So, Eater has recently proclaimed that Junoon's Vikas Khanna is New York City's Hottest Chef. Junoon is one of the Flatiron District's newest spots, and apparently Khanna will compete with other chefs from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Miami, Austin, and Chicago for the title of Hottest Chef in the Country. See Eater for more details on that, but for now I want to focus on Junoon itself, and more specifically, Junoon's spot on the map.
We recently wrote an article on the interesting transformation of West 24th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the very block that Junoon has recently graced with its presence. This is one of those "I can't believe the transformation of this block" type stories that only exists in NYC, or as far as we know. From nondescript side street to the main event. Junoon has been getting great press even before its opening, but it’s only one piece of an interesting block puzzle. Go east a bit to the end of this formerly nondescript 24th Street stretch and.....bam....Eataly! Superstar Italian food emporium, driving traffic to the area like nothing we’ve seen in years. Then add in a few more interesting varieties from east to west over to Sixth Avenue, and you have a new little Restaurant Row.
"Miracle on 24th Street" (by Mort Sheinman for the Flatiron BID newsletter, December 2010)
ONCE UPON A TIME, A CENTURY AGO AND MORE, VISITORS TO Madison Square could stroll along 24th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and dine sumptuously, sometimes at relatively little cost. They might choose the splendid dining room at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where they could mingle with moguls and millionaires, power brokers and playgoers (part of the hotel was the site of the Madison Square Theater, where a long-running musical called "A Trip to Chinatown" introduced "The Bowery," a ditty that became a classic) . . . if they favored mingling with British travelers and American actors, they might be admitted to the Albemarle Hotel on the north side of 24th and Fifth and sample that hostelry's cuisine . . . or they could request a table at places like Carlos at 25 West 24th (lunch, 55 cents; table d'hôte dinner, 75 cents), or Colaizzi's at 37 West 24th ("most celebrated Italian restaurant") or the Lion d'Or at 59 West 24th (French table d'hôte dinner, 65 cents).
But that was long ago, and for most of the 20th century, the street retreated into the shadows of loft buildings and remained deserted after dark. Slowly, however, things changed. Dramatically. The hotels are gone and so is the Madison Square Theater, but there is a block association and a residential presence. What's more, the visitors are back and 24th Street is once again a destination. The attraction? A lineup of eating places that have transformed the block into a budding Restaurant Row, an international one at that.
Anchoring the eastern end of the block, Eataly, a 50,000-square-foot market and a quintet of restaurants, is what has been described as a circus maximus of Italian food. On 24th Street, one can also dine on South American fare such as Nuela's smoked Peruvian chicken or cochinillo, roasted suckling pig . . . or visit San Rocco, where the furniture, fixtures and cutlery are imported from Italy and where the menu offers such mouthfuls as Scialatielli al frutti di mare con bisque di gamberi (hand-made pasta from Amalfi with mussels, clams and shrimps in a gravy bisque) or Agnello con patate saltate al forno al profumo di olio al tartufo (oven-roasted lamb with sautéed potatoes with truffle olive oil) . . . or check out the newest addition to the block, Junoon, featuring refined and modern Indian cooking from Executive Chef Vikas Khanna in a lush new setting.
At least one more restaurant is currently under construction. It will be the fifth in a chain of Manhattan pizzerias specializing in thin-crust pies and bearing names reminiscent of the Marx Brothers. Instead of Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Gummo and Zeppo, the pizza parlors are called Gruppo, Posto, Vezzo, Spunto, and now, Tappo, which is expected to open on 24th Street in 2011. Operated by Antonio Gomez and Jon Tweedy, Tappo -- like the others in the chain -- will feature pizzas with a choice of more than three dozen toppings.
In addition, there are reports of a steakhouse that might move into the space last occupied by Ottimo, an Italian restaurant at 6 West 24th Street that closed earlier this year. Stay tuned.
Following are thumbnail descriptions of each of the 24th Street eateries cited above.
Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, from 23rd to 24th Streets:Opened last August and developed by restaurateurs Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich, Eataly has five restaurants. Manzo, a steakhouse, is the only one that takes reservations. The others are Il Pesce (seafood); La Pasta and La Pizza (self-explanatory); and Le Verdure (vegetarian). And, of course, there is that sprawling food mart as well as counter service for espresso and gelato.
San Rocco, 37 West 24th Street:Opened in August 2009, adjacent to the Wyndham Garden Hotel-Manhattan Chelsea West, and named after its owner, Milanese businessman Rocco Arena. Its look is sleek and smart and it's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as brunch on the weekends. Outdoor dining in season.
Nuela, 43 West 24th Street:On the site of the old Sapa restaurant, Nuela made its debut last summer, bringing the flavors of South America to Flatiron. Executive Chef and partner Adam Schop commands the kitchen. The name Nuela is a combination of the words nueva (new) and Latina and that's the concept of the restaurant and ceviche bar. It's a 3,000-square-foot venue in colors that reflect the South American palette and food that reflects that continent's palate.
Junoon, 27 West 24th Street: Junoon, an Indian word meaning "passion," is owned by restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj and showcases a menu created by Executive Chef Vikas Khanna. The menu spotlights what Junoon calls the five essential cooking elements from India's culinary regions: Tandoor (clay oven); Sigri (open fire pit); Pathar (stone cooking); Tawa (cast-iron cooking); and Handi (pot cooking). Junoon is open for dinner at 5:30 p.m. and the lounge and bar area opens at 5, serving Indian snacks until "late."
Tappo, 49 West 24th Street:No website of its own yet, but the menu is available on the sites of any of its sibling restaurants, such as www.gruppothincrust.com.
