The Best New Restaurants, Bars, Cookbooks And Events In NYC Spring 2015 | Tasting Table NYC

This season's buzziest restaurants, bars, cookbooks and more debuting soon in NYC

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Spring can't get here soon enough. It's the glorious season when chefs' and bartenders' fancy turns to opening splashy new restaurants, shaking up spirits behind brand-new bars, throwing one hell of a party in Harlem, penning cookbooks and, oh, so much more.

We were awfully excited about this past fall's crop of NYC openings, and we're growing even more jazzed for spring. Here's why:

RESTAURANTS

Lilia We're so glad you're back, Missy Robbins. After her long tenure at A Voce and stint in Corkbuzz's tiny kitchen, the Michelin-starred chef is teaming up with The Smile's Matt Kliegman to open a cozy Italian spot in Williamsburg, featuring her luscious pastas. Don't expect pizza though, that custom-built grill is for charring vegetables, fish and meat.

Expected opening: Late spring, early summer

567 Union Ave., Williamsburg

Lupulo A roaring hearth sounds pretty good right about now, no? George Mendes, the Aldea chef behind one of our favorite tasting menus in the city and author of My Portugal, is bringing Portuguese-style grilled goodness to Chelsea in the form of chile-flecked frango (or chicken) and salty sardines.

Expected opening: March

835 Sixth Ave.

Bruno Pizza The Box Kite boys really love odd spaces. Chefs Justin Slojkowski and Dave Gulino, whose previous digs were an old coffee shop, are collaborating with designer Demian Repucci in a former Laundromat to craft an all-American version of Neapolitan pizza (and grind their own 00 flour). In addition to pies and pasta, they're also working on tasting menus.

Expected opening: April

204 E. 13th St.

El Colmado Butchery A crudo del día keeps boredom at bay. Tertulia's Seamus Mullen and partner Sean Cunningham are setting up shop one block from the High Line for their all-day tapas (lamb tartare!) and sherry-focused wine bar. Fill up there and take home Spanish cured meats, house-made terrines and pâtés and rotisserie chickens.

Expected opening: Late March

53 Little West 12th St.

Streetbird Marcus Samuelsson is jumping on the rotisserie bandwagon, and that's a very exciting thing. The stylish chef is giving the trendy bird a Swedish-Ethiopian twist all his own with sides like tack tack, mole-braised chicken with house-made fermented tortillas, and sho'nuff noodles with sautéed cabbage and scallions.

Expected opening: April

2149 Frederick Douglass Blvd.

Jams Speaking of poultry pros, the one and only Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto fame is relaunching Jams, his legendary West Coast-inspired Upper East Side hotspot. Right now, he's toying around with seafood, tossing New England river shrimp with angel-hair strands, caviar and uni, and grilling shad roe with crispy tatsoi.

Expected opening: Late April

1414 Avenue of the Americas

Rebelle The Pearl & Ash team is plotting another Bowery blowout. Though they're keeping things hush-hush, partners Branden McRill, Patrick Cappiello and Alessandro Zampedri gave us one tip: They've tapped chef Daniel Eddy, last in the kitchen at Spring restaurant in Paris. Will the signature bottle sabering carry over? Only time will tell.

Expected opening: Spring 2015

218 Bowery

Atera 2.0 New Nordic isn't going anywhere. Ready to fill in Matthew Lightner's big shoes at this Tribeca chef's table is Ronny Emborg, the chef at Restaurant Marchal in Copenhagen. While the restaurant is closed during this transition, Emborg is experimenting with chocolate eggs, whey cheese and, yes, sorrel.

Expected opening: April

77 Worth St.

Untitled Michael Anthony has been tapped for double duty, as Danny Meyer has brought on the James Beard Award-winning Gramercy Tavern chef to oversee the new Whitney Museum restaurant as well. His Greenmarket thumb is still intact: Right now Anthony is experimenting with a yuzu vinaigrette over citrus-cured arctic char.

Expected opening: May

99 Gansevoort St.

Rosie's The Vic's team sure is busy. This East Village spot from the husband-and-wife duo, restaurateur Vicki Freeman and chef Marc Meyer, focuses on the rich, complex flavors of Mexico. Meyer's years spent traveling throughout the country translates to a traditional comal flat top grill in the kitchen and a grinder for fresh masa.

Expected opening: April

29 E. Second St.

Untitled Sussman Brothers Project It was only a matter of time before chefs, cookbook authors and brothers Max and Eli Sussman banded together for their own restaurant. They're getting an education on Middle Eastern cuisine, and though nothing is set in stone, you can get an early taste at their Threes Brewing pop-up from March 16 to 31.

Expected opening: TBD

Virginia's Young guns on the move: Former Per Se sous-chef Christian Ramos and Locanda Verde assistant GM Reed Adelson are collaborating on an East Village restaurant. No word yet on what these two are dreaming up, but, considering their pedigrees, we have have high, oyster-and-pearls-decked hopes.

Expected opening: Late spring 2015

647 E. 11th St.

BARS

Wassail Craft cider is getting its due at Jennifer Lim and Ben Sandler's seriously stocked bar on the Lower East Side. They're pouring 80 to 100 ciders of all sorts—aperitifs, pommeau, calvados, ice ciders, you name it—plus working on cider-centric cocktails with Pouring Ribbons' Jade Brown-Godfrey.

Expected opening: Late March

162 Orchard St.

Untitled Al Sotack and Maks Puzniak Project Only good things can happen with you put together a Death + Co alum and NOLA Cure cocktail slinger. Al Sotack and Maks Puzniak are working on something super secret for their Bushwick bar, and they promise it won't be like anything you've seen in the city.

Expected opening: TBD

1237 Flushing Ave., Brooklyn

Elvis Guesthouse It's comeback season. The Baby's All Right crew is reviving their East Village watering hole and turning it into a part-bar, part-music venue. Expect bathhouse-esque tiled nooks for seats, Kama Sutra bathroom wallpaper and surprise indie shows (Girlpool showed up at their opening party).

Expected opening: March 14

85 Ave. A

Untitled Kenta Goto Project Last seen tending bar at the revamped Bar Sardine, the former Pegu Club bartender is now working on his own upscale izakaya on the Lower East Side. No updates yet from Goto on what it will be, but coming from the man who won the American Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktails' Spirited Awards back in 2011, we're looking forward to the return of Calpico cocktails.

Expected opening: TBD

245 Eldridge St.

April Bloomfield's new cookbook and Jonathan Waxman

COOKBOOKS

A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals from the Garden, by April Bloomfield and JJ Goode (Ecco, April 21, $35): What does the trotter-loving Brit behind The Spotted Pig love come springtime? Fresh, beady little spring peas. Bloomfield embraces whole produce in her upcoming veg-centric cookbook, breaking delicate greens and hearty roots down by season like romanesco pot roast for winter and broccoli morning buns for the seasonal shift.

Feeding the Fire: Recipes and Strategies for Better Barbecue and Grilling, by Joe Carroll and Nick Fauchald (Artisan, May 12, $30): Brooklyn meat master Joe Carroll of St. Anselm and Fette Sau fame shares his secrets when it comes to all things low and slow. The book is packed with more than 75 recipes and plenty of helpful live-fire tips.

Milk Bar Life, by Christina Tosi (Clarkson Potter, April 7, $35): Pastry queen Christina Tosi isn't made of evaporated milk powder and birthday cake mix. The lady needs a burger every once and a while, and in her case, it's choose-your-own adventure. The Momofuku Milk Bar chef veers savory with this cookbook, cooking with and reinventing supermarket staples like "Kimcheezits," burned honey-buttered kale and more.

The Craft Cocktail Party: Delicious Drinks for Every Occasion, by Julie Reiner and Kaitlyn Goalen (Grand Central Publishing, May 5, $26): Ain't no party like a Julie Reiner party, because a Julie Reiner party's got some serious cocktails. The city's legendary cocktail queen behind Clover Club and Flatiron Lounge has a recipe for every entertaining occasion, along with techniques and tools of the trade for budding bartenders of all levels.

The Food of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island, by Cathy Erway (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 24, $30): New Yorkers know their Taiwanese staples, like warming beef noodle soup and the divisive and aptly named stinky tofu. But what about lesser-known homespun delicacies like dried radish omelet and oyster noodle soup? Blogger and The Art of Eating In author Cathy Erway is your ticket to this wondrous world with nearly 100 recipes from home cooks and street vendors.

New York in a Dozen Dishes, by Robert Sietsema (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 19, $22): The Eater senior critic pens a baker's dozen of memorable meals he's enjoyed across the five boroughs during his multi-decade stretch of restaurant criticism. Follow Sietsema as he goes from uncovering underground Senegalese spots in 90s-era Times Square to a Mexican taqueria crawl in Bushwick. Then make each dish at home from the recipes at the end of each chapter.

EVENTS

Harlem EatUp! Festival The It neighborhood this spring is way uptown at the first-ever Harlem EatUp Festival, organized by Marcus Samuelsson. He's partnered with seasoned events planner Herb Karlitz to throw an epic four-day bash, which includes a series of Harlem Talks at the Studio Museum in Harlem highlighting restaurant life and community, one-off chef collaboration dinners (Sean Brock at Ginny's Supper Club) and more.

May 14 to May 17

LUCKYRICE Grand Feast To celebrate the sixth anniversary of the all-out Asian food fest, the LUCKYRICE gang is hosting a blowout bazaar featuring more than 20 restaurants and inventive bites, like Morimoto's spicy noodles with pork belly, Tuome's crispy chile-topped deviled eggs and Maharlika's chicken laing with cassava chips. Plus, there will be lots to drink, like all the chamomile-infused gin cocktails, jasmine tea fizzy drinks and Asahi you could ever want.

March 20

Edible Schoolyard NYC Spring Benefit The third-annual benefit is underway for this nonprofit inspired by Alice Water's Berkeley original and geared at educating and equipping public schools across the city with organic gardens and kitchen classrooms. David Chang is the night's culinary chair (Karlie Kloss is one of the co-chairs), leading the way for unique benefit dinners, divvying up the guests into smaller groups and handing the reins over to one of 25 great chefs, including Tom Colicchio and April Bloomfield, to cook their own four-course menu.

April 13

Broth Fest at South Street Seaport Have we reached full bone-broth saturation? Not until the city gets its first slow-simmered soupy fest, going down later this week in the Financial District. Katz's will be slinging its own broth, along with Baz, Caracas Arepa Bar and others. Of course, it wouldn't be a party without DJs (AndrewAndrew will be spinning) and fully stocked fashion vendors, should you get broth on your blouse.

March 14