Love a good wine bar? How about a top-notch seafood restaurant? You’ll be able to experience both under the same roof when Perle Wine Bar opens next Thursday, June 6, in the West Village. A sister to Marian’s—the New American spot from chef Christian Rowan (Eleven Madison Park, Bouley)—the swanky, seafood-centric newcomer will be an intimate, 12-seat bar located right next door at 22 Greenwich Avenue.

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Pulling inspiration from Europe’s wine bar tradition and seafood culture, the wine list features both Old World and New World wines by the glass and bottle, ranging from traditional varietals, such as Saint Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly (Joseph Colin), to wines from lesser-known regions like southern Italy’s Grillo (Feudo Montoni) and Fiano (Picariello Ciro). Along with highlighting sparkling, white, rosé and chilled red wines—you know, the kind of stuff that goes great with seafood—sommelier Lacey Rozinsky will be pouring a rotating pick from the bar’s magnum selection every weekend, such as a Vincent Paris Syrah or a Julien Sunier Gamay. 

Speaking of seafood, there will be plenty of it: the Rowan’s food menu kicks off with an extensive raw bar that includes East Coast oysters with house-made accompaniments (lemon-nori sorbet, grapefruit-chili sorbet), lobster cocktail, king crab claws, Santa Barbara uni and three selections of caviar. Oceanic small plates include several crudos (scallop with yuzu kosho and pickled strawberry; fluke with fresh wasabi and Korean pear) and toasts: crab with salted cucumber and caviar; sardines with roasted tomatoes and lemon zest; and a lobster roll with apple and fennel. 

Don’t eat fish? You can still sop up all that vino with non-seafood snack options like thin slices of Cinco Jotas Ibérico ham, cheeses with seasonal jams and toast points, and house-made chicken liver mousse with a port gelée.

And in terms of decor, Perle is pretty and petite: along with a 12-seat, walk-in-only marble bar, the room is dressed in floral House of Hackney wallpaper, velvet curtains and brass accents throughout. Get a gander of her, as well as those food-and-drink offerings, below: 

* This article was originally published here

Traditionally, the best ice cream sandwiches in NYC are made of sweet stuff—melty scoops, sugary cookies or doughnut halves, caramel drizzle, the works. But a new version is giving the frozen dessert a surpringly spicy makeover. 

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Camari Mick (the Executive Pastry Chef at Michelin-starred The Musket Room and Raf’s) and Jing Gao (the founder of small-batch condiment brand Fly by Jing) have teamed up to create a special limited-edition ice cream sando: a pair of Sichuan honey cookies sandwiched with Chengdu Crunch-swirled smoked Tahitian ice cream. That not-so-basic vanilla ice cream is laced with the condiment brand’s Chengdu-made chili crunch, which is loaded with funky stuff like Sichuan pepper, seaweed powder, shallots, garlic, mushroom powder, fava beans and a variety of seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin), making for a truly savory-sweet dessert experience.

The special-edition ice-cream sandwich will be available for $9 a pop all June long during the new garden happy hour at The Musket Room (265 Elizabeth St), held on Tuesdays through Fridays from 5pm to 6pm in the restaurant’s bloom-filled backyard starting Tuesday, June 4. The treat will join other garden happy hour items including fresh shucked oysters, grilled skewers, and some new warm-weather cocktails, plus specials on by-the-glass wines. Reservations are available via Resy—just choose 5pm outdoors. 

And to celebrate the sandwich launch on June 4, the spice queen herself Jing Gao will also be on hand at The Musket Room’s al fresco happy hour to sign her cookbook, the newly Jamed Beard-nominated The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp: Spicy Recipes and Stories from Fly By Jing’s Kitchen, in case you want to concoct your own spicy-sweet creations at home!

* This article was originally published here

Talk about the city that never sleeps: Diner24 is a new restaurant now open at 283 Third Avenue by 22nd Street in Gramercy that will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Clearly an ode to the city’s culinary culture and New Yorkers’ passion for diners, Diner24 is the brainchild of co-founders Stratis Morfogen and Philippe Olivier Bondon.

“I believe in the diner experience,” Bondon said in a statement. “Even as many diners close in the city, going against the trend can be a great opportunity in New York. New York is still a vibrant, 24/7 city.”

As steeped in tradition as the diner is, the co-owners are aware that they are operating a business within the confines of modern society—a fact made most relevant in the diner’s own name. According to its press release, Morfogen came up with the eatery’s moniker after studying search engine optimization best practices. To put it simply, the entrepreneur realized that many locals and New York tourists were often looking for “24-hour diners” on Google.

Hopefully, Diner24 will start topping that list of results, leading to foot traffic to the diner.

As exciting as the hours of operation are, though, the food at Diner24 takes center stage, blending breakfast favorites that will be served all day long—including eggs served any style, a challah vanilla bean French toast, pancakes and more—alongside lunch and dinner options. In the latter menu category, diners will get to order sandwiches, giant smash burgers, salads, pasta dishes, soups and fish entrés, among other entries. A “French onion soup” filet mignon has caught our attention.

And because we’re at a diner, after all, milkshakes are must-orders as well. Specialty cocktails, frozen ones, beer and wine are also on the menu. There is even a happy hour special to be enjoyed daily!

Given the current local state of affairs when it comes to gastronomy, a scene that is drenched with odd culinary creations (have you heard of the croissant/onigiri mashup yet?) and high-end reservations that are always hard to come by, the opening of such an old-school concept is absolutely refreshing. Here’s to hoping that Diner24 will usher us into a new era of dining.

* This article was originally published here