Emily Pizza & More New Restaurants

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and hotelier Ian Schrager have a space for every type of diner (and drinker) at the new Public hotel on the Lower East Side: There's a rooftop bar simply called The Roof, a lounge called Diego and a market/counter called Louis. But the main event is Public Kitchen, where many of the dishes, like a three-cheese pizza with asparagus, ramps and pepperoni, are cooked in a wall of live fire that's the focal point of the dining room.  

One of Brooklyn's most beloved pizzerias, Emily Loves Pizza, is now slinging pies in the West Village. The team is bringing Detroit grandma-style pies to the space, including the sweet-hot Arenstein, topped with pepperoni, pickled chile and honey. Make sure to arrive with a crew, so you can try as many pies as possible. Pro tip: Don't skip the burger.

After several years away from the restaurant scene in Los Angeles, Ricardo Zarate is back with a Peruvian restaurant named for his mother. There's a California slant to the space, which has an airy feely, courtesy of a skylight and hanging plants, plus dishes like a salad of beets cooked three ways and served with ricotta, candied pecans and a blood orange vinaigrette.

Chris Kostow, who most Bay Area food folks know from The Restaurant at Meadowood, finally opened his more casual spot in Napa. Unlike the tasting menu format at his other restaurant, Kostow and chef Katianna Hong are serving brunch, lunch and dinnertime fare that's meant to be shared. Expect veggies from their farm to be served with a soy dip and dishes like beef rib grilled over Cabernet barrels to be served with beets.

Joe Frillman, who worked as the sous-chef at Balena, now has his own restaurant to call home. There's a pasta focus to the menu with dishes like beet agnolotti with crème fraîche, dill and trout roe, and a modern take on pierogi. Those looking for vegetables will also find plenty to partake in; veggies are sourced from a farm owned by none other than the chef's brother.

Andrew Zimmerman's latest spot draws on street foods from around the world and brings them together under one giant and rather stunning roof in the West Loop, just a hop away from his acclaimed restaurant, Sepia. There are coal-roasted oysters with spicy ssamjang butter to snack on and a bone-in rib eye with miso bagna cauda for when you're really hungry.

If you can't make the trip to Costa del Sol this summer, at least you can get a little taste of it at Mola. Grilled sardines, mussels with chorizo and saffron sauce, and a salt cod tartare are just a sample of the Spanish menu. Keep an eye out for the charming poppies that, ahem, pop up around the space.

Shade has done some shape-shifting. Claire Smith's restaurant is now Alice Blue (named for Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice, and the iconic blue dress she was known for wearing). The menu doesn't fit into a precise category other than "things you will want to eat all summer long," like grilled eggplant with pistachios, pomegranate seeds and seeded lavash, and a tomato panzanella with cantaloupe, labneh and mint.

Unsurprisingly, the beer list is long at this brewery, taproom and beer garden (hello, summer), but unlike many breweries, the food offerings are substantial enough to add restaurant to the title as well. There's the state fair-eqsue bologna corn dog with cheddar and jalapeño, as well as more mainstream options like half a chicken with crispy spaetzle. Naturally, the team is happy to help you find a beer to go with those dishes.

Feel free to take your entire crew (or family) to this spot from the team behind Acme Lounge and Morgans Restaurant. Sherwood's is big enough to seat them all while you enjoy dishes like bone marrow with grilled bread and greens, and mussels with chiles and tomatoes.