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the buzz

“Archipelago to soft open on Thursday Sept 25th”

Archipelago, a new French-Japanese restaurant in Tribeca manned by chef Hisanobu Osaka (most recently the sous-chef at Morimoto), will open on Monday September 29th.

The chef’s vision for Archipelago was to combine traditional Japanese ingredients with French technique and offer multi-course meals loosely derived from the Japanese kaiseki style of fine dining.

So, you’ll start with a light first course like Usuzukuri ($12)—fresh fluke sliced thin and rolled with scallions, shiso, jalapeños, and clam juice gelee served with hot scallion oil, cannelloni of snow crab and avocado rolled in cauliflower pasta ($14), or some seasonal sashimi ($16).

More substantial second courses follow, like Himeji ($20)—rouget confit sandwiched with a white fish mousse served with garlic foam and parsley emulsion, Roulade de Poulet ($20)—twice-cooked chicken rolled with a shrimp galette, topped with a mustard panko crust, and served with an herb butter croquette, or steamed tilefish Amadai ($23) rolled in Napa cabbage, red bell peppers, and prosciutto.

Your finishing course or shokuji is a traditional Japanese conclusion of rice or noodles. Archipelago’s shokuji include the chef’s signature Chawan Mushi ($10), a traditional Japanese egg custard atop a sticky rice risotto served with a green curry ravioli, a cold squid ink soba served in a tomato water broth topped with fresh uni ($10), or risotto ($10) with braised abalone ($10).

To finish on a sweet note, the chef is serving a vanilla sponge chocolate mousse, sweet black beans with vanilla ice cream, and a cheesecake with orange cream cookie. At the bar, you’ll find a menu of wine, sake and specialty cocktails like the Archipelago, a blend of Calpico, gin, fresh lime, and sour muddled cherries ($12).

Located in the space formerly occupied by Dani, the restaurant features high ceilings, an open dining room stocked with dark wooden tables, leather banquettes, and tall wrought iron French windows. The restaurant is anchored by a central column and side mural painted by manga superstar Hiroki Otsuka, one of Japan’s most popular cartoonists and comic book illustrators.

Archipelago will open on Monday September 29th (the soft opening goes from Sept 25th-27th) at 333 Hudson Street, 212-243-3345. Open for lunch and dinner, closed Sundays.

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Posted: September 22, 2008 - 12:37 pm

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