Roof trim
White Olive
Brothers Michael Karim Sopariwalla and Amin Himani, busy restaurateurs on Staten Island and beyond, have joined forces for the first time to open this Mediterranean restaurant, offering the flavors of Greece and Turkey in Midtown Manhattan. The two came up with the idea while traveling through the region. The result is a fairly compact dining room, usually with high tables and cream leather-upholstered chairs that share the space with the bar. (More tables are arranged in an L-shaped extension for a total of 80 seats.) Walls are clad in pale wood and light, deeply textured Turkish volcanic rock; woven Turkish runners are placed over the tablecloths. The chef, Hasan Karci from Turkey, worked at Ritz-Carltons in Istanbul and Palm Beach. The Greek repertoire is represented by tzatziki, keftedes (meatballs), saganaki fried shrimp, lemon potatoes and lavraki (branzino). The pacanga pastry with pastrami, ezme dips and grated phyllo knafeh is Turkish. Lamb chops and a baklava ice cream sandwich celebrate both countries. A liquor license is expected this month, its absence being filled by a long list of topical mocktails, mostly made with tropical fruit juices; when alcohol becomes available there will be French, Italian, Californian and Australian wines, including high-end labels such as Solaia and Château Lafite Rothschild, with some Greek and Turkish wines as well. The list is compiled by the general manager, Baba Yosef.
39 West 55th Street, 917-300-3105, whiteolivesnyc.com.
Opening
Essex Pearl x Midnight Café
How many places to eat or drink can fit in one venue? So far, the answer for Midnight Theater in the Manhattan West complex is three, with the addition of this Lower East Side branch of Essex Pearl. It serves lunch and happy hour dishes. Hidden Leaf, a pan-Asian restaurant, has been open for several months. At Essex Pearl, which is run in conjunction with Chinatown seafood wholesaler Aquabest, the focus is on seafood rolls with Asian flavors, including lobster, crab, shrimp and tofu. A happy hour with $1 oysters starts at 4pm and continues until 7. (Opens Thursday)
75 Manhattan West Plaza (33rd Street), 917-905-2782, essexpearl.com, hiddenleafnyc.com.
Pure Grit BBQ
This purveyor of gluten-free and vegan barbecue in the Flatiron neighborhood is now an option during games and concerts at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Gluten-free barbecuing is easy enough, though a vegan mandate calls for fancy footwork. (Jackfruit comes to the rescue, along with branded poultry and meat substitutes, nut-based cheeses, and tofu.) For now, the spot is in an area called Brooklyn Market, devoted to up-and-coming local brands; it aims for a more permanent location in the arena.
Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Avenue (Flatbush Avenue), Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, puregritbbq.com.
