Co-Founder of Noma, ‘World’s Best Restaurant,’ Opens New Spot in Brooklyn

It won’t be a surprise for anyone who lives in Greenpoint — the fine dining restaurants keep coming. In the last year, there’s been the $250 Japanese French tasting menu establishment, Restaurant Yuu, the $180 tasting menu spot, House, and now Ilis, a restaurant from Mads Refslund, who co-founded the world-famous restaurant Noma. Refslund has been eyeing a North Brooklyn spot since at least 2017. His new restaurant is set to open next week in a space attached to Faurschou, a private art gallery, at 150 Green Street, near Manhattan Avenue. The wood-fire kitchen has an unusual policy in place: while not a tasting menu, customers are required to spend a minimum of $150 (equivalent to five dishes), in the dining room. (The bar area offers a la carte). Dishes incorporate a “library pantry” of fermented goods, including aged fish and charcuterie, that the team has been developing in advance of opening. On Sundays, a more casual and “affordable” service will be offered, according to a spokesperson.

A bagel shop filled with felt food has opened

Lucy Sparrow, the artist known for creating a bodega at the Standard Hotel and a delicatessen at Rockefeller Center, filled with felted food sculptures, is back in New York City. Her latest installation takes place in the East Village, where she’s created soft sculptures of bagels, lox, New York’s iconic blue coffee cups, and more for sale. The experience, dubbed “Feltz Bagels” is open through the end of the month at 209 E. Third Street and Avenue B.

A Caribbean lunch counter changes ownership

Lite Bites, a Greenpoint staple known for its homemade Trinidadian food, has scrapped the parts of the menu that it’s come to be known for. The neighborhood blog Greenpointers reports that owner Shivani Shah handed over the keys to a former employee this summer and returned home to Trinidad. Shah is encouraging longtime fans of the daytime spot to continue to support the business, according to the publication. The rest of the menu, including the breakfast “Hashwich,” a breakfast sandwich with hashbrowns, remains.

The founder of the Wing is now making coffee

Audrey Gelman, the founder of the Wing, launched a line of coffee beans this week. They’re branded under the same name as Six Bells, the Cobble Hill “country store” she opened last year. The $18, 12-ounce bags are made in collaboration with Winchell Mountain Coffee Roasters, a Hudson Valley-based roastery.