Leyenda’s cocktails can speak Latin
New to the scene...
Julie Reiner (far r.) keeps shaking things up. The co-owner of the Clover Club in Brooklyn and the Flatiron Lounge is opening a new Latin cocktail bar in Carroll Gardens with protégé Ivy Mix. Expected to debut in mid-May, Leyenda (221 Smith St.) will serve drinks made with Latin American spirits, including tequila, mezcal, rum and pisco. There will also be food from chef Sue Torres, formerly of Suenos. Those eager to try and mix up Reiner’s drinks at home can snag a copy of her first book, “The Craft Cocktail Party” (Grand Central Life & Style, $26), which hits shelves Tuesday.
Chef Simpson Wong, formerly of Café Asean and Wong restaurants, is bringing his Singaporean food to the West Village. Named Chomp
Chomp after a hawker street food market in Singapore, the restaurant at 7 Cornelia St. is now open. Dishes bring together the country’s Chinese, Indian and Malaysian culinary influences. Try the scissor-cut curry rice for two ($48). The feast comes with fried chicken cutlet, a Malaysian fish curry, pork belly stewed in soy, garlic and anise and vegetables stir-fried with glass noodles.
Eli Zabar has launched a new wine bar, Eli’s Essentials, on the Upper East Side (1270 Madison Ave.) The space doubles as a daytime café. Eli’s Essentials offers a rotating selection of Old World wines from his other neighborhood spots, Eli’s Table and Eli’s List (1413 Third Ave.).
“Chopped” judge and New York City restaurateur Marc Murphy’s first cookbook,
“Season with Authority” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30), is now in bookstores. The recipes focus on how to season comfort foods and French and Italian bistro fare, including coq au vin and braised lamb shanks, to bring them all to the next level.
Get it while you can...
Breads Bakery (18 E. 16th St.) just debuted its latest hybrid dessert:
Babka Cheesecake (far l.). The loaf ($12.95 for one, $20 for two) is a sweet yeast cake with a layer of cheesecake filling baked in. It’s part of Cheesecake Month, where each week the bakery will introduce a new variety. Each will be available for a limited time.