Totally Baked: Not for Atkins adherents, this sleek new Chelsea eatery is determined to put the baked potato back on top. Here the Yukon Golds are partially scooped out and piled sky high with a smorgasbord of inspired toppings, 18 in all, including wild mushrooms with shallots, creamed spinach with leeks, and pulled pork. Each potato comes with a side salad; what you see here is the “Sweet Spa Potato.” Those feeling flush will want the “Famous Truffle,” a baked potato soaked in truffle butter, truffle oil, and truffle salt with truffle shavings on the top, for $55. 8 West 18th St., (646) 336-6118.
Slurp: The new Vietnamese noodle restaurant keeps the lights down low, lending it a moody ambiance not usually associated with noodles; American Madness has an early report and says it’s “the rare noodle joint where one could conceivably take a date without being immediately branded a cheapskate.” Besides succulent noodles, the restaurant also makes pork and curry chicken sandwiches, ribeye and oxtail pho, and chicken and scallop curry dishes. There’s no liquor license yet, but you can B.Y.O.B. with no corking fee. 84 Stanton St., (212) 982-8895.
Ago: Just in time for the Tribeca Film Festival, Robert De Niro and Agostino Sciandri's highly anticipated Tribeca restaurant opened this week with a hurricane of hype. Located in De Niro’s Greenwich hotel, the spacious Italian restaurant has a lot going for it: fireplace, elegant bar, dim lighting, ceiling covered with 90,000 wine corks, a pizza oven, etc. Eater notes that though the food is unsurprisingly expensive – pastas are in the mid $20s, entrees range from $30-45 – “you can get some pizzas for $16-$18… The portions are appropriate and a number of diners were spotted leaving with doggy bags.” 377 Greenwich St., (212) 925-3797.
Photo of the Sweet Spa Potato at Totally Baked by L Bo Dee.
