There are only a few weeks left in 2019, but I’ve never been more ready for the start of a new year. The coming 12 months promise a slew of interesting drink and food books as well as new bars and restaurants from some of the best bartenders and chefs working today. Read on to get a preview of what is in store for 2020.
Drinking French by David Lebovitz
Drinking French, the latest book from the former Chez Panisse pastry chef and best-selling author David Lebovitz, will hit bookstores this spring. Lebovitz includes more than 160 recipes for classic and trendy cocktails and apéritifs, alongside alcohol-free favorites like hot chocolate and tea. There are, naturally, also recipes for essential happy hour snacks, as well as a look at some of France’s most influential cafés, bistros and bars. Release date: March 3
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Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley
Billed as “a love letter to Palestine, the land and its people,” this latest cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley will feature 110 recipes that blend traditional and contemporary culinary styles. The book highlights dishes from Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee and the West Bank. The book starts with a foreword from Tamimi’s longtime partner famous London chef Yotam Ottolenghi and his co-author on Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem. There’s little doubt that the photos in this new book will be as gorgeous as the salads, soups, breads and desserts are delicious. Release date: April 28
Spirits of Latin America is the first book from award-winning bartender Ivy Mix, who is also co-owner of Brooklyn’s famed bar Leyenda. It takes a deep dive into the history and culture of a range of Latin American spirits and the area’s drinking culture. Mix brings the reader along for her extensive travels, including stops in Mexico, Chile and Bolivia. There are also more than 70 of her personal cocktail recipes. Release date: May 26
Bar Goto Niban, Brooklyn, NY
Starting in a few weeks, Brooklynites will no longer have to make the trek to Manhattan to enjoy award-winning bartender Kenta Goto’s cocktails and delicious Okonomiyaki. Bar Goto Niban—niban means second in Japanese—will open at 474 Bergen Street in January. The menu will be similar to the original Lower East Side location, serving Japanese-inspired drinks, including new recipes like the Bergamot Sidecar and Roasted Green Tea Old-Fashioned, alongside tried-and-true favorites like his Sakura Martini. The food options will focus on small plates, like dashi curry popcorn and croquettes, and was created in collaboration with Kiyo Shinoki of Long Island City Izakaya Takumen. Opening date: Late January
Pop’s Fried Chicken & El Camino Reopening, Louisville, KY
You’ll want to visit Louisville this summer for the opening of Pop’s Fried Chicken and the new and improved El Camino. Larry Rice, proprietor of the city’s beloved Silver Dollar and the Pearl of Germantown, will reopen El Camino (1035 Goss Avenue) after it closed three years ago. The new space is smaller and more streamlined than the previous iteration, but will still feature Mexican food and tiki cocktails.
His second venture is the brand-new Pop’s Fried Chicken (1149 Goss Avenue), which will be next to the Pearl. Expect plenty of fried chicken variations that you’ll have the option to pair with a bottle of Champagne (pop, indeed) or a Bud Light. Rice will be partnering with chef Levon Wallace on both of his new restaurants. Opening dates: Summer 2020
Gage & Tollner Reopening, Brooklyn, NY
The demise of Brooklyn’s famous restaurant Gage & Tollner in 2004 was greatly mourned by diners across the five boroughs. But thankfully the historic oyster bar and chophouse is reopening this winter. There are three co-owners and partners behind its resurrection: beverage director St. John Frizell (owner of Fort Defiance), head chef Sohui Kim and her husband and director of infrastructure Ben Schneider (the duo also own The Good Fork and Insa). This new incarnation will include a 70-seat dining room and a 40-seat bar area, as well as two private dining rooms. The upstairs will house the Sunken Harbor Club, a smaller tropical cocktail bar. Gage & Tollner first opened in 1879 and moved to 372 Fulton Street in 1892 where it is still today. Nearly a century later, it became the third building interior to be landmarked in New York , joining the main branch of the New York Public Library and Grant’s Tomb. Opening date: Early 2020
Dante West Village, New York, NY
World-renowned cocktail bar Dante is set to open its second New York location at 551 Hudson Street in January. Like the original bar, Dante West Village is owned by Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson of Figure 8 Hospitality, and will offer an aperitivo bar and seasonal, seafood-focused bites, like shrimp toast and pickled Alaskan crab from chef Angel Fernandez. The new outpost boasts outdoor patio seating and a 74-seat dining room. Opening date: January 2020
Khora, Cincinnati, OH
Chef Edward Lee has been on quite a roll recently. In May, he won a James Beard Award for his book, Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine and he just announced a new restaurant, Khora, in Cincinnati’s soon-to-open Kinley Hotel (37 W. 7th Street). This is in addition to his three spots in Louisville, 610 Magnolia, MilkWood and Whiskey Dry, and Succotash Restaurant in D.C. For this latest venture, he’s partnering with chef Kevin Ashworth who was formerly executive chef of 610 Magnolia. Ashworth was born and raised in Cincinnati, so the opening also marks his homecoming. Khora’s name is a reference to the ancient grain khorasan (known today as kamut) and hints at a pasta-focus, which will emphasize ancient grains sourced from the area. Menu items will include dishes like Charred Corn Husk Pici and, of course, a twist on Cincinnati’s famous chili-and-pasta combo that only a hometown chef can do best. Opening date: Spring 2020
The Dead Rabbit, New Orleans, LA
If you’ve never had the chance to visit New York’s famed Dead Rabbit—and enjoy one of its fantastic Irish Coffees—don’t despair: Starting next year, the bar will begin to open watering holes across the U.S. First up is an Irish pub in NOLA’s French Quarter, which is set to open toward the end of the year. You can get a preview of it at Tales of the Cocktail in July, a few months before its permanent home opens for good on Conti Street. Opening date: Late 2020
Death & Co, Los Angeles, CA
Death & Co is adding a new bar in Los Angeles’ Arts District to its ever-growing empire of cocktail establishments. The L.A. spot is supposed to be reminiscent of the original location in New York’s East Village, which opened on December 31, 2006. (There is also a Death & Co in Denver that opened in 2018.) So, expect a dark, cozy atmosphere and a variety of well-thought out cocktails, including the option to order any drink from the New York menu archives. There are actually two separate bars within the space, a main bar and a smaller counterpart down the hall dubbed Standing Room, for obvious reasons. Opening date: January 2020
Enrique Olvera Restaurant at the Wynn, Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas has a slew of exciting openings this year, not the least of which is the new contemporary Mexican restaurant from all-star chef and cookbook author Enrique Olvera in the Wynn. Olvera, who owns the pioneering restaurant Pujol in Mexico City, will once again work with Daniela Soto-Innes and Santiago Perez, who he partnered with on his New York establishments Cosme and Alta. Opening date: Spring 2020
The Slanted Door at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
Later in the year, James Beard Award-winning chef Charles Phan will open an outpost of his San Francisco institution, the Slanted Door, at Caesar’s Palace. It will open at the Forum Shops sometime in winter and will offer Vietnamese dishes like lemongrass ribeye steak and caramelized shrimp with tofu. Opening date: Winter 2020
