Ken Friedman, Damon Wise, Julie Reiner Join Monkey Bar

Graydon Carter and his partners at always iconic and once white hot (but not so much anymore) Midtown restaurant Monkey Bar have figured out a new way to make their two year-old revamp of the restaurant a destination again: they've recruited superstars from all corners of the food world. Those stars would be Ken Friedman as managing partner in his first major restaurant project without April Bloomfied; Damon Wise, in his first chef appointment after leaving Craft this spring; Clover Club's cocktail mistress Julie Reiner as cocktail consultant; (as reported previously) wine director extraordinaire Belinda Chang, formerly of the Modern; and Michael Baile, formerly of Michael's, to run the door and seating chart. Basically, they're throwing some big money at the problem, spending half a million more in salaries than they did before this super staffing.

Expect a deeper wine list, more original and better executed cocktails, and a brand new menu from Wise, who promises to serve "American-style food, with clean lines — refined" in both a la carte and tasting menu formats. He promises not to make it "really expensive." Wise starts in the kitchen today but will debut his new menu in two weeks.
· When Empty Seats Just Won’t Do [NYT]
· All Monkey Bar Coverage [~ENY~]
[Photo: Everyone's so happy via NYT]