Openings
Brooklyn Fish Camp
Three months ago, an hour before opening its doors to lobster-roll-deprived Park Slopers, the Brooklyn branch of the West Village’s beloved Mary’s Fish Camp caught fire. “It was devastating,” says partner Derek dos Anjos. But this week, he and Mary Redding rally, opening for business with a garden, a fish-friendly wine list, and the lobster knuckles and salt shrimp that helped make Mary’s famous.
162 Fifth Ave., nr. Degraw St., Park Slope, Brooklyn; 718-783-3264

Little Branch
Penetrating the inner cocktail sanctum that is Sasha Petraske’s Milk & Honey on Eldridge Street is like booking a table at Rao’s. But whetting your whistle at Petraske’s new Little Branch in the West Village should be a relative cinch. “A kinder, gentler Milk & Honey” is how partner (and accomplished mixologist in his own right) Joseph Schwartz describes the subterranean space. Little Branch has inherited its parent’s patented speakeasy feel and devotion to meticulously crafted classic cocktails—big beautiful chunks of ice, retro swizzle sticks, and all.
20-22 Seventh Ave. S., at Leroy St.; 212-929-4360

Bolzano’s Bar Cucina
Big, showy spaces obviously appeal to Marc Packer and his chef-partner Sam Hazen, whose collaborations include Rue 57 and Tao. This week, they join the simmering red-sauce fray with Bolzano’s, a Times Square 330-seater situated just one brazen intersection away from Shelly Fireman’s like-minded Bond 45. Bolzano’s lures tourists and theatergoers with a specialty bread station, an outdoor patio, and something Wylie Dufresne might have dreamt up—a spaghetti-stuffed meatball.
1515 Broadway, at 45th St.; 212-302-2250

Pizza Bar
The owners of Pop Burger expand down the block with what they’re calling a psychedelic pizza parlor, counter up front and lounge in back, inspired by Keith Haring’s 1982 show at the Tony Shafrazi gallery. The pizza’s out there, too—like ciabatta bread sliced in half, pressed thin in garlic and butter, and topped with delicacies like lobster and bacon.
48-50 Ninth Ave., nr. 14th St.; 212-924-0941

Related:

• Archive: “Restaurant Openings & Buzz”
• Articles by Rob Patronite | Robin Raisfeld
• Table of Contents: June 20, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!