Health

Mel’s, Wood-Fired Pizza From a Former Del Posto Chef, Opens

Headliner

Mel’s

Fitted snugly to one side of the former Del Posto, the narrow restaurant space that was once John Dory is now a pizzeria: Mel’s, the first restaurant of a new food complex here. The name refers to the former Del Posto and Daniel chef Melissa J. Rodriguez, who is partnering with Jeff Katz and James Kent of Crown Shy and Saga to develop this sprawling space. (Al Coro, a lavish Italian restaurant, and Discolo, a lower-level lounge, will open in the Del Posto space in early summer.) Mel’s is done warmly in orange tones and polished light wood, a bar and a dining counter open into a rear dining room, and a huge wood-fired pizza oven is central to the space. “Everything is cooked with wood,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “There’s no gas here.” The pizzas start with Margherita but quickly veer into creative territory: mushrooms, smoked mozzarella and shaved shallots; and kale, basil pesto, ricotta and preserved lemon. Many appetizers, like roasted parsnips with robiola cheese, roasted maitake mushrooms with soppressata piccante, and charred shrimp, are wood fired, as are mains like whole fish, whole roasted cauliflower and strip steak. Unlike at most pizzerias, dessert is neither an afterthought nor skippable. Consider milk chocolate gelato with dark chocolate sable swirl; salted caramel and fior di latte gelato with caramel sauce and shortbread crumble; or an Italian rainbow cookie hot fudge sundae, a tribute to Little Italy. The timing of the opening is calculated so that Ms. Rodriguez, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, has several months to get Mel’s in order before Al Coro is unveiled. (Opens Wednesday)

85 10th Avenue (16th Street), 212-970-2202, mels-nyc.com.

Opening

Katsuya

The Citizens New York food hall in the Manhattan West complex is bookended by Casa Dani, the chef Dani Garcia’s Spanish restaurant, and now this restaurant, which bills its food as Japanese cuisine for the American palate. The chef Katsuya Uechi is at the helm. In 2006, Sam Nazarian’s Disruptive Restaurant Group opened the first Katsuya in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Since then, the group has replicated it around the world, with other locations in the works and Mr. Uechi developing the menus for all of them. Sushi variations, hand rolls, hot and cold Japanese appetizers, and main courses are highlights of the menu. And there’s an eye on luxury in dishes like king crab tempura, Wagyu gyoza, whole grilled lobster and Wagyu sukiyaki. The dining areas are richly decorated and dramatically lit. (Thursday)

398 10th Avenue (33rd Street), 212-920-6816, katsuyarestaurant.com.

Café Serafina

Bright, floral décor announcing spring defines the look of this new addition to the Serafina Restaurant Group, where you can order at the counter or a kiosk. The place is casual, and also offers online ordering. The place is casual. In addition to Serafina’s usual pastas, pizzas, salads and mains, there are breakfast items, panini and sandwiches.

922 Seventh Avenue (58th Street), 646-362-6100, cafeserafinany.com.

Brooklyn Chop House

The multistory building that housed Buffalo Wild Wings until the pandemic lockdown is now a branch of Brooklyn Chop House, a restaurant co-founded by Stratis Morfogen. The main dining room and its mezzanine, seating 300, and the rooftop bar and restaurant, with another 150 seats, specialize in unusual dumplings and what Mr. Morfogen calls L.S.D.: lobster, steak and Peking duck. There’s also a lower-level dining club, the NFT Private Cellar, where members buy digital tokens at different levels for admission, food and drink. (Thursday)

253 West 47th Street, brooklynchophouse.com.

Una Pizza Napoletana

Anthony Mangieri, who has built a loyal following for his pizzas since 1996, has reopened this restaurant on the Lower East Side after having plied his trade in New Jersey for several years.

175 Orchard Street (East Houston Street), 646-476-4457, unapizza.com.

77th Street Sushi Shop

Butterfield Market has opened this spot, mainly for takeout. Sushi rolls, sashimi, poke, salads, dumplings and miso soup by the chef, Tsering Dawa, are on offer.

1102 Lexington Avenue (77th Street), 332-456-8446, butterfieldmarket.com.

Jean-Georges Philadelphia

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is reopening his Philadelphia location of Jean-Georges, after it closed two years ago, on the 59th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel. It will feature a new six-course tasting menus, one labeled land and sea, the other from the earth. Both are given an emphasis on local ingredients. At his side is Cornelia Sühr as chef de cuisine, who previously worked with Alain Ducasse. (Thursday)

Four Seasons Hotel, Comcast Center, 1 North 19th Street, Philadelphia, 215-419-5000, fourseasons.com.

The Connaught Grill

Mr. Vongerichten is also working in London to oversee the reopening of this venerable restaurant in the Connaught hotel in the Mayfair district. Traditional English fare like shepherd’s pie and Sunday roast are on the menu.

The Connaught, Carlos Place, Mayfair, London, 011-44-207-499-7070, the-connaught.co.uk.

Looking Ahead

Slutty Vegan

Pinky Cole, the founder of this popular Atlanta restaurant, is opening a branch in New York this spring. Last year, she collaborated with Shake Shack on a vegan burger. Now her own vegan burgers, sandwiches, sides and desserts will be served from a Brooklyn location.

690 Fulton Street (South Portland Avenue), Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Family Meal at Zabb Putawn

Therdtus Rittapom, the chef and an owner of the Thai restaurant Zabb Putawn, will offer home-style feasts from Monday through April 14. Based on family meals, which restaurant staffs cook and eat before opening, each spread will include six dishes, rice, two desserts and two glasses of beer or wine. It’s enough to serve two or three, $99, and must be reserved in advance.

1584 First Avenue (83rd Street), 212-988-8800, zabbputawn.com.

Beefbar

This international group of more than a dozen high-end restaurants will open its first United States branch in about a year. It will be in what was the original TriBeCa home of Nobu. Founded in 2005 in Monaco by Riccardo Giraudi, Beefbar is known for serving interpretations of street food, often Asian; steaks in various preparations; pastas; and a signature chocolate soufflé.

105 Hudson Street (Franklin Street).

Donations

On Tuesday, Keith McNally is donating all the revenue from dinner at Balthazar (80 Spring Street in SoHo) to Unicef’s initiatives to ease the plight of refugee children from Ukraine, unicefusa.org. Mr. McNally estimates it will amount to $35,000 to $40,000. And at Fan-Fan Doughnuts in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Fany Gerson, whose great-grandparents were from Ukraine, is baking ponchiki, a type of fritter, $25 for two dozen to order for pickup from March 14 to 20, with proceeds going to Voices of Children, voices.org.ua/en.

Chefs on the Move

Playing With Fire

Marc Forgione, who owns Peasant in NoLIta, has invited guest chefs to prepare a prix-fixe menu there one evening a month. Wylie Dufresne kicked off the series on March 8, to be followed by Bryan Ford on April 5. Coming up will be Anita Lo, Marc Vetri, Michael Symon, James Kent and Dave Pasternack, though dates have not been set. A portion of the dinner price will go to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

194 Elizabeth Street (Prince Street), 212-965-9511, peasantnyc.com.

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