Scheduled to open to the public in the first week of October, is Eugene Remm and Mark Birnbaum’s (of STK and Tenjune) new restaurant, Abe & Arthur’s - the first venture from EMM Group, a leading hospitality company in New York City. The renovate of what used to be Lotus, in NYC’s Meatpacking District, will become a house of “contemporary - American” cuisine, by way of Head Chef, Franklin Becker, a consulting chef to Soho hotspot, Delicatessen, who has been described as having “a talent for delivering big, punchy flavors,” by William Grimes of The New York Times.
The menu will feature “contemporary dishes made from the freshest ingredients available and built on the foundation of American bistro classics,” or more specifically, burgers, raw seafood and Birnbaum’s grandmother’s sweet and sour meatballs. Guests can expect an Ameri-centric wine list and an extensive specialty cocktail list, with spirits cleverly named, of course.
The new West 14th Street venue is named after Michael Hirtenstein (the financier) and Birnbaum’s two grandfathers and boasts nearly 180 seats between its two levels. Upon entering, guests will find a varnished, zinc bar, accented by antique stools and aged mirrors all around. The evocative 1930/40’s interior will highlight various white tablecloth topped, dining stations sitting below canopied, yellow lighting and above glossy, oak-wood floors, with the grand ceiling only enhancing the nostalgic effect.
Below Abe & Arthur’s contempo-resto will sit its obligatory companion/basement club, Simyone (named for Remm’s grand-daddy), whose exclusive door will be manned by club-scene extraordinaire Aalex Julian of Tenjune (and formerly of Rehab, Below, Bed, Cain, Guest House, Pink Elephant and Home); serving as a superior indicator that the place will be über -selective for a good two weeks or so - maybe three.
