headliner
File Gumbo Bar
Eric McCree, an audio engineer who worked on Broadway shows, was out of work two years ago due to pandemic closures. So he moved to Albany, NY, started catering and considered opening a restaurant. “It’s something I thought I could do,” he said. Now, at age 34, he is a restaurateur specializing in Cajun and Creole cooking. He enrolled in an online hospitality program through Cornell University, found advisors and a business partner, and then, because of Covid, was able to purchase a restaurant space at a reasonable rent. His little restaurant in TriBeCa is named after filé powder, the ground sassafras thickener often used to make gumbo. But he’s from Boise, Idaho, not the Bayou. He said he grew up eating Louisiana dishes, which his maternal grandfather, Aubrey Gaines, known as Tiny, would cook at home. (Although not originally from Louisiana, Mr. Gaines learned about the kitchen during his travels with a construction company.) Mr. McCree’s gumbos, including Tiny’s gumbo based on his grandfather’s style, are cooked to order in cauldrons behind a counter. with a long row of tables opposite. They come with a choice of chicken and andouille sausage; seafood; all of the above; and vegetarian. Traditional dishes such as jambalaya, crayfish étouffée, grilled oysters, Creole shrimp, blackened fish and, at lunchtime, muffuletta and po’boy sandwiches, are also served.
275 Church Street (White Street), 917-540-6268, filenyc.com.
Opening
Nikutei Futago
Twin brothers from Osaka, Japan, Sunchol Lee and Sunbong Lee have opened dozens of their Japanese-style steakhouses, Yakiniku Futago, in Asia and the United States, with one in the Flatiron district. Now they’re adding this high-end kaiseki restaurant that only serves A5 Wagyu beef from Japan, nine courses with accessories for $320 per person, plus optional sake pairings for $125. The restaurant seats 38 in a range of secluded rooms furnished with tables with vented grills in the center.
341 West Broadway (Broome Street), nikuteifutago.com.
Ipanema
This Brazilian restaurant, which was on West 46th Street from 1979 to last year, has moved and is ready for use. Carlos and Victor Pedro, sons of Alfredo Pedro, the original owner, have taken over. The chef, Giancarlo Junyent, makes specialties such as the Brazilian fish stew moqueca, but also a vegetarian version; an elaborate feijoada with pork and beans; and picanha, a cut of sirloin steak popular in Brazil. Portuguese azulejo tiles cover the floor and there is a cocktail bar upstairs. An adjacent cafe, Bica, opened earlier this month.
3 West 36th Street, ipanema.co.
saint
What was once the brick-walled and chandelier-lit Brasserie Saint Marc retains the decor but has a revised name and new owners, Paige Concepts. The chef is now Nicholas Cox, who was at La Esquina and highlights the menu of raw bar specials, mezze dips, sausage croquettes, lobster gratin, a strip steak and a burger. Beyond the entrance with cafe style seating, there is a stretch oak-and-marble bar, an intimate semi-private dining area and the large dining room, which opens onto a garden. A speakeasy bar with a VIP area is on a lower level. (Open Wednesday)
136 Second Avenue (Ninth Street), 646-490-0099, saintny.com.
