Finding out about new restaurants

[lguttman]

I am trying to find a source for new restaurant openings in NYC. (or any city for that matter). There are the typical options - Zagats, NY magazine, City Search, Gayot- but none are "cutting edge". Does anyone have a source for finding out what has opened (a review of the restaurant is not needed) day by day? A database, online service, magazine....?

I tried finding a publicly available website of those who applied for food/beverage permits but this does not seem to exisit.

If you wanted to be on top of new openings where would you turn? Thanks!

[Suzanne]

Not quite as comprehensive as you're looking for, but try Daily Candy for not-quite-daily comments about new places.

Also, the Manhattan board at Chowhound often has discussions of new places. There are other boards in the New York area part that discuss outer boroughs, too -- remember that Brooklyn is currently a hotbed of new restaurants.

I'd be surprised if there is a site listing permit applications. Have you tried doing a search on the NYC Consumer Affairs Department?

Just curious: why do you want to "be on top of new openings"?

[lguttman]

Why do I want this? Really, I am just curious. I have a culinary background and like to try new and different places. Typically, as soon as a restaurant hits Zagats or CitySearch it becomes too crowded and trendy. So, I'd like to try some new places before they make it to the press.

[Suzanne]

Believe it or not, but the "Off the Menu" column in the Wednesday Times can be useful to find new places. The only thing is, you have to remember that when they say someplace will be opening in the next couple of weeks, it could really be months. The same for the "Previews" in TimeOutNY's annual guide. But that way, you can keep passing by the place and checking, and then just might be the first one there

If you just want to find places new to YOU, then Chowhound is a good bet. Where else will you find a list of places to get, say, cuy?

[MikeLM]

Suzanne...

I'm getting left behind here, which you could expect for the Midwest.


But... what is cuy?

We're not talking dirty here, are we?

Mike

[Suzanne]

Sorry, MikeLM: didn't mean to be exclusionary. That was a little bit of an in-joke, for those who think they are totally up on ethnic food (such as the folks on Chowhound). Cuy is guinea pig, supposedly served roasted in Ecuadorian restaurants in the highly ethnically-mixed parts of NYC. I have never had it; for all I know, stories of its availability are apocryphal.

Now, whether that constitutes talking dirty is up to you!