Headliner
Forsythia
A “soft opening” for a new restaurant once meant easing into business with limited reservations for friends, family and staff. But, in today’s world, it means starting with takeout. Such is the case for Forsythia at 9 Stanton Street. “In the middle of construction everything went on pause,” said Jacob Siwak, formerly of Olmsted, who is the executive chef and owner. For the rustic Italian restaurant, where Mark Coleman, formerly of Rezdôra, is sous chef, and Brian Maxwell, of Gulfstream in Newport Beach, Calif., is baking, they are waiting until indoor dining restrictions are lifted before opening. In the meantime, it is offering takeout from a temporary East Village location, in a space that’s usually a cooking school. The menu is based on a working sojourn in Italy the men took before the coronavirus pandemic, and has Roman overtones. Focaccia with mortadella, short rib meatballs, supplì cheese and rice balls with asparagus and mushrooms, stuffed pastas like scarpinocc and tortellini, and a brioche bun filled with whipped cream are some of the dishes they’re planning and preparing for four-course takeout menus, $30 per person. The kitchen is open from 4:30 to 6 p.m. daily, except Sundays. Once the Stanton Street location opens, they will close the East Village location and use the bar in front of the Lower East Side restaurant as a takeout counter.
104 East Seventh Street (First Avenue), 646-540-5406, forsythianyc.com.
Opening
Le Crocodile Garden Cafe
An outdoor nook for sandwiches, pizza, roast chicken, pastries, cocktails and coffee has opened in the courtyard adjacent to Le Crocodile brasserie. Need some ramp butter? They’re selling that, too, along with staples like cheeses and granola, all for takeout and delivery daily. There’s also an oyster bar.
Wythe Hotel, 80 Wythe Avenue (North 11th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-460-8004, lecrocodile.com.
Kissaki
The Japanese restaurant on the Bowery has added a Midtown location inside Nerai, a Greek restaurant. It’s a ghost kitchen — a cooking facility without a storefront — that will prepare food to-go for the downtown Kissaki and offer pickup and delivery for sushi and other Japanese specialties. Omakase menus are $35 to $147, and there are also à la carte items, including nigiri, futomaki, rolls and rice bowls.
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55 East 54th Street, 212-577-1141, explorekissaki.com.
Beyond Sushi
This vegan and kosher chain for tasty, colorful sushi rolls, tacos, dumplings and wraps, with seven Manhattan locations, has opened a kitchen in Long Island City and will offer delivery to that neighborhood, Astoria and Sunnyside.
43-44 21st Street (44th Avenue), Long Island City, Queens, beyondsushi.com.