Davelle Makes the Luxury of Uni Approachable, Critic Says

Critic praises hip LES all-day cafe

Ligaya Mishan’s latest Hungry City column for the Times spotlights the Lower East Side’s all-day Japanese cafe Davelle and its owner Yudai Kanayama, who puts luxury in reach with dishes like the uni spaghetti that comes with excessive amounts of uni but without an excessive price tag. Mishan also highlights the sweet fruits sandwich, which Kanayama notes is considered lunch and not dessert in Japan. “Davelle might be loveliest in the morning, hushed and half-empty, with crumbs as fine as dust on your fingers,” Mishan writes. “Music murmurs; time retreats. I could have sat there for hours, wishing I could keep this place to myself, and tell no one.” Eater critic Ryan Sutton similarly praised the daytime vibes and offerings at Davelle.

John Leguizamo praises his favorite NYC restaurants

Actor, producer, playwright, and screenwriter John Leguizamo is set to win a Special Tony Award this weekend for bringing diverse stories to Broadway through his body of work. He broke down a week in his food life for Grub Street, and in addition to a bunch of restaurants in upstate New York (like Rosendale’s the Alternative Baker and Kingston’s Mole Mole), he also dropped by Murray’s Cheese with his wife and several other restaurants throughout the city. He also has breakfast at West Village Brazilian all-day joint O Cafe, having a vegetarian frittata and a small whole-milk cappuccino with two sugars. “I couldn’t resist their pan de queso,” he writes. “It’s the food of my people, a Colombian-Brazilian-Venezuelan bread that’s warm and fresh and made with cheese and yucca flour.” Also featured in his food diary are Baby Brasa, Auntie Guan’s Kitchen 108, and Tertulia.

A new brunch in town

Upper West Side neighborhood restaurant The Milling Room adds weekend brunch service starting this Saturday. Sunflower toast with feta, potato latkes served with lime creme fraiche and smoked trout roe, and a crab scramble are on the menu. Of course, there’s avocado toast, but the restaurant shakes it up slightly by adding housemade kimchi.

A new omakase in town

Japanese-Korean fusion restaurant The Bari has hired a new sushi chef and now offers a standard $79 omakase that comes with one appetizer, 12 pieces of nigiri, miso soup, and a hand roll. Premium omakase options that also include Korean offerings are also available at $115 and $150 price points. There’s also a low-price option that’s only available to tables in the dining room that includes 10 pieces of nigiri and one roll for $65.

Maison Kayser closes West village location

Maison Kayser at 326 Bleecker Street shuttered after four years of slinging French-inspired breads, pastries, and cafe fare at the lower level of the mid-rise apartment building at the corner of Christopher Street. Over a dozen other locations remain open in NYC. In a statement, a representative noted that there are plans to open a new NYC location at 55 Hudson Yards by the end of the year.