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COSME el ninja cocktail
Paul WagtouiczEl Ninja at Cosme

New restaurant and bar openings: October 16–22, 2014

Cosme, Empellón al Pastor and more roll out in New York City

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Cosme Already one of the world's most respected chefs, Mexico City native Enrique Olvera is primed to unleash South of the Border supernova Cosme, his first anxiously awaited U.S. foray. (For perspective, food-world brass René Redzepi, Danny Bowien and Jeff Gordinier trekked all the way to Mexico to feast on the goosebump-inducing mole at his flagship, Pujol.) An international flight will soon no longer be necessary-by month's end, Olvera will be manning his Flatiron kitchen, sourcing local ingredients (with the exception of Mexican peppers, beans and corns) for dishes that surpass popular expectations of Mexican fare: octopus cocktail with red corn juice, a Manhattan clam chowder spiked with mescal and studded with cactus, and sopes piled high with fresh lobster. And instead of a tasting menu like Pujol's, here, plates are meant to be shared, but with mushroom-and-potato barbacoa and pulled suckling pig with sour oranges on the docket, you definitely won't want to. 35 E 21st St between Broadway and Park Ave South (212-913-9659, cosmenyc.com)

Empellón al Pastor Alex Stupak is well-known in the 212 as a former wd~50 wunderkind turned Empellón empire builder. To that growing taco domain (Empellón Cocina, Empellón Taqueria), he adds Empellón al Pastor, a fast-casual ode to the spot's spit-grilled shawarma namesake, which Stupak studied for weeks during jaunts across Mexico. "The taco al pastor—shepherd's style—is one of those shining examples of Mexican cuisine in its greatness," he says. "It's the result of indigenous fusion and constant evolution." His version, filled with juicy, charred pork shoulder and topped with sweet pineapple, employs house-made tortillas padded with Indiana corn and a drizzling of one of three salsas: an avocado-enriched verde, mild guajillo chile roja or the super-spiced árbol. The quick-serve style is not just for utility-it's about deference: "We treat the taco with a high level of respect," Stupak says. "Tacos are like sushi-best when eaten the moment you get them." Stupak also applies that elevated thinking to micheladas: Ten riffs on the tomato-tinged standard were created by fellow toques Andy Ricker (naam jim kai, nori salt), Wylie Dufresne (freeze-dried corn, ponzu) and Andrew Zimmern (tequila, beef bouillon). Other sips are simpler, though equally as forward-thinking: Highballs like gin and tonic are made over with smoky mescal and house-made epazote-infused tonic water. "Going out for Italian could mean a million things, but going out for Mexican food typically means the same thing over and over," Stupak says. "It's important that Mexican becomes more diverse in this city." 132 St. Marks Pl at Ave A (646-833-7039, empellon.com)

Kappo Masa Michelin-starred sushi master Masa Takayama (Masa) partners with gallery owner Larry Gagosian to bring both omakase and à la carte menus of thin-sliced sashimi presented on frozen glass blocks to the minimal, stone-walled dining room beneath Gagosian's flagship. 976 Madison Ave between 77th and 76th Sts (212-906-7141)

King Bee To bring New Orleans flair to New York, mad-scientist barman Eben Klemm (Pearl & Ash) traced NOLA's Francophilia to its roots in Acadia and further back to France itself for this crossbreed bistro, named for Slim Harpo's blues ditty "I'm a King Bee." Aquavit vet Jeremie Tomczak blends country-style cooking with modern accents: grilled oysters cooked in smoked cabbage butter-born from a New Orleans cabbage—oyster stew—and duck fricot with dumplings, a riff on the Canadian classic. Complementing the rural menu is an eclectic list of French country wines, Klemm's old-American cocktails  (a Madeira milk punch called Great Ray) and decor touches like china cabinets made of Amish barn wood. 424 E 9th St between First Ave and Ave A (646-755-8088, kingbeenyc.com)

Lexington's Lounge and Cocktail Bar Mark Grossich's (The Campbell Apartment, The Carnegie Club) lounge pours brown-spirit cocktails (a cognac-and-ginger Lexington's Punch) and bar bites such as parmesan truffle fries and cheese platters with fig marmalade. 130 E 39th St at Lexington Ave (212-980-9476, hospitalityholdings.com)

Raines Law Room The William Hotel welcomes the second outpost of the popular speakeasy—splashed in 19th-century European bourgeois flair—with a cocktail docket dominated by whiskey (the apple-cider-tinged Sweater Weather) and a menu of small plates including chutney-and-chicken-liver parfait. 24 E 39th St between Madison and Park Aves (raineslawroom.com)

Shabu Shabu Kobe Midtown Japan restaurant-group giant Kobe Bussan sets up shop in NYC with a 150-seat izakaya specializing in shabu-shabu, sliced beef cooked tableside and paired with an assortment of Japanese cabbage, radishes and carrots. 3 W 36th St at Fifth Ave (212-695-8855, shabushabukobe.com)

STATE Grill and Bar The Empire State Building gets an Art Deco-inspired restaurant on the ground floor, decked out in chrome and serving an American menu including Berkshire pork chops 
atop stone-ground grits and an assortment of oysters (from Caraquet Bay, Olympia). 350 Fifth Ave at 33rd St (212-216-9693, patinagroup.com)

Trattoria Bianca At Alex Sgourdos's contrastingly light eatery, find hearty Italian mains (tagliatelle bolognese, veal saltimbocca) alongside creative riffs like roasted-beet-and-goat-cheese carpaccio and five twists on the Negroni (Maker's Mark, prosecco or Chartreuse). 481 Eighth Ave at 35th St (212-268-8460, trattoriabianca.com)

Vic's Cookshop's Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer put the A Voce alum Hillary Sterling at the helm of their Mediterranean eatery, offering dishes like roasted mackerel with goat crème fraîche, borsa with sheep's-milk ricotta, and a honey-balsamic grilled swordfish. 31 Great Jones St between Bowery and Lafayette St (212-253-5700, vicsnewyork.com)

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