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[title]Jeremiah Stone (Isa) and Fabian von Hauske (Copenhagen's Noma) go way back, having bumped elbows during stints at the French Culinary Institute—Stone in the events kitchen and von Hauske for Dave Arnold. The pair reunite for Contra, a seasonal tasting-menu restaurant on the Lower East Side—expected to open by August 14th—dividing kitchen duties between savory and sweet. Stone trains his focus on stripped-down New American for his five-course prix fixe, highlighting dishes such as raw scallops with sweet-potato leaf and lamb fat; beets alongside hazelnut and yogurt; and sweetbreads, cabbage and onions. For dessert, von Hauske doles out plates like peaches imbued with milk, olive oil and mixed flowers. At the six-seat bar, sommelier Linda Milagros Violago (alum of Spain's world-famous Mugaritz) helms a similarly trim beverage program, featuring one rotating local draft beer and seven by-the-glass biodynamic wines. Taking a page from geometry textbooks, the narrow 44-seat space is fitted with curved wooden banquettes, linear wood wall paneling and a block bar topped with a live-edge slab of oak. See a sample tasting menu below. 138 Orchard St between Delancey and Rivington Sts (212-466-4633, contranyc.com)
TASTING MENU
Raw scallop, sweet potato leaf, cilantro, lamb fat
Sweetbread, cabbage, onion
Chicken, corn, fondue, purslane
Beet, hazelnut, yogurt
Peach, milk, olive oil, herbs