By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
Miznon, the Mediterranean restaurant, is opening a new location at 2895 Broadway between 112th and 113th Street. It replaces the Mill, the longtime favorite Korean restaurant. The menu will feature Mediterranean-inspired street food and pita sandwiches, according to an announcement from Columbia University, which owns the property. Miznon was first opened in Israel in 2011 by chef Eyal Shan and now has several locations internationally and in NYC, including North Miznon on West 72nd Street. “Miznon pita is plush, Miznon pita is pillowy – I would happily take a nap on a stack of Miznon pita,” The New Yorker wrote of the chain’s spot in Chelsea Market back in 2018. The new location is expected to open early next year. (Thanks to Noah for the tip.)
FieldTrip, a fast-casual rice bowl shop by James Beard Award-winning chef, TV personality and author JJ Johnson is opening at 2913 Broadway between 113th and 114th Street, in another one of Columbia’s properties. FieldTrip – whose motto is “rice is culture” – takes an ingredient that’s often an afterthought in the US and elevates it with global favors. Bowls are made with “freshly milled and never enriched rice.” FieldTrip has locations in Harlem, Rockefeller Center, and a seasonal pop up at the US Open tennis tournament. “Rather than taking on the ethos of yet another focus-group salad or chicken bowl from Chopt or Dig, [FieldTrip] feels like the type of ideas-driven venue one expects from a high-level contemporary chef,” writes Eater NY. The new location, expected to open in Spring 2023, replaces Aerosoles, the shoe store. (Thanks to Noah for the tip.)
Bellini, the Italian restaurant on 483 Columbus Avenue (between 83rd and 84th Street), has been under new ownership since June 2022. Chris and Maggie Gini, the siblings in charge, formerly owned Italian restaurants in Westchester and the Bronx. Looking to bring their skills to Manhattan, the duo came across Bellini, which was for sale last spring, Chris told WSR. ”We always wanted to try the Upper West Side. It is a beautiful, historical area of the city,” Chris said. The Ginis redesigned the indoor and outdoor space, adding new tables, chairs, tablecloths, and decor. They decided to keep the name “Bellini” – the cocktail with prosecco and peach juice – for consistency since that name dates back to 2006 for the restaurant. ”We didn’t feel it was right to change it,” Chris said. The Ginis are Bellini’s fourth owners. Chris and Maggie’s parents are helping them with their new venture: mom is the head chef bringing her own recipes, and dad “does a bit of everything,” Chris said. All pasta dishes are fresh and homemade. “The duck porcini has been very popular,” Chris told the Rag. (Thanks to Michael for the tip.)
The Cashmere Sale, the annual pop-up shop, has returned to the UWS. It is open now through December 17th at 2220 Broadway on the corner of 79th Street, the former home of DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse). It has a range of discounted womens and mens cashmere clothing including: cardigans, outerwear, pants, pajamas, dresses and accessories. The Cashmere Sale was founded 20 years ago in Greenwich, CT and today hosts 30 pop up locations nationwide. Last year, The Cashmere Sale was in the former Modell’s space on Amsterdam between 76th and 77th Street. There is another pop up on the Upper East Side.
A loud YES for Bellini and its new owners! The food is excellent and the service is friendly, polite and attentive. Maggie and Chris have made the “outside” dining experience a genteel one. We hope they do well and stay for a long time!
Hell, kids, in my day, Columbia students would stop in at the Mill and leave messages for each other with Morris. (:
Glad to hear of the new places, though I’m not supposed to eat rice.
So many of us have been through The Mill.
A good thing is that Fieldtrip doesn’t just serve white rice (GI around 72) – their different bowls also have brown rice (GI around 50), black rice (GI around 40), and kalijira rice (GI around 50). Still not great, if you’re avoiding rice due to diabetes, but it’s good to see a variety of higher-fiber rices.
Pita bread is not supposed to be fluffy. the way the New Yorker review of Mizon implies.
It’s supposed to be thin, tough, and chewy.
Right, I know it’s next to impossible to find good pita bread in NYC, but not reason to indirectly celebrate the subpar American version.
Whole Foods now sells Angel’s Pita which is among the best of Israeli commercial pita, made in a NJ factory. https://www.angelbakeries.com/
Is the pita thin, or the fluffy American version?
Actually the thin type is the subpar American version.
Israeli pitas are invariably thicker and fluffy
Actually, you’re wrong about the thin pita being the “American version”.
It’s the original version, and it tastes better than the fluffy Americanized version, irony.
I think there is a spectrum of pita bread – thick and thin, and I’ve eaten all kinds in different parts of the world. No need to yuck another’s yum here.
Different ethnicities favor different types of pita bread. In Israel in the last 25 years, there has been a shift to fluffy pitas. Don’t make blanket statements about ethnic food that you only know from living in NY.
You’re assuming Israel is the only place that pita bread comes from.
Miznon is an Israeli restaurant. Should they be serving Greek style pitas?
The are countries much nearer to Israel than Greece that also have pita bread.
You are 100% correct But it’s all moot since you are arguing that an Israeli restaurant isn’t serving authentic Israeli pita.
Try the fluffy kind – possibly not authentic to the dry cardboard served in the good old days but a lot tastier. And there’s nothing wrong with that
I’ve had the fluffy kind; it’s pretty much all you can find in the USA, true for more than 40 years.
“cardboard” says you’ve not had good pita. You had stale pita, and yes, the fluffy kind can readily taste like cardboard too.
North Miznon has not been in operation for years.
Good, because what would they call the new location, “Far North Miznon”?
It’s a full service dinner only restaurant much more expensive than Miznon. It’s annoying that they kept the name when they changed the menu.
It’s been in operation for a few years, since 2018 I believe, or early 2019.
Thank you for posting the cross streets to all the listings with avenue addresses.