Resy’s Guide to Off Menu Week NY

For Ariel Arce, Air’s Champagne Parlor is about one thing: making sparkling wine accessible and fun. So head to the nightlife queen’s very first concept this coming Off Menu Week for a playful high-brow low-brow menu, where the likes of grilled cheese, caviar egg toast, and composed oysters will be paired with a wide-ranging selection of Champagne to toast the night in style.

The master sommelier behind the wine list at Le Bernardin and his eponymous wine bar is putting his Austrian roots on display. Enter Aldo Sohm’s special Grüner Veltliner-themed menu, where small plates in the $12-18 range—a truffle dog, tarte alsacienne, eloté-style grilled corn, and gravlax with pumpernickel bread—are worthy matches to Austria’s famed dry white wine.

For Off Menu Week, executive chef Chris Engel is celebrating 30 years of Aureole by paying tribute to the people that make it all happen: his chefs. Each course of the limited edition tasting menu will bring to life one of the chef’s favorite dishes to prepare at home, such as chef-owner Charlie Palmer’s crab lasagna with tomato, a decadent Indonesian pancake courtesy of the executive pastry chef, and Engel’s own recipe for wiener schnitzel.

This sleek Williamsburg haunt is known for its flavor-packed, Asian-flecked plates. And the week of September 16th, Bar Beau will dive even further into obscure combinations and ingredients, for a menu that exceeds expectations. You’re in for sweet corn udon laced with pork belly, popcorn shoots, and Grana Padano, smoked tomato salad drizzled with bonito and yoghurt, and shrimp toast topped with squid ink and chili.

For seven days, the Cafe Altro Paradiso team is giving diners a taste of dishes fresh off their R&D process. Look out for a refreshing melon salad peppered with purslane, serrano, and basil, fiery shrimp calzonette stuffed with Calabrian chili, and the chef de cuisine’s favorite pasta dish of the moment: a powerhouse combination of lobster, linguine, and XO sauce.

From seasonal plates (the Tangier scented grilled peach), to R&D experiments (the pistachio and olive country pâté), to a show-stopping family meal dish making its official debut (the laffa flambée, or an Israeli take on the classic Alsatian tarte), Celestine’s Off Menu specials are bound to satisfy, as will the view (hello, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline).

A spoonful of nostalgia is coming to Charlie Palmer Steak this Off Menu Week. The classic Midtown steakhouse is whipping up a tasting menu, where every course will be inspired by a staff member’s childhood dish—from the dining room manager’s tripe tacos doused in pineapple salsa to the sous chef’s chicken pot pie with chicken liver mousse.

Chef-in-residency Terrance Brennan is going full aquatic with his special Off Menu prix-fixe this September. Shining a spotlight on vegetables found under the sea, chef Brennan has developed four courses that’ll make you rethink seaweed, from the wild striped bass with seaweed rice, to the whimsical “Green Eggs and Ham”– a plankton egg mousseline with bottarga and crisp potato.

The clandestine Chinatown den is bringing out the big guns for Off Menu Week: an OG hit last seen on the opening menu (pan-fried calamari with watercress and soy beans), a cold noodle soup best slurped on a scorcher (chilled noodles with ponzu, sesame, and black pepper), and wontons in broth fit for an emperor (scallop and shrimp wontons in a golden seafood broth, an homage to the Emperor of China).

You heard it here first: Di an Di will be opening for lunch this fall. And come Off Menu Week, chef Dennis Ngo will be giving diners a sneak peak of what to expect (read: a deep dive into Vietnam’s rice-based lunch fare). Be among the first to try banh uot long ga (fresh rice rolls with shredded chicken), com tam suon nuong (broken rice with coconut milk-glazed pork ribs), and xôi xéo (Vietnamese sticky rice dotted with yellow mung bean cake and cured sausage).

Hot off the heels of its research & development sessions, Estela is presenting a prix fixe menu full of new ideas and past hits. You’re in for raw scallop with green tomatoes, pork with peppers and peanuts, strawberry sorbet with seaweed, and the iconic arroz negro, mixed with squid and romesco.

Fedora’s chef Jin is putting this week of experimentation to good use, highlighting dishes which have been longing to leave the kitchen and waltz into the dining room. So, be the judge and decide if squid and sweet potato fritter—a twist on a Philippino snack inspired by the chef de cuisine’s childhood—octopus with fregola, pine nuts, and preserved lemon, and a poached egg with cauliflower, uni, and dashi, should be regulars on the menu.

Ferris’ chef Tyler Heckman is letting his inspiration run wild September 16th to 22nd. The cushy New American restaurant is pulling from faraway lands, dishing plates like Japanese sweet potato toast topped with anchovies, a twist on al pastor tacos—with creamy ‘nduja replacing the juicy pork—and a surprising celery root yakitori that’ll make you forget all about chicken skewers.

Inspired by their cooks, family meal, and Contramar chef Gabriela Cámara’s exciting new cookbook, the Franks are putting their Italian chops to the side in favor Mexican cuisine. No word yet on the dishes to come—though they will be excellent, you can be sure of that—but expect natural Mexican wine poured by the glass, and a specialty cocktail to pair it all with.

You can expect the very best of what’s in season during at Grand Army Bar. Chef Kimberly Plafke is committed to local produce and seafood, whipping up cured scallop crudo marinated in gin and Korean chili, a summery salad of tomatoes and peaches, and bbq whole prawns done the indigenous Oaxacan way, with pumpkin mole, corn, and epazote.

This acclaimed pho parlor is known to push the envelope for Vietnamese cuisine. And Hanoi House is continuing in this vein for Off Menu Week, giving diners a special taste of rare and laborious concoctions. We’re talking bun dau mam tom (a funky ode to fermented shrimp paste), che chuoi (a dessert wonderland with housemade ice cream), and a luxurious take on a bun cha (a rice vermicelli dish) featuring lobster meat.

To honor the trailblazing Bombay Bread Bar, set to close at the end of September, Loring Place’s chef-owner Dan Kluger is taking a page from the man behind it all, his mentor chef Floyd Cardoz. Off menu dishes will tell the story of his time with Cardoz, who pushed Indian food to the forefront of New York’s dining scene.

For this special event, Danny Bowien thought about bringing back specials from the OG days of Mission Chinese… but opted instead for food “that doesn’t make sense on [the] regular menu.” Hence, a delectable foray into the stuff he eats and cooks outside the restaurant: garlic chives pancake with gochugaru, kimbap rice balls with crab sticks, kimchi stew brimming with rice cakes and spam, and jajangmyeon, a noodle dish with mushrooms in black bean sauce.

For Mission Chinese’s Chinatown location, Danny Bowien will be serving a different lineup of the food he likes to cook and eat. Off-menu hits include a Caesar salad with tartine rye crumble, pesto Genovese served with sourdough pita, fettuccine alfredo, pasta pomodoro, and a whimsical hybrid of a dish, mapo pizza—the love child of a pizza Margherita with a saucy plate of mapo tofu.

At the more sophisticated Miznon North, Eyal Shani is forgoing his acclaimed pitas for a swankier affair. For Off Menu Week, the chef is pulling dishes straight out of his rambunctious HaSalon, so send off the night with a feast of rib-eye hammered carpaccio, avocado bruschetta, steak filet, and Eyal’s own family tomato pasta.

The ever-playful Nishi continues to rethink the staples of red sauce cuisine with unexpected ingredients and seasonality in mind. Take the perennial spaghetti & clams, which executive chef Nick Tamburo has reinvented as garlicky squid ink chitarra, or the veal sweetbreads, a wink to veal Marsala. The chef’s also dreamt up white gazpacho topped with grape and trout roe, and a decadent milk chocolate gelato.

This quintessential Vongerichten restaurant will extol the flavors of the sea, delivering an impeccable $98 four-course menu that showcases the chef’s mastery of French technique and Asian flair. You’ll start off with creamy sea urchin toast before moving on to Peekytoe crab dumplings with sweet chili glaze, Wagyu beef stip loin with soy yuzu, and a decadent chocolate profiterole to end it all.

Union Square’s lauded sushi operation is taking a cue from Italy for Off Menu Week, delving into this season’s bounty for one last taste of summer. Get ready for a chilled cantaloupe curry brimming with eggplants done karaage style, a fresh green bean salad with “grilled suji” tonnato, and a true celebration of the warm months– figs done every way (fresh, roasted, pickled, fig leaf) with meringue.

Simon & The Whale will be going off script, and going whole hog. The kitchen is creating its entire menu off of farm-raised pigs, purchased locally and specially for this event, effectively doling out enticing nose-to-tail plates for the week to come. Highlights include a dish of pig cheek croquette with smoky eggplant, watermelon panzanella with pork skin chicharrón, pork Milanese sandwich with pig head ragu, and a late-night Hokkaido-style ramen with ground pork.

The Miami export is bringing the heat to DUMBO this September, featuring off-menu specials that mix and match cultures and styles. Come September 16th, you’ll find next-level bacon lo mein, skirt steak pintxos, luxurious truffle lobster sushi rolls, and Thai red curry branzino—enough to fool you into thinking you’re pool-side in Florida.

Masa’s moody Tribeca offshoot is honoring its chefs in September, by putting their stories on the menu. We’re talking dishes pulled straight out of each chef’s home country, the food they love and grew up eating, and though the menu is being kept secret at the moment, you’ll be surprised at how diverse the offerings will be.

Enamored with and inspired by a recent trip to Indonesia, Cedric and Ochi Vongerichten are bringing a traditional family-style feast to Off Menu Week diners: Tumpeng, a celebratory cone-shaped rice dish with an abundance of sides, meant to symbolize gratitude, togetherness, and harmony. The special $68 platter includes roasted baby chicken betutu, beef short rib rendang, lamb satay, and prawn tamarind. You’ll also find a refreshing mango and cucumber salad, a chicken soup brimming with vermicelli, and shaved ice to share, topped with avocado, green jelly, jackfruit, and coconut.

For this special week, Thai newcomer Wayla is setting taste buds ablaze, ditching its Bangkok menu for a taste of Chiang Mai. The mountainous Northern city is known for its street food, and that’s what chef Tom Naumsuwan is capitalizing on, cooking up some of his hard-to-find favorites: nam prik noom (roasted chili, garlic, and shallot dip with chicharrón), abb pla (banana leaf with sautéed curried fish), and kang hung ley (Northern Thai-style pork belly curry stew) are among the tasty highlights.