You might think you’re in Israel when you step into Naked Tomato, famed chef Eyal Shani’s new restaurant next to a branch of his popular pita-based Miznon on the fourth floor of Hudson Yards’ mall. The offering here is a selection of grilled two foot long skewers of lamb, beef, chicken and seafood with an array of vegetable and seafood salads that are complimentary and provided in unlimited quantity: vivid concoctions of eggplant, octopus, red pepper, Shani’s prized tomato among them. “What is typical of Israel is the mezze, it’s like a mosaic, so many flavors, colors, smells. And it’s about sharing,” he says. “It sounds messy but it’s full of life.”
As multi-country travels have faded during COVID in favor of rooting in one place, the opportunity to sample various cuisines in one trip has also declined. But down the street from Shani’s outpost in Hudson Yards, the Manhattan West development, which opened last September, offers other culinary stops around the globe, many by world famous chefs. The newest kid on the block arrives March 10th when Katsuya, chef Katsuya Uechi’s take on Japanese cuisine with an overlay of California opens in a setting created by design stars Philippe Starck and Yabu Pushelberg as a sibling to restaurants in southern California, Miami’s South Beach and the Bahamas.
The restaurant joins Casa Dani, Michelin three star chef Dani Garcia’s take on Spanish cuisine focused on Spain’s Mediterranean south in a sleek setting designed by Rockwell Group. Despite his ultra fine dining credentials and the size and design of the space, the theme here is fresh and homestyle, more like a small family restaurant than a gastronomic temple. Fresh tuna prepared different ways gets it own section of the menu (Garcia considers it the soul of Spanish cooking) along with a selection of tapas, a charcuterie board, Mediterranean seafood platter and main courses such as Arroz de Pollo with Cornish hen and Hanger steak with chimichurri verde.
Zou Zou’s, located in the hotel Pendry Manhattan West, ventures farther east in the Mediterranean to influences from Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel as well as North Africa in another designer space, this one from New York based AvroKO. Featured dishes include the Turkish dumplings manti with garlicky labneh and oven dried tomatoes, Moroccan fried chicken, fire roasted leg of lamb and lobster tagine with kumquat and parsnip.
Ci Siamo from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group is a voyage to Italy with an emphasis on live fire cooking and a fusion of traditional and contemporary dishes from executive chef Hillary Sterling. That translates to agnolotti of rapini, the green vegetable resembling broccoli rabe, with ricotta and lemon, the classic Florentine T-bone steak Bistecca Alla Fiorentina with rosemary salt and caramelized onion torta with balsamic and pecorino Toscana.
Also part of the building that also houses Katsuya and Casa Dani is the 40,000 square foot Citizens NY, a fast casual food hall with famous chef outposts among other offerings. Dani Garcia’s El Pollo Verde features roasted organic chicken, pesto roasted vegetables, Moroccan chickpeas, and a variety of sandwiches and bowls with ingredients representing Morocco, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Sa’Moto offers a pan Asian menu including the Southeast Asian noodle soup laksa, the Japanese pork gyoza and twice cooked sticky pork ribs. Diners can also sample Mediterranean specialties such as chicken kebabs and the baked eggs and spicy tomato shakshuka at Soom Soom and sandwiches from Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini at Cicci di Carne By Dario.
Another culinary area is Citrovia, an interactive installation of lemons that includes games for visitors to play. But this one, although inviting, is for observation only. The oversized lemons in this garden are all painted.
