ROTS 2026
Bar Susanne, Claudette, Massara, Capitane, Oriana, Rethink Food, MORE
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RESTAURANTS • ROTS
The contenders
It’s peak season, and thus, high time to reflect on one of FOUND’s annual obsessions: the Restaurant of the Summer (aka ROTS, previously defined here as “a freshly opened place that captures the spirit of that particular season — not unlike a song of the summer”). Here, some reflections on two of the season’s prime contenders, followed by a full set of nine worth your consideration.
Very nearly under the Williamsburg Bridge, Bar Susanne opened in May in the southernmost piece of the Domino Park development. When I dropped by on a weeknight last month for an early dinner, the space was awash in afternoon sunlight streaming through the double-height windows. Those windows (and sidewalk tables) gaze across the street to the East River and the bridge; it’s not quite a waterfront restaurant, but it’s close, and something New York City can always use more of.
In the kitchen is chef Jackie Carnesi, who most recently revitalized Kellogg’s Diner. At Bar Susanne, her focus is seafood, starting with a sizable raw bar from which we enjoyed half a dozen Greenpoint Gem oysters from Cape Cod, flanked by four pickled mussels topped with jugo verde, coconut, and basil, all very nicely done. From there, we went in on boquerones flecked on a pile of ridged potato chips, plated with salsa verde and lemon aioli. Called “Fish + Chips” on the menu, the dish tasted better than it looked. Our mains — brothy beans with squid and fried fluke Milanese — were equally flavorful, and more artfully composed.
One more note: it seems like every place in town is pushing caviar hard right now — and Bar Susanne is no exception. At the start of the meal, our server explained to us that caviar is at the center of the menu, and suggested that we order sidecars (spoons) of caviar with our cocktails. I’m rarely here for such an overt upsell, but on a gorgeous warm night, sure, why not? Served alongside my mezcal-based Sabrosa No. 1 (margarita-adjacent, with a serious rim of Hawaiian black lava salt), the caviar felt like a reasonable summer indulgence at a reasonable price (osetra, $10 per).
By the end of my meal, I’d scrawled “possible ROTS?” in caviar across my reporter’s notebook.
With June came more openings, and a pressing rules query for the ROTS committee: can a restaurant that’s reopening qualify as Restaurant of the Summer?
The establishment forcing the issue was longtime Greenwich Village neighborhood favorite, Claudette, which had been shuttered for nearly two years before its mid-June return. Sitting in the dining room with owner Carlos Suarez the night before its reopening, he told me the tale:
August 2024, he’s on holiday with his family when the landlord calls. While repairing the building, an engineer found the roof lining was terra cotta tile, not steel, which is a crazy fire hazard (and enormous liability). They needed to close the restaurant immediately, finishing service that night, disbanding the restaurant the next day.
As you already know, that wasn’t the end for Claudette and Suarez. One upside to disasters of this sort (see: the great Lure Fishbar flood of 2004) is the chance to tweak the restaurant for the better. And Suarez did, updating the dining room, even covering over a few windows along West 9th to give the larger bar area a more pronounced identity. He also brought in a new chef, Alain Ducasse vet Igor Cabral, who has steered the menu away from its former North African influences into a more solidly French lane; goodbye, chicken tagine; hello, cast-iron chicken. And the sidewalk seating — some of the finest in the city, splayed out on the broad Fifth Ave. sidewalk — looks as alluring as ever.
Another reopening in this year’s summer shuffle: Massara, Stefano Stecchi’s airy, multi-floored Flatiron Italian spot that shuttered last year after a fire. When it first opened, I tabbed it FOUND’s Restaurant of the Summer for 2024; needless to say, I’m excited to return.
Can a restaurant reopening qualify as ROTS? The rules committee has spoken: Yes (as long as the restaurant has been closed for at least a year). Reasonable minds will disagree. Lucky for them, there’s already a full season’s bounty in the ROTS Nines below. –Lockhart Steele
→ Claudette (Greenwich Village) • 24 Fifth Ave • Tue-Sat 5-10p.
→ Bar Susanne (Williamsburg) • 161 Water St • Mon-Tue 4p-12a, Wed 4p-1a, Thu 4p-2a, Fri-Sat 3p-2a, Sun 3p-12a.
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NYC RESTAURANT LINKS: Former Chez Ma Tante chef taking over restaurant space at The Noble in Greenpoint • Marcel, Zoli, and Oberon ask, what’s a museum restaurant supposed to be? • Redeye Grill, farewell • Behold the Campari-stuffed olive.
WORK • Tuesday Routine
The people’s chef
KEN BAKER • culinary director • Rethink Food
Neighborhood you work in: Greenwich Village
Neighborhood you live in: South Williamsburg
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
At Rethink Food, we partner with restaurants and community organizations to make chef-curated meals for our neighbors. The goal is to bridge the gap between surplus and need with dignity. Mornings are when that mission really comes to life. The kitchen is already hustling. Tuesday is our second full day of production, so we’re in a rhythm, but moving fast.
We’re also receiving our weekly farm delivery from Magic Farms upstate. Our farmer, Maciek, walks me through what produce has come in, and we decide how to integrate it into the day’s production. Around mid-morning, trucks start arriving to pick up meals heading out to Queensbridge and other community-based partner sites, so I’m helping coordinate loading and making sure everything is ready to go. And by helping, I mean simply assisting in loading up the trucks with our dream team of drivers. The heavy lift of logistics is carried by my operations partner in crime Oscar Gomez, senior director of operations.
We’ll also get a pickup from our dear friends Asmareth and the team at One Love Community Fridge. They come by for donated eggs that we help distribute across their network of beautifully aesthetic, clean, well-kept fridges across Brooklyn. By 11a, we are deep into prep for family meal, which we serve at noon. Family meal is a sacred hour at Rethink Food, a moment to pause, feed the team, and reset before the second half of the day. Our family meal consists of the same menu items that we prepare in our meals going out to the community — underscoring the dignity and quality we are delivering to our communities. If it’s good enough for a bunch of chefs to eat, it’s good for our community.
What’s on the agenda for today?
After family meal, the second half of the day shifts into logistics and coordination. Another donation truck comes in, and I’ll hop in to assess what we want to keep for production and what should be redirected to our community partners. We call those direct transfers: getting food where it’s needed most, quickly.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, or this weekend?
I try to go out to eat two to three times a week. It’s part of the job and something I genuinely enjoy. One of my go-to spots is Bar Kabawa (close to our kitchen on E. Houston St and 2nd Ave.). It’s a more casual extension of Kabawa, with incredible Caribbean flavors (things like oxtail and duck confit patties) and a great cocktail program. It’s an easy place to bring people, whether it’s friends or industry meetings. Shout out to my boy Max Guillaume for always taking care of me, even when I fail to make a reservation.
I also make a point to support our Rethink Food partners whenever I can. It’s a way to stay connected to the community and experience the kind of food and hospitality we’re delivering to our neighbors. I love an excuse to head uptown to see Betty Parks at Manna’s Soulfood in Harlem; she always feeds me and makes sure I leave with a bag for later.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
Being from Baltimore, I’m a huge Orioles fan, so I’m usually listening to a game in the evening while walking my almost 12-year-old dog Camden (appropriately named for the ballpark that forever changed baseball) through Herbert Von King Park. We’ll stop, watch the sunset, and just slow things down a bit.
On Saturdays, I volunteer with Brooklyn Community Kitchen at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Greenpoint. We cook and serve meals for the local community members, many of whom are longtime residents. It’s a more intimate, relaxed environment, and it’s something I really value being part of.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
I’m all about the services that make life run smoothly. My barber, Welington, is someone I see every single week. He’s based in Ridgewood and easily one of the best in the city. I also swear by Waverly Laundry in Brooklyn (718-622-9648). They pick up, wash, and fold everything perfectly, and return it the same day if you time it right. It sounds simple, but it’s a huge quality-of-life upgrade.
Where are you donating your time or money?
A big part of my time outside of work goes to Brooklyn Community Kitchen, where I serve as both a volunteer and board member. It’s a grassroots effort focused on feeding and supporting the local community. On Saturdays, I volunteer with Brooklyn Community Kitchen at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Greenpoint. We cook and serve meals for the local community members, many of whom are longtime residents. It’s a more intimate, relaxed environment, and it’s something I really value being part of.
I’m also the merchant chair for Bleecker Area Merchant & Resident Association, a community association for the neighborhood Rethink calls home. I spend my free time supporting my amazing tribe in the industry at their events, pop-up dinners, or restaurants they work at.
WORK LINKS: SF, NYC lead nationwide decline in office vacancy rates • Ralph Lauren set to expand to 280k SF at Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh Building • Anthropic expands in Manhattan, part of NYC AI boom • 2 World Trade officially restarts construction • Former Tory Burch flagship on Madison sells to super-yacht designer • NYT is pivoting to video again.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Restaurant of the Summer, 2026
9 new and notable spots capturing the spirit of the season. Paid subscribers access the complete Nines archive.
Claudette (Greenwich Village), Lower Fifth Ave. mainstay returns after near 2-year closure w/ new French menu and upgraded digs, reserve