Headliner
Le Rock
Every few decades, the reset button is pressed on Rockefeller Center restaurants. An important year was 1984, with the opening of Grilled sea and American Festival Cafe by the Restaurant Association. This year promises to be remarkable as well, with Tishman Speyer, which owns and operates the Rockefeller Center, continuing to shape the dining scene. An important addition is Le Rock, Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr’s grand interpretation of a brasserie in France. (Mr. Hanson and Mr. Nasr, veterans of Balthazar, own Frenchette in TriBeCa and there’s Le Veau d’Or on the Upper East Side.) With Workstead, an interior design studio in Brooklyn, they’ve incorporated enough Art Deco features to tie the soaring room into its historic setting. . A screen separates the bar, the burnt-brick floor looks new but doesn’t look pretty, and bare-edged wooden tables sit at green leather banquettes. Mr. Hanson and Mr. Nasr had to fill 130 seats indoors and another 70 on the terrace, and to do so, especially with potential tourists, they came up with an international menu. “We went simpler than Frenchette, which has its own personality,” said Mr. Hanson. Mr. Nasr cites some brasserie classics, like leek vinaigrette, escargots, pâté maison and steak au poivre (made with bison). They share a menu, divided into Cette Semaine (weekly specials) and Tout le Temps (every day), which also list falafel, a paella of calamari and shishito peppers, and barbajuans, a type of ravioli fried. Some items play it coy, using untranslated French names, like tablier de sapeur (breaded tripe) and cervelle de canut (fresh quilted cheese). In charge of the kitchen as executive chef is Walker Stern, a former owner of Battersby and Dover in Brooklyn. Mariah Neston is working with Michelle Palazzo, the pastry chef, on-site to create the giant baba au rhum carved countertop. Dinner keeps things going, with breakfast they don’t serve at Frenchette, and lunch the next.
45 Rockefeller Plaza (50th Street), lerocknyc.com.
Opening
Zaytinya
A Washington, DC destination, for 20 years, José Andrés’s Think Food Group’s Eastern Mediterranean restaurant has come to New York. The name is a compound of the Turkish word for olive oil, and the menu emphasizes Greek, Lebanese and Turkish dishes. The scene was designed by Rockwell Group, with exposed beams, bronze details and blue splashes throughout. It seats 140. The chef and an associate, Michael Costa, and head chef, Jose Ayala, serve small plates and mezzes, consisting of flatbreads with toppings, typical spreads. such as tzatziki, spiced cheeses and oriental meats, and a long list of mouthwatering dishes that focus on vegetables, seafood and meat. Some, like kebab plates, qualify as main courses. Soon, a rooftop bar on the 45th floor, Nubeluz, will open at the hotel. Later this year, a Bazaar version of Andrés’ restaurant will also unpack its bags on site.
Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, 1185 Broadway, 332-249-8160, zaytinya.com.
Maison Close
The executive chef, Geoffrey Lechantoux, who has worked in France and in New York in Benoit, is running this restaurant, another sign that French cuisine is still alive in New York. SoHo’s elegant dining room, decorated in soothing blue and gray tones, is owned by a team of four real estate professionals. Mr. Lechantoux’s cooking is excellent, with dishes like the single meunière, artichoke à la barigoule, a seafood platter called la grande tour and a fiery crêpes suzette. (Open on Wednesdays).
15 Watts Street (Thompson Street), maisoncloserestaurant.com.
