Table Stakes

February: The 5 restaurants you need to know

By The Editors
February 5, 2015 9:00 am

To keep tabs on every New York restaurant and bar opening is folly. But to keep tabs on the most worthy? Yeoman’s work, and we’re proud to do it. Thus we present Table Stakes, a monthly rundown of the five (or so) must-know spots that have swung wide their doors in the past thirty (or so). Bon appétit.


Noodles.

At this very culinary moment, New York is obsessed with noodles.

Noodles served in a tiny, 10-seat noodle shop in Little Italy by men in black fedoras and one black glove each.

We’ve seen the line. We’ve waited in the line. In the cold, friend. In the almost-zero cold. It was worth it.

So we included said noodle bar in our latest Table Stakes guide to the five best new restaurants in the city.

Beyond noodles, NYC has seen a grip of ethnic restos in recent weeks.

NYC’s comida mexicana scene got yet another upgrade with a new LES taco spot from the ACME crew.

The boys behind recent hits Carbone and Dirty French — who are apparently addicted to opening new restaurants — showed some Mediterranean cards on the West Side.

And while many lamented the closing of venerable Chin Chin in Midtown after 30 years, the good news is the space now houses the Manhattan outpost of a ritzy Hamptons Chinese joint looking to serve you, yes, top-notch hand-pulled noodles.

Oh, and for those looking to keep it domestic, a new steak and lobster palace arrived for your client-wooing pleasure.

So dine on, and drink well.

Enjoy the guide.

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