New restaurants in NYC for spring 2013: Five forthcoming hot spots

Wylie Dufresne, the brains behind LES trailblazer wd~50, brings his mad-scientist moxie to the gastropub, just before his famous restaurant’s tenth anniversay in April. The 56-seat East Village den Alder will serve innovative reimaginings of casual American plates (clam chowder with oyster crackers made of actual oysters, Caesar salad transformed into bite-size mackerel nigiri) and craft cocktails (a Pimm’s cup stirred with pine-infused rum). The restaurant takes its moniker from the Old English form of Ellery, his daughter’s name. Early March.

Following nouveau-Italian Nolita hits Torrisi Italian Specialties and Parm, downtown wunderkinds Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone expand their empire to Greenwich Village with a 12-seat sandwich shop and restaurant (down the street from their other highly anticipated spring opening, retro pasta joint Carbone). By day, classic triple-deckers will be the focus, and true to the name, the menu will feature lobster-stuffed clubs available with two sauces—a creamy white and a spicy red. For dinner, oysters from a raw bar and seafood platters will be on offer, while cocktail whiz and former Death & Company head bartender Thomas Waugh mixes libations from an extensive drinks list. Late March.

Sixteen months after his much-publicized split from longtime Altamarea Group partner Michael White, bigwig Chris Cannon (L’Impero, Alto, Convivio) returns to the restaurant scene with this Venetian-inspired trattoria. At the 80-seat spot, former Ai Fiori chef Chris Jaeckle will dole out casual Italian fare, including cicchetti (bite-size snacks), handmade pastas, hearty mains and risottos. The wine list will focus on vino from the Boot’s northern regions, particularly sparkling selections. April.

Buzzy impresario Ivan Orkin—a Long Island native famed for opening two of Tokyo’s best ramen-ya—brings his acclaimed bowls to the U.S. for the first time. The toque will employ his chewy, custom-made rye and wheat noodles—previewed last year at mobbed pop-up dinners in Momofuku Noodle Bar and the Breslin—in tweaked versions of the Japanese comfort-food staple. A blended chicken-and-dashi shio (salt broth) ramen comes with a soft egg and pork belly, while a Tonkotsu Triple Garlic Mazemen dish combines raw, pickled and roasted garlic with pork soup, pork fat and bacon. April.

After years of creating high-minded cuisine at acclaimed Tribeca temple Corton, Paul Liebrandt is jumping on the laid-back Brooklyn bandwagon with this new Williamsburg eatery, taking over the short-lived Pillar & Plough space in the King & Grove hotel. The classically trained chef enlisted Corton vet Mazen Mustafa to execute a casual menu in an open kitchen. May.