Headlining The Cohen Community Food Rescue Center For nearly 40 years, City Harvest has collected food that would otherwise be wasted f...
Headlining
The Cohen Community Food Rescue Center
For nearly 40 years, City Harvest has collected food that would otherwise be wasted from restaurants, supermarkets, caterers, farms and more to supply soup kitchens, pantries and more. Now it has moved to a 150,000 square foot headquarters in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The organization had offices and food distribution centers in Manhattan and Queens, but the move allowed it to consolidate all of its operations into one location, which City Harvest says is the largest rescue and food distribution in the country. “We have saved and delivered over a billion pounds of food in our nearly 40-year history,” said Jilly Stephens, the organization’s chief executive. “More than 250 million of those pounds have been just since the pandemic began.” Chef Eric Ripert, who is Vice Chairman of City Harvest’s Board of Directors, added, “With this gigantic building, we could increase what we process.” (Full disclosure: I wrote “City Harvest: 100 Recipes from Great New York Restaurants,” published in 2015 as a fundraiser for the group.) The new building, designed by Ennead Architects, The Rockwell Group, and Ware Malcomb , has refrigerated and ambient areas for food collection, loading docks and, by summer, event space with a rentable rooftop terrace. Nutrition classes will be open to the public and there will be a storefront at street level.
52nd Street and Second Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, cityharvest.org.
Opening
kumi
by Sam Nazarian Group of disruptive restaurants, which has a major presence in the Manhattan West development at 33rd Street and 10th Avenue, is bringing one of its restaurants from Las Vegas — kumi, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino — in New York. It serves Japanese cuisine shaped by other influences, notably Korean. Anastacia Song, formerly of American Cut in New York, will serve as executive chef; his experience will play well with a menu that includes strip and rib eye steaks. The pandemic has prompted the restaurant industry to talk about shorter menus, but that’s not the case here: a long list of sushi, sashimi, tempura and specialty rolls, including one called “hot mess”, made with poke-style tuna. There are entrees like gyoza and a tuna taco, and salads, including a watercress Caesar. Steaks share the menu with Korean-style galbi ribs, gochujang-glazed salmon, and green tea-smoked chicken. The spacious restaurant, seating 130 people, is luxuriously appointed with mirrors and splashes of color. It’s in the hotel that used to be the Viceroy and is now Le Méridien New York. (Opens Thursday)
120 West 57th Street, 212-671-0439, kumirestaurant.com.
Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill — Financial District
The evolution of Bruce and Eric Bromberg’s line of Blue Ribbon restaurants continues with the opening of their new space in the Financial District. The Blue Ribbon name now appears on eight New York restaurants, beginning with the original SoHo locations, which were brasserie-style, in 1992, and Blue Ribbon Sushi, serving Japanese cuisine, in 1995. downtown is reminiscent of the Blue Ribbon Sushi and Grill Bar to Columbus Circle, which, introduced in 2007, paired sushi with American dishes like steaks and lobster. Sushi, sashimi, maki and other Japanese specialties like tempura, teppan (grilled) vegetables and seafood dominate the menu. A 14-piece omakase costs $125. Steaks, including Wagyu, salmon, lobster and teriyaki chicken, are also served in a brick dining room, Japanese touches and 92 seats. There are also Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill restaurants in Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. (Monday)
84 William Street (Maiden Lane), 212-315-4900, blueribbonsushibaandgrilldowntown.com.
Sin Kee
Richard Chan brings food from street vendors from his native Singapore to the bustling Queens Crossing Food Hall in Flushing. Hainanese chicken, Teochew braised duck, Malaysian curry chicken balls and an oyster omelette are served, along with Southeast Asian street food, such as satays, radish cakes and a Taiwanese sandwich with pork belly. Lunch and dinner are served, with breakfast to follow, in decor that nods to Singapore with signs like “no chewing gum.”
Queens Crossing Food Hall, 136-20 38th Avenue (Main Street), Flushing, Queens, 718-878-3108, sinkeenyc.com.
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