Graffiti Earth

A decade after bringing his eclectic brand of plant-based small plates to the East Village with Graffiti, chef Jehangir Mehta expands that pocket-sized concept inside Tribeca’s Duane Street Hotel—well, slightly. The country-house space is still an intimate 20 seats, including a central communal table and counter overlooking the open kitchen, but the influences at play in that kitchen stretch far wider, building off the traditions of Mehta’s native India with flavors from Korea, Mexico and Japan. Vegetable-focused dishes include curry-rice sushi with “ugly eggplant” and king mushrooms in a malbec-mole sauce, with proteins such as sustainable meat and underutilized fish as accompaniments and garnishes. The restaurant can be accessed from a streetside entrance or through a secret door hiding near a bookshelf in the hotel’s lounge.