NYMetro restaurant openings for the week of January 19th:
Cube 63, 63 Clinton St.; (212) 228-6751: "Cube 63, a sleek, stylish Japanese place with a sushi bar. An investment-bank controller by day, Lai designed the twenty-seat spot and left the kitchen in the capable hands of her husband, Ken Lau, and his brother, Ben Lau, veterans of raw-fish redoubts like BondSt and Otabe. They’ve put together a greatest-hits menu that starts with gyoza and works its way up to omakase dinners starting at $30." [Ebway on Cube 63.]
Carvão, 1477 Second Ave., at 77th St.; (212) 879-4707: "[C]hef-owner Antonio Francesco’s. . . rustic country taverna specializing in hearty Iberian-influenced dishes like a Portuguese clam pot, caldo verde, and whole sardines, steak, and chicken churrasco cooked over a wood-fired grill. A warm welcome, low prices, wood beams, and a working fireplace add to the down-home effect."
Café Haiti, Central Park West at 79th St.; (212) 769-5100: "On January 17 and 18, coinciding with “The Haitian Experience” at the American Museum of Natural History, the 77th Street lobby will be temporarily transformed into a Haitian café serving national specialties like lambi (conch chowder), barbecued goat with red beans and rice, and the creamy rum-and-coconut-milk drink called crémasse."
HK, 523 Ninth Ave., at 39th St.; (212) 947-4208: "Part quasi-industrial coffee shop, part gleaming bar and lounge, this Hell’s Kitchen newcomer is named for its neighborhood and determined to satisfy all its food-and-drink needs—from bagels and Belgian waffles to new-wave martinis and late-night escargots."
Sugar Sweet Sunshine, 126 Rivington St.; (212) 995-1960: "The West Village’s beloved Magnolia Bakery begat Buttercup, and now its ex-employees have started spreading the buttercream gospel to new lands, like Billy’s in Chelsea and this funky Lower East Side storefront, where childhood can be revisited for the price of a brownie, cupcake, or slice of old-fashioned layer cake."
Sushi Sennin @ 81, 1420 Third Ave., nr. 81st St.; (212) 249-4992: "Long a secret of Murray Hill sushiphiles, this little-known, much-loved sushi bar spawns an uptown outpost that’s twice the size (and just a bit more upscale). Master chef Matsu will be shuttling between them, overseeing the meticulous production of sushi, sashimi, and novelties like “carpaccio crunch” and sautéed foie gras."