Headliner
Xilonen
The name of this new place, the work of the chef Justin Bazdarich and Chris Walton of Oxomoco nearby, honors the Aztec goddess of young maize. They have put Alan Delgado in charge of the new kitchen, where the food is vegetarian and mostly vegan. Mr. Delgado, who is from Texas and worked there for many years, recently became involved in recipe development for Oxomoco before taking on this position. Some of his specialties for breakfast and lunch, the only meals being served for now in the restaurant’s elaborate outdoor dining area, are a masa pancake with maple syrup and salted butter; braised carrot tostada with navy beans, carrot top salsa verde and spiced maple; and churros with Oaxacan chocolate. (They’re also available for takeout and delivery.) The corn used here and at Oxomoco comes from Tamoa, a Mexican organization that connects farmers growing heritage crops with restaurants in Mexico and the United States. The restaurant has a vibrant mural covering its facade; when dining indoors is permitted, customers will see a room decorated with desert plants and hand-woven textiles in purple, yellow and orange that echo the colors of corn.
905 Lorimer Street (Nassau Avenue), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 929-272-0370.
Opening
Renaissance Pavilion at Striver’s Row
A stretch in the Harlem neighborhood known as Striver’s Row, has been turned into a series of nicely designed outdoor dining venues. Ruby’s Vintage, Sexy Taco, The Row, Alibi Lounge, Ma Smith’s Dessert Café and Harlem Chocolate Factory have all been set up with heaters, umbrellas and other amenities intended to keep diners comfortable. It was done by Uber Eats, WXY architecture + urban design, Urban Umbrella, with others, to help keep the local Black-owned businesses running.
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, 137th to 139th Streets.
Baldor and Parcelle
Baldor Specialty Foods, a wholesaler that turned to retail home delivery early in the pandemic, has added wine to the products it’s offering. It has teamed up with Parcelle Wine, 511 West 38th Street, part of the restaurant group Delicious Hospitality, to offer a selection of what are being listed as “seasonal” wines, sold in lots of three. There are about 20 categories curated by Parcelle’s director, Grant Reynolds, including Prosecco, red wines for pasta, earthy and full-bodied wines and pre-dinner wines, $60 and up for three bottles. But the prices are revealed only if you sign up as a customer.
baldorfood.com.
Le Village de Lafayette
Andrew Carmellini has created an outdoor enclave of 12 partly open, well-heated “chalets” outside his restaurant Lafayette, 380 Lafayette Street (Great Jones Street), lafayetteny.com. Each is a different size, seating between two and seven people and will open for the first time on New Year’s Eve. Dinner will be served Wednesdays through Sundays, $125 per person, plus an extra $100 for New Year’s Eve chalet rental. A New Year’s Day brunch, served through Sunday, will be $65 per person; a 4 p.m. dinner seating will be $85 per person, starting Jan. 1. Another special will be cheese fondue. Crown Shy in the financial district has its own version of the enclave, called Shy Village, and Daniel Boulud has a row of red-and-white-striped cloth cabanas in front of his Restaurant Daniel. More generally, there are plastic bubbles, igloos and yurts across the city, all part of the more elaborate solutions that chefs and restaurateurs have created for outdoor winter dining. A somewhat different amenity is at Franchia, an Asian-fusion vegan restaurant at 12 Park Avenue (35th Street), franchia.com. There, the seat cushions are heated electrically, just like a luxury sedan. “When your bottom is warm, you are warm,” said Terri Choi, an owner.