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— Madame Vo has opened at 212 E. 10th St. over the weekend, offering lunch and dinner with a menu of “Madame wings,”($12), ban xeo ($13), green papaya salad with beef jerky ($10), ga kho gung —braised chicken in a clay pot ($15), and beef pho ($16). It’s the third Vietnamese restaurant to open this month, behind the opening of Hanoi House (119 St. Mark’s Pl.) last week and Bunker Vietnamese at 99 Scott Ave. in East Williamsburg earlier this month.
— After nearly a year, John Fraser has decided to introduce lunch at Nix (72 University Pl.), the vegetarian restaurant he opened on University Place with former Conde Nast editorial director James Truman. The menu offers “approachable, everyday food:” chopped kale with marinated beets and gigante beans, a beet burger, kabocha dumplings, naan stuffed with broccoli and cheddar, and his take on falafel: a bento- style assortment of mid eastern accoutrements. The dish Fraser is most excited about is vegetarian ramen with sweet potato miso broth. “It’s perfect for the season,” he says. Service starts today. - BL
— Former child star, twin Dylan Sprouse (Big Daddy, Disney’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”)is the brewer at All-Wise Meadery set to open in the William Vale Hotel (111 N. 12th St.) in Williamsburg by spring.
— Now open: Simon Indian Palace at 230 E. 58th St., serving lunch and dinner in a dining room bedecked with a water fountain, “celestial art pieces,” TVs that display Bollywood scenes, and white walls that “reflect an alluring blue glow evocative of the Indian Ocean,” reads the press release. Dishes like lasooni gobi, chicken chettinad, rack of lamb, and a selection of naan are on the menu and a weekday lunch buffet is offered with 15 options on display.
— Critic Robert Sietsema spies a soon-to-open Cheers Cut at 86-55 Broadway in Elmhurst, with a sign announcing, “"supersize chicken cutlet" and "fried madness.” The Taiwanese chain founded in 2005 offers a menu of fried squid and beef in addition to chicken, as well as stewed pork or pork belly with rice or noodles.
— Russ & Daughters at the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side offers a pre-paid Saturday reservation for service starting Jan. 28, with a menu of deviled eggs served with salmon roe and matzo, lox and pickled herring with cream cheese, tomatoes, onions, and capers, bagels, bialys, challah, and rye, mixed greens, pickles, and dessert. It’s $50 per person, gratuity included.
— Adam Platt gives Loring Place (21 W. 8th St.) two stars, the Dan Kluger spot he likes but is not wowed by. “This slight reshuffling of ingredients pops up throughout the menu, and some of Kluger’s experiments work better than others,” he writes. Look for nods to Hostess and Dairy Queen among desserts, with a cupcake filled with orange crème fraîche, “and an impressive artisanal, post-gourmet version of a Dairy Queen Blizzard, mixed with bits of housemade walnut toffee, pretzels, chocolate fudge, and a hint of Meyer lemon.”
— Lokal Mediterranean Kitchen (473 Columbus) opened on the Upper West Side, with no menu online yet.
— Look for a veg-forward, $10 lunch at The Fat Radish (17 E. Orchard St.), with roasted squash, Brussels sprouts, pickled raisins, or a roasted cauliflower sandwich with squash and chicory.
— And from the archives, here’s the Scotch egg from Myers of Keswick, courtesy of Sietsema’s Secrets.