfect match. As for eating hot soup in August? Well, many people believe warm liquids actually cool you down.
Speedy Romeo, Lower East Side
In January 2012, chef Justin Bazdarich partnered with Todd Feldman to open up a rustic pizza joint on the Clinton Hill and Bedford–Stuyvesant border in Brooklyn. Four years later that Speedy Romeo location is still going strong and has even appeared in the HBO show Girls. Earlier this year, they brought their winning formula to Manhattan’s Lower East Side. And since the doors opened in March, it has been one of the go-to pizza joints in the city.
Speedy Romeo, Photo Courtesy of Speedy Romeo
Like the Brooklyn eatery, Speedy Romeo LES serves wood-fired pizza, sandwiches, seasonal salads and a handful of traditional entrées. (Try the branzino, served whole and dressed with roasted fennel, grilled lemon and herb oil). One key difference between the locations: the Manhattan address possesses a full liquor license, which means craft cocktails as well as local beers and wine are on offer.
Dizengoff
This past March, chefs Michael Solomonov and Emily Seaman, and business partner Steve Cook, opened the hottest little eatery the New York hummus world has ever seen. The original Dizengoff swept the Philadelphia dining scene when it opened in 2014. Since then, people have flocked from all over to sample the superb Israeli-style dish.
What makes a visit to this humble hummusiya so worthwhile? To start with, this tiny restaurant inside the Chelsea Market has 40-pound pots of chickpeas cooking all day long, which means the dip is profoundly fresh. Get one of the five hummus options topped with a combination of spiced lamb, pine nuts, avocado with harissa or other fun ingredients to make a full meal. If you have room for more, don’t overlook the salatim offerings. Each order comes with a hearth-baked pita, a chopped salad and tangy Israeli pickles.
Agern
The opening of Agern (“acorn” in Danish) means you have one more reason to stop by Grand Central Terminal, even if you aren’t planning to hop on a train. The seasonal restaurant is the joint venture between Noma co-founder Claus Meyer and Icelandic chef Gunnar Gíslason. Gíslason is best known for opening the award-winning venue Dill in Reykjavík in 2009, but we are sure this three-month-old eatery has a chance to become just as famous.
The lunch and dinner tasting menus feature ingredients grown in New York state that are prepared with a Nordic twist. For example, you might see salt-and-ash-baked beet root with horseradish and huckleberries, roasted lamb with sunchokes, and fried buttermilk porridge. Despite the bustle of the terminal, the 110-seat space is tucked in a quiet spot that used to be a hairdresser’s shop. You will see touches of Gíslason’s roots in the décor. You might even forget you are in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world as you dine.
