Fresh Cuts, March 2, 2007
Nary a week goes by without a new baby born in this newly energized dining zone of Wyndham Street. Gang, I wrote all about the fab new joints there only a few weeks ago and now yet another restaurant has opened. From one of our good friends comes Frog Face Fish, which is based almost entirely on fresh seafood dishes, prepared under the guidance of Zest chef Jason Black. Hurry to reserve a table at 2869-8535.
Boy howdy, did I take some heat for a little gossip tidbit I shared recently - my 11 years of French schooling failed to save me. I’m talking about La Mer Brasserie (not “Le” as I was told by my foodie spy) in the previous location of Illy in LKF Tower. A reader wrote in to chide me on my grammar and may I say thank you, Florent Desaintpaul for your interest in the column and careful attention to grammatical errors. Anyhoo, it’s planned to open in mid-March courtesy of the Epicurian Group, which is gearing up to open at least five more restaurants this year. Did you know group operations director Grant Baid has returned after opening the Wynn Macau food and beverage outlets? He’s quite a character – a true bon vivant and just a fireball of energy - and it’s great to have him back at the helm.
Speaking of characters, Harlan Goldstein played host to my accidental visit to G Bar at IFC Two last week. It’s not really pushed to the public but did you know that while there you can order from the menu of H One next door? I was with my best friend who was raving about the HG burger, which is smoked gouda, crispy bacon, white truffle oil, a dash of sea salt and a blue cheese dip for your frites (French fries for the gastro-challenged). My god was it good – if I was struck by lightning the second after my first bite I truly would have died a happy man. But the food kept coming: Wagyu sirloin from the giant Texan Grill garnished with wood stone-roasted Spanish onions, confit garlic and watercress leaves and a little Peruvian rock salt and French Sarawak pepper. Ah hell, I’ll just stop here or the whole column will be my rapturous recount of what was pretty close to the perfect meal. G Bar is just next to H One, Shop 4008, L/4 IFC Mall, Central, 2805-0638.
Popular hangouts Peak Cafe Bar and One Bar are offering food and drinks promotions during all of March. Groove on signature cocktails in Peak Cafe Bar at happy hour prices all month long – drinks like the Oyasumi Sake-tini and Raspberry Mojito are $58 a pop. One Bar offers a special Irish lunch set menu from Mar 12-16 to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – try red onion tart with Irish blue cheese, or the chocolate-orange Guinness cake. Peak Cafe Bar, 9-13 Shelley St., SoHo, 2140-6877. One Bar, The Rotunda, One Exchange Square, 8 Connaught Place, Central. 2522-2246.
Shiver me timbers, after braying about the new Igor’s Group’s Pelican Pub on Wyndham Street it turns out there’s yet another one opening in Stanley at 90 Stanley St., 2868-6026, not to mention the new Peel Lounge at the corner of Elgin and Peel Streets. That cranks the outlets up pretty close to 20, making Igor's one of the biggest supergroups in town. Helmed by my fellow Canadian Chris Lenz, the group is quite the Hong Kong success story with outlets from Stanley to the airport. Although my invitation to the big opening seems to have been lost in the mail, I’ll be sure to pop by for a friendly pint.
I used to live on Arbuthnot Road and would drop by Chez Moi French restaurant whenever I wanted a lesson in Gallic gastronomy courtesy of chef Patrick Gobier, who is famously fond of explaining his dishes in rapturous detail. He’s since moved on to Chez Patrick in the NoHo district (22-26 Peel St., 2541-1401) and now he tells me it’s time to hit somewhere in Pacific Place, sometime in May.