Headliner
Vacations Bar & Rooftop
New York is blessed with rooftops that offer plenty of drinks and dining amid beautiful scenery. With a believable location, even the second floor will function as it does at this dazzling new bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn, with the Manhattan skyline as the backdrop. Come September, the building below will be turned into an all-season restaurant; Currently, there is a rooftop bar, with second coming soon. (A third will be downstairs.) It has a tropical influence, with greenery, maple, green tile, checkerboard stone floors and blue walls. Drinks and food are self-serve, a la carte at the bar, with options like mashed potatoes with aioli and brava sauce, shrimp cocktail, fish and chips, and a broccoli rabe hero . Drinks, all $12, include a glass of Tropicale, made with Meyer lemon vodka, passion fruit liqueur, lemon, and guava juice; and Proposal, made with pineapple rum, lemon, and simple syrup. Vantage Point Hospitality owns and operates Vacations with Annie and Andy Shaner, restaurateurs living in the vicinity.
321 Starr Street (Cypress Avenue), Bushwick, Brooklyn, vacationsbk.com.
Opening
Maison Close
Open to visitors starting Thursday, this elegant French restaurant in SoHo will be full food and service on July 27. Executive Chef, Charles Lechantoux, is bringing his expertise, obtained in France and in New York at Benoit, for a setting done in soft blue and gray tones. His cooking is elegant, including dishes like ham, artichoke à la barigoule, seafood platter called la grande tour and fiery crêpes suzette. (Open on Thursday)
15 Watts Street (Thompson Street), maisoncloserestaurant.com.
Ferdi
This intimate new West Village venue is a showcase of one family’s restaurant history. Decades ago, Ferdinando Scarpati came to New York from Ponza Island, west of Naples, and opened Ferdi’s in the Bronx. His son, Guiseppe, was a chef at the Rainbow Room, and now Ferninando’s grandson, Fernando Scarpati, is opening this intimate spot with his sister, Aida Scarpati. The modern Italian menu is extensive, and the restaurant’s name pays homage to their grandfather.
15 Seventh Avenue South (Leroy Street), ferdinyc.com.
