Fall's shining stars

Photo credit: A Voce, Missy Robbins

The summer has not been kind to some city restaurants — RIP Elettaria, Café de
Artistes, La Goulue, just to name a few.

Of course, the usual suspects are back, with David Chang and his East

Village Momofuku empire expanding — gasp! — to Midtown, Danny Meyer finally doing Italian in the Gramercy Hotel, Zak Pelaccio returning to his Williamsburg roots with Fatty Cue, and the Spotted Pig birthing a Herald Square gastropub in the Breslin at the Ace Hotel (the group has lost its fishy sibling John Dory for the time being).

A Voce Columbus
Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Fl., 212-823-2523
With Missy Robbins at the helm, the Italian fare at A Voce is refined, seasonal and ingredient-driven. Its second incaration, in the Time Warner Center space formerly housed Café Gray, will continue in the same style.
Expect: An 8,500-wine walland a special menu of salumi, antipasti and Italian cheeses. The main menu will keep the refined seasonal concept, but only five signature dishes from its sister space near Madison Square Park
Tentative opening: September 18

Mermaid Oyster Bar
79 Macdougal St., West Village, 212-260-0100
Mermaid Inn owner Danny Abrams is hoping to recreate the kind of place where “you stop on the side of the road and split some clams oysters” with this new West Village spot.
Expect: A menu filled with small plates of sea creatures, including ceviche and fried clams, as well as a heaping raw bar that boasts 16 styles of oysters, like the fitting Mermaid Straight from Blue Point, Long Island.
Tentative opening: Late September

Fatty 'Cue
91 S. Sixth Street, Williamsburg
In his first return to Williamsburg since the closing of proving ground
Chickenbone Café, Zak Pelaccio is expanding on the Malaysian flavors that have defined him at Fatty Crab and embracing New York’s growing love affair with barbecue. In doing so, he has teamed up with champion pit master Robbie Richter who brought Texas-style 'cue to New York at Hill Country.
Expect: Smoked meats and fish and the Billyburg Bridge as a backdrop for the three-level space designed with floorboards walls and a bar made out of bricks from Pelaccio's family farm.
Tentative opening: October

No. 7 Sub
The Ace Hotel, 20 W. 29th St., 212-679-2222
With the lobby bar already open and a Stumptown Coffee Café and the aforementioned Breslin on the way, the folks behind the Ace Hotel are rounding out the dining experience by turning to the fellas behind No. 7 in Fort Greene for some sandwiches.
Expect: Homemade everything — from the bread to mayo to slow-cooked roast beef and turkey, along with bolder daily specials like, say, a fried chicken and kimchi sub.
Tentative opening: Late Fall

Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria
282 Bowery St.
Fresh off being named the 2009 James Beard Rising Star Chef in May, San Francisco chef Nate Appleman has teamed up with tastemaker Keith McNally and the two are in the process of opening this 110-seat pizzeria and Italian spot, which will feature a seasonal outdoor café with an additional 30 seats.
Expect: If the concept holds true, this would be his first pizzeria that keeps with the McNally breakfast-to-the-wee-hours-of-the-night model. It will be a large open space that feels casual and reflects the once-gritty Bowery neighborhood. They’re considering two wood-fire ovens, one for meat, another for pizza; as well as Appleman’s signature on-site butchering.
Tentative opening: Mid-December

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