Wagamama Spreads Its Noodles to 2 New Locations

Wagamama continues its NYC expansion

British Japanese food chain Wagamama hasn’t exactly been the culinary hit that other Japanese food imports have been in New York, but apparently things have been going well enough for the company to plan two more new locations in Manhattan. One will be in Midtown at 1345 Sixth Avenue at 55th Street, while the other will be in Murray Hill at 605 Third Avenue at East 38th Street. The chain has some 145 locations around the world and has a cult following. When the first one opened in 2016, fans lined up before its opening. It also has a location in East Village.

Fort Greene’s Hudson Jane starts serving dinner

Neighborhood cafe Hudson Jane finally starts fitting its “all-day” restaurant description tonight, when dinner service starts. Partners Jen LaPorta and chef Megan Johnson (Gramercy Tavern, Casellula) will be serving dishes such as baked halloumi with acorn squash, cipollini onions, and pomegranate seeds; bacon-wrapped cheese curds; and egg noodles with steak and gravy. Wine, all available by glass or bottle, will include orange wines and natural roses.

A Belarus restaurant to try in Sheepshead Bay

Ligaya Mishan at the Times examines the “odd magic at work” at Belarussian Xata, a restaurant in Sheepshead Bay that starts the meal with light things like birch water and moves into richer courses. Chef Ilya Frolov makes great grated potato cakes called draniki, as well as borscht and yellow split pea soup. Pork dishes excel, including a pork knuckle that “is braised and then baked until the fat wobbles off its flanks, calling to mind a slow avalanche.” Expect the vibe here to be as if “you’ve crashed a dozen parties at once, all in full swing,” she says.

LES Bar The Skinny shut down by DOH — and other closings and coming attractions

The Skinny on Orchard Street has been closed by the health department, though specific violations have not yet been released. Most recently, the bar had been transformed into a holiday pop-up called Jinge Hell’s. Over in Bushwick, a coffee shop near the Wilson L stop called Routine has closed its doors after less than three years in the neighborhood. And over in East Village, the former GG’s space looks like it’s been cleared out to prepare for Emmy Squared. Owners Matt and Emily Hyland previously said it would open in the spring. Here’s a video on the kind of pie they serve, Detroit-style: