The Empire State Building Gets a New Ground Floor Restaurant Tonight

Tonight the Empire State Building gets its first non-chain restaurant, at least in recent memory. State Grill and Bar is opening tonight on the ground floor with L.A. chef Octavio Becerra at the helm. An Angelino friend of Eater tells us that Becerra has some serious kitchen skills (he garnered a Beard nod 20 years ago), but has faltered in recent years, perhaps overseeing a few too many projects simultaneously.

The menu at State is your basic American fare, of the sort that will appeal to the New York salarymen or the tourists who paid $29 for a view of the city. There's a Berkshire pork chop with grits, a "beet trio", and that vegetarian option du jour, the cauliflower steak. Oh yeah, and bacon and cheese tater tots. Lunch starts next week.

STATE Grill and Bar Dinner Menu