Kitchen Dish: Tong, Num Pang, and More
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BEYOND THAI ICED TEA Tong (39 E. 13th St., between University Place and Broadway, 212-253-2696), a Thai restaurant by chef Peter Pitakwong, formerly of Peep, is testing its menu on family and friends and plans to open this Friday. Specialties include a set northern-Thai-style lunch and nearly 40 different teas, all available with such sweeteners as chrysanthemum syrup and rose petal jelly.
SLICE OF CAMBODIA The people behind Kampuchea Restaurant, chef Ratha Chau and partners Josh Marcus, Scott Burnett, and Ben Daitz, plan to open Num Pang (21 E. 12th St. at University Place) this fall. The name means “bread” or “sandwich” in Khmer, and the restaurant will feature six to eight baguette sandwiches with garlic butter, chile mayonnaise, pickled carrots, cilantro, and cucumber, similar to their other restaurant. Cambodian-influenced side dishes will be available as well.
PITA SQUEEZE Maoz, a Netherlands-based vegetarian fast-food restaurant, is scheduled to open its third New York location today on the Upper West Side (2047A Broadway, between 70th and 71st streets, 212-362-2622). Highlights include falafel and an all-you-can-eat salad bar.
EASTERN TIPPLES Rickshaw Dumpling Bar (61 W. 23rd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-924-9220, and 53 E. 8th St., between Broadway and University Place, 212-461-1750) now has a beer-and-wine license, and it is using it to sell Tsingtao beer and sake, as well as to spike its signature “watermelonade” with sake.
FRENCH AFTERNOON Allegretti (46 W. 22nd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-206-0555), a Provence-accented restaurant that opened for dinner last month, is now open for lunch.
SATURDAY SLAM Pamplona (37 E. 28th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-213-2328) is celebrating its first anniversary this Saturday with piñata bashings at 7 and 9 p.m. Participants also get tapas and a glass of sangria for $28 a person.
Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com. For more of today’s Kitchen Dish, go to nysun.com.
