Taavo Somer Takes Isa Fishing and Throws Chef Ignacio Mattos Out to Sea

Eric Asimov paid a visit to Isa while he was the Times' interim restaurant critic. He awarded the restaurant one star and the attention brought Isa to new heights. The James Beard Foundation nominated Isa for Best New Restaurant. Things were looking up and much of this was due to the culinary mind of chef Ignacio Mattos, who was making very interesting, "quirky" food. 

The kitchen staff were pioneers leading Isa down the path of culinary reinvention. That's why it was such a suprise Monday when the Gone Fishin' sign went up and it was announced Taavo Somer let go of Mattos. Sous chef Jose Ramirez and pastry chef Pam Yung jumped ship shortly after. A post on Craigslist confirms the newly available kitchen spots at 348 Wythe Street in Williamsburg.

It seems the forward thinking of Mattos and his gastronomic visionaries clashed with the direction Somer wished to take Isa. The restaurant plans to reopen tomorrow with back of the house help from restaurants Freemans and Peels, both owned by Somer. Isa 2.0 will include lunch, delivery, and kid-friendly menu items.

Pete Wells Takes Out Loan: Eats at Hakkasan

Abu Dhabi-based investment company, Times Square, and $48 Chilean sea bass are three in a list of many why Hakkasan probably won't make your restaurant radar any time soon.

In his review of Hakkasan, Pete Wells finds much to like in the dim sum on offer, but it seems to be the only saving grace in the 11,000 square foot room.

"The real problem is that its prices are too high for extremely restrained portions of food that is, in too many cases, about as interesting as a box of paper clips."

Pete sees a lot of potential in the cooks, who "have the focus of a cobra."  Someone just needs to "tell the cooks to make the food in their hearts instead of the lackluster recipes that somebody in the management company apparently believes non-Chinese people like."

Next time you're in Times Square and have $888 to spend on braised abalone with truffles, Hakkasan is your place.

Here Piggy Piggy

The trio behind Talde are looking to open Pork Slope sometime in July.  The drink menu is inspired by the great state of Kentucky.  John Bush is the beverage director and he just got back from a trip to bourbon country, "I was drinking a lot of bourbon you can’t get up here—I was on the Bourbon Trail."  He will be behind the 35-foot bar when Pork Slope reveals its snout to the neighborhood.

Edibles will include pulled pork, brisket, smoked meats, and barbeque ribs.  Dale Talde, a native of Chicago, is also planning a Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich that he explains as a "French Dip sandwich meets a Chicago Beef Steak."

The tin ceiling and the walls have a fresh coat of paint and the pool table is already in place at 247 5th Ave, between Garfield and Carroll.

Nicoletta Attacks Gotham City Friday

Ed Levine and Adam Kuban are the culinary version of Batman and Robin.  The difference is, crime doesn't motivate them, pizza does.  Ed Levine wrote a book called Pizza: A Slice of Heaven.  His pal Adam Kuban writes a colum for Seriouseats called Slice, a NYC based weblog that's dedicated to pizza.  Their extensive knowledge of all things pizza is why they're able to bring us this detailed, first-look at Nicoletta, Michael White's new pizzeria opening in the East Village this Friday, June 15th.

Nicoletta is a break from Michael White's refined, attention-to-detail driven Italian cooking made famous at Marea, Osteria Morini and Ai Fiori.  The East Village haunt is inspired by a place called Domenico's in White's hometown of Beloit, Wisconsin.  It will serve 12 and 16-inch pizzas, a traditional lasagna, and one flavor of gelato to guests dining indoors or out, in any of the 38 sidewalk seats.

A whole milk mozzarella from Wisconsin will top certain pizzas and beers from the same state are available to wash them down.  According to a Times article, "every table is fitted with metal sockets in which the stems of cantilevered pizza stands are placed."  This is done to free up table space.  Eater has some awesome pictures of an empty dining room, probably your last chance to see it that way.

Pok Pok Ny Now Open Seven Days a Week

Pok Pok's garden, get tiki with itAndy Ricker's East Coast Pok Pok outpost opened in Cobble Hill just shy of two months ago.  Starting tonight, according to a facebook post last Friday, the restaurant will be serving dinner seven nights a week.  The hours switched around a bit "to reflect the habits of the neighborhood."  Pok Pok NY is now open from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, lunch service is still TBD.

Waits are still to be expected, but much less severe now that the restaurant is open seven days and the garden is in full swing around back.  The garden has an extra 30 seats or so and guests can order drinks and hang out while they wait for a table either in the main dining room or the garden itself.

T R O T N

The Roof Of The Nomad (TROTN) is launching dinner service tonight.  Turns out, it's called The Nomad Rooftop and, as of this morning, you can make same day reservations to "sit under the stars and have an ultra-refined meal," as Will Guidara mentions in an interview with Eater.

Operating a restaurant that is exposed to the elements provides an interesting set of circumstances for Daniel Humm (Chef) and Will Guidara (GM), the managing partners in Eleven Madison Park, The Nomad, and now The Nomad Rooftop.  "It's weather dependent," Mr. Humm says, "you have to prep in advance, even if you end up not opening. It's a headache in many ways."

The alfresco dinner comes in the form of a six-course tasting for $125.  "We're starting off with a menu that has a dish of tomatoes, some bread with tomatoes. We will serve a tomato soda with it that comes in a custom-made soda bottle that the guest will have to open."

The Rooftop experience is stamped with the Guidara Guarantee: "We know that the way to get a reservation here is a pain in the ass, and I'm sorry to the dining public for that. But we couldn't think of a better way to do it, and we will work to make it so it is worth your while"

There is a cupola on The Nomad Rooftop that will "ultimately become a private dining room."  It seats ten and can be booked like any other table.  It's also enclosed, so it'll be open year round.

For reservations, call 347.472.5660.

Donde Dinner?

Welcome to Donde Dinner?, a weekly feature where Digest NY does the work choosing your next dinner spot.

For Donde Dinner?, we'll pick a restaurant and post its address for you every Friday.  The catch is, the address is all the information we're giving you.  No name, no type of cuisine, and no googling allowed!  Price, quality, and accessibility are all being taken into concern, restrictions that result from trendy diets are not.  We promise not to have you waiting at the bar for two hours with $15 cocktails, and since we're not fancy folk, you never have to worry about a dress code.  Just hop on the train, or your feet, or your bike, and head to:

132 West Houston Street

Terroir Park Slope Space Under Construction

The year 2012 was only two days old we heard that the guys behind Hearth and Terroir were opening a Terroir outpost in Park Slope.  The location would be the newly vacant Great Lakes space on 5th Ave and 1st Street.  The dive bar closed its doors at the end of 2011, after opening them 15 years prior in '97.

Six months after it was announced Terroir was moving in, the tired, green facade that housed Great Lakes sat dormant with the old, plywood sign still up.  A "For Rent" with a number to call hung above that.  Maybe it took a while because Paul Greico, the wine genie responsible for Terroir's success, was busy winning James Beard Awards.  Either way, construction has finally started at 284 5th Ave.  The building has been completely gutted and the old windows on the 1st Street side of the building have been boarded up.

There hasn't been a date released as to when TPS will open, but sometime this fall seems very likely.