Headliner
Four
After the chef Jesse Schenker made his name at Recette and The Gander in Manhattan, he decamped for the Long Island village of Oyster Bay, where he opened 2 Spring with Claudia Taglich, his business partner, in early 2018. Now, he has another restaurant ready to make its debut next door. Called Four, it’s in a historic Victorian cottage. (The two restaurants connect by a glass-covered pavilion that functions as an expanded dining room for 2 Spring.) Four has just 10 upholstered seats at a marble counter surrounding a demonstration kitchen done in simple Scandinavian style with blond wood set within the cottage’s white brick and siding. A painting of Anthony Bourdain is a centerpiece on one wall, and a huge Bonnet range equipped with a Japanese charcoal grill helms the kitchen. There, Mr. Schenker will be onstage so to speak, preparing and serving a 10- to 12-course tasting menu, $245, for one of the more elevated dining experiences available on Long Island. Mr. Schenker said he missed the ad hoc menus he used to prepare on Mondays at Recette. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to cook in a similar intimate style for my guests,†he said. Among the dishes he’s planning are an oyster tartlet, langoustine with Champagne essence, rigatoni with giant clam and chiles, foie gras with a duck fat croissant, Mishima Wagyu with wasabi and onion, and chocolate pot de crème. Mr. Schenker’s attention to detail will extend beyond the food and the list for 500 wines (from an underground cellar) to the tableware, with no pieces repeated throughout the dinner. Soon, he will open Provisions, a retail food shop, in a building around the corner. (Opens Thursday)
4 Spring Street (Shore Avenue), Oyster Bay, N.Y., 516-624-6877, 4springstreet.com.
Opening
The Mermaid Inn
This third location of Mermaid Inn, in the former Red Cat space in Chelsea, was open for just six days before lockdown in March 2020. It has reopened. The owners, Danny Abrams and Cindy Smith, have also announced that with a new partner, Jeff Bank, the chief executive of Alicart, which owns Carmine’s and Virgil’s, they will be opening a vast new Mermaid Inn next spring. It will be in the 15,000-square-foot space that housed Heartland Brewery at 127 West 43rd Street.
227 10th Avenue (23rd Street), 646-905-5900, themermaidnyc.com.
Greenpoint Fish at Threes Brewing
Because indoor seating is very limited at its home base on Nassau Avenue, the restaurant arm of this fish market is taking up residence at Threes Brewing a few blocks away. (For now, there will be no restaurant service at the market.) From Friday through April 30, their oysters, salads, smoked fish pâté, chowder, tacos, fried calamari and sandwiches will be on the menu for indoor and outdoor dining and takeaway. (Friday)
113 Franklin Street (Kent Street), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 731-333-3430, greenpointfish.com.
Merakia
This Greek steakhouse known for its spit-roasted lamb for two has reopened with a new consulting chef, Jean Charles Métayer, who has restaurants in Athens. The restaurateur James Paloumbis is now the managing partner.
5 West 21st Street, 212-380-1950, merakia.com.
