Fornino
South Williamsburg’s Cow and Clover never really caught on and closed shop in late March. The good news is they’ve decided to partner with the popular pizza joint Fornino. Plans are in motion to open a new branch of the mini-chain in the space at 291 Kent Ave this month with a larger menu:
Those ovens will be outputting the typical Fornino pizza-filled menu, but with the added benefit of the mini chain’s first full kitchen. That means pasta and other wood-fired mains, such as chicken parmesan, chicken cacciatore, and more. Ayoub is also planning to serve long-braised, off-cuts of pork, lamb, beef. The downstairs oven will anchor a bakery and the staging area for bread-making, sandwiches, antipasto, and breakfast.
Fornino
291 Kent Avenue, South Williamsburg
A L’Orange poutine: duck confit, orange glaze, fried mascarpone (credit Scott Heins/Gothamist)
In Greepoint, a new restaurant called The Gentry recently opened and its menu features thirteen different types of poutine, an artery-clogging comfort food that’s popular in Canada. Never heard of a poutine? That’s probably for the best.
Clark has created 13 different riffs on the drunk person’s saving grace, with inspirations from New Orleans, Korea and points closer. Look for “A L’Orange” ($16) made with duck confit, orange glaze and balls of fried mascarpone cheese for a very French version, or “The Colonel” ($14) with chicken nuggets, gravy, grilled corn and ricotta for a very American one. Finally, an ode to the neighborhood with the “Manhattan Avenue” ($13), fries topped with kielbasa, sauekraut and pepper jack cheese.
The Gentry
592 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint
Marinated mussels and clams. Photo: Liz Clayman/Grub Street
Also in Greenpoint, Chez Ma Tante opens Wednesday in the former home of Jimmy’s Diner. You can check out their opening menu here.
Chefs Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber cooked for the likes of Hugue Dufour and Jonathan Waxman, respectively, before working together in the kitchen of Café Altro Paradiso. Now they’ve teamed up with Brooklyn restaurateur Josh Cohen to remake Cohen’s former Jimmy’s Diner into Chez Ma Tante, which opens for dinner this Wednesday. Canadians might recognize the name; it’s O’Neal’s tribute to a legendary hot-dog-and-French-fry shack in Montreal, where he lived before decamping for Queens to help Dufour open M. Wells. Yes, there will be franks at lunch, eventually, but the dinner menu is a bit more refined, with categories devoted to raw and cooked shellfish (marinated mussels and clams), charcuterie (head cheese, country pâté), salads and vegetables, and mains like skate wing with sabayon and leeks.
Chez Ma Tante
92 Calyer St., at Franklin St., Greenpoint