Downstairs Dining at Le Restaurant

Kyle Wittels opened All Good Things in Tribeca last year. Ryan Tate, the former chef de cuisine at Savoy, has been with the market since day one - keeping the place stocked with produce and protein - and now is also in charge of the kitchen at Le Restaurant, located in the market's basement. The restaurant was part of the original plan, but took a few extra months to open. We had been looking forward to it since our visit in September last year and were happy to see it open in March. Tate only offers a tasting menu at Le Restaurant. There are no substitutions or a la carte options, and the place is only open three nights a week. In his review today, Wells refers to these as 'the bad news,' but finds plenty to like at Le Restaurant and in Tate's cooking.

"Mr. Tate aims to revise at least half the menu every day," Wells informs, "He has a second job that helps him do this, as the food buyer of All Good Things, ordering sea creatures, meats and odd lettuces that often end up in his kitchen." That encourages Tate to incorporate things like woodcock, skate, water buffalo, and gooseneck barnacles into his menu. "[Finally] if you are an omnivore, if you dream about uncommon ingredients and pure, focused flavors," the critic writes, "then Ryan Tate’s tasting menus are absolutely worth it."

So too are the desserts - the effort of Amadou Ly, who has Mas and Tocqueville on his resume. Wells writes, "Mr. Ly’s desserts have a gentle, natural spirit that feels right after Mr. Tate’s savory courses." Wells has a few gripes with the welcome process, but finds the subterranean experience at Le Restaurant worthy of two stars. [NYTimes]

Subterranean Lounge at Atera Booze

[melissa horn for grub street] lounge at ateraThe Lounge at Atera opened Tuesday night beneath Matthew Lightner's 18-seat chef's counter in TriBeCa. The new bar brings 12 more seats to Lightner's operation and will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 630pm - 11pm. Reservations are available by email only (thelounge@ateranyc.com) and a few of the limited spots will be reserved on a nightly basis for guests dining upstairs.

Wines by the glass, beer, and cocktails are all on offer at the subterranean drink den. Lightner told the Times he wanted the cocktails to "match philosophically with the food." The cocktail list is the combined effort of Lightner and the Atera team, which includes former Weather Up TriBeCa bartender Brandon Duff. The Winter Walnut (rye, navy strength rum, walnut liqueur, honey, and orange bitters) and the Old Fashioned Ale (served warm with brandy, ale, lemon, ginger, cream, and egg yolk) are sure to keep guests warm in the ensuing winter months. We can't wait to get our gullets on the Strato; fernet, cream, and coffee. Cocktails are priced between $15 and $18. [DinersJournal] [GrubStreet]

Lounge at Atera | 77 Worth Street (btwn Church and Broadway) | 212.226.1444 | www

Tribeca Canvas is Open

Masaharu Morimoto had his first taste of Tribeca nearly twenty years ago, when we was hired to be Nobu's executive chef. Now, the Iron Chef has reintroduced his culinary vision to the triangle below canal with the opening of Tribeca Canvas. The 80-seat restaurant opened last night at 313 Church Street and is the next to go from our Taste of Tastes to Come list.

Due to Sandy-related delays, the restaurant is still awaiting its liquor license, but when it arrives, the restaurant will be open until 4am. For now, Morimoto's take on comfort food is being served until 11pm. The menu hasn't been finalized yet, but some of the items are chicken sausage pot pie, lamb ragu steamed buns, fried chicken, mac and cheese with a poached egg, and whole fish with spicy tofu sauce and pickled vegetables. Once that liquor license rolls in, and the kitchen serves until 4am, Tribeca Canvas will likely turn into an after-hours industry hangout; something like the Blue Ribbon of Tribeca. We'll see you there.

313 Chruch Street (btwn Lispenard and Walker) | 917-720-2845 | www

Serious Sushi in the Triangle Below Canal

hiroko masuikeBrushstroke was in the works long before it opened in April of last year.  The restaurant is the result of a culinary connection between David Bouley and the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan.  Three months after it opened, Sam Sifton awarded Brushstroke two stars.  In April of this year, a sushi place opened inside Brushstroke and operated without a name.  Until now.  With three stars from Pete Wells in today's Dining Section, Ichimura at Brushstroke shares a pedestal with Il Buco Alimentari, Atera, The NoMad, and Kyo Ya.

In the quiet triangle below canal, Ichimura is tucked inside of Brushstroke with no door or sign of its own.  Wells explains, "Tiny, hard-to-spot restaurants are a longstanding tradition in Japan."  Chef Eiji Ichimura, a native of Japan, is responsible for preparing the $150 omakase menu here, which stems from the "Edo-mae style of sushi that he learned decades ago in Tokyo. Developed in street stalls in the era before refrigeration, Edo-mae sushi was made with fish that had often been cured in salt or vinegar, or stored in soy sauce to keep it from spoiling."  The use of salt is one application on a list of many that makes the sushi at Ichimura so unique.  The rice, nearly as important as the fish, is "seasoned with a blend of three vinegars."  There is great attention to detail.  The service is "exceedingly gracious" in a room with a sound level that is "utterly serene."

The relationship between Bouley and Ichimura is strong and growing.  There are plans for a "redesign" early next year that will allow Chef Ichimura's efforts to shine in a whole new light.  The once "empty sushi bar in Tribeca" Wells ate at will no longer be described thusly.  Wells concludes the interview perfectly, "The redesign, which Mr. Bouley hopes to start next year, would even give Ichimura at Brushstroke its own door inside the restaurant. But it still won’t have a separate street entrance, or a sign of its own. You’ll just have to know it’s there. And now you do."

All Good Things Must Come to... TriBeCa

Drew Nieporent opened Montrachet in TriBeCa in 1985.  His vision, along with David Bouley's menu, put the triangle below Canal on the culinary map.  The restaurant closed in 2006, but Nieporent opened Corton in its place and Paul Liebrandt's food there follows the nouvelle path Nieporent paved downtown.  To this day, the neighborhood is home to some of the finest food the city has to offer.  Restaurants like Locanda Verde, Atera, Bouley, Jungsik, and Kutsher's are making waves in TriBeCa that hungry New Yorkers continue to surf.  The same commitment to quality ingredients can now be found at 102 Franklin Ave, where Kyle Wittels opened a gourmet food court over the weekend.

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Subterranean Restaurant News

When Atera opened in Tribeca in March, Grub Street told us chef Matt Lightner and co were planning to open a bar in the space under the restaurant.  Originally going to be called "The Office," it turns out the name is to be determined.

Plans for the new bar space include a separate kitchen with its own private dining room.  It will provide a place for diners to have coffee and reflect on all the foraged food a multi-course meal at the 17-seat chef's counter puts in their stomachs.

In the West Village, the laundromat space Ed Schoenfeld took over under RedFarm is closer to opening.  In an interview with Paper Mag back in April, Schoenfeld said he'd be taking over the laundromat June 1st.  "It's going to take us a few months to do it over. So by September 1st, middle of August, we'll have that space."

Update on Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 11:59AM by Craig Cavallo

Ed Schoenfeld tells Digest NY that date is set for sometime "In the fall: Oct plus or minus."

The Foraging Pays Off; Three Stars for Atera

Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria and Kyo Ya have a new member in their three-star club.  Michael Lightner's Tribeca hotspot Atera is the third restaurant to earn three stars from Pete Wells.  The restaurant opened this year in March and added fuel to an already blazing fire ignited by chefs who had passed through Rene Redzepi's kitchen at Noma in Copenhagen.  Lightner cooked there, at Mugaritz in Spain, and at Castagna in Portland, Oregan before landing in the Triangle Beneath Canal.

Dubbed "snack time" by Wells, the initial bites that start a meal at Atera are nothing to write home about.  "There was a bitter and stringy clump of fried garlic roots, about as rewarding as eating a broom. A facsimile peanut made with foie gras and peanut butter wasn’t as good as an actual peanut, and a facsimile egg shaped from aioli wasn’t as good as an actual egg."

A few small bites later, "when snack time was over and the core of the menu began, something remarkable happened."  That's not to say the ensuing meal was perfect.  Wells goes on to mention a few dissatisfactions, but ultimately feels a meal at Atera is one of the more unique the city has to offer.  "It doesn’t all come together yet, but it comes close enough that a night at Atera is now one of the most fascinating experiences you can have in a New York City restaurant."

The SHO Is Over

Executive chef Shaun Hergatt announced yesterday that he will be leaving the restaurant he started with Asher Zamir at the end of next month.  SHO Shaun Hergatt opened in Tribeca three years ago and has operated the past year with two Michelin stars to its name.

The Times points out that Shaun hopes to land in Midtown for his next venture, where he will take the name of the Tribeca resto with him.

In addition to New York City, Shaun Hergatt has won acclaim for his Asian-inspired French-executed cuisine at restaurants in Miami and Sydney.

Head to 40 Broad Street and get that great lunch prix fixe while you still can.  There's a two-course for $27 or a three-course for $33.