At DubuHaus, a new Korean restaurant on East 32nd Street, tofu is the star of the show. Though the soybean-based staple has long been embraced by American vegetarians, DubuHaus’ owners hope to help omnivorous diners see tofu, called dubu in Korean, in a new light.
“Korean people eat dubu almost every day,” said Danny Hahn, vice president of Urimat Hospitality, the group behind DubuHaus. “It’s very comforting and very familiar and deeply connected to our food cultures.”
The restaurant makes the tofu in house daily, using non-GMO soybeans grown in Minnesota and sourced from Korea. The kitchen produces four different types of tofu, including pan-fried and silken varieties, Hahn said.
“You can’t compare it with the dubu that you get from the supermarket,” he said.
The soy product is featured in nearly every dish, often alongside seafood, beef or pork. The seafood soondubu, for example, puts it in a broth with shrimp, clams, squid and scallops at $20 for dinner. Tofu also plays a starring role in the restaurant’s bossam, where it’s featured alongside eight-hour-braised pork belly for $24.
The restaurant shares a kitchen with Howoo, a newly-opened Korean barbecue restaurant by the same team.
DubuHaus, 6 E. 32nd St., NoMad
Here are four other new restaurants to try this month.
The Mark Clam Bar
The Mark Hotel’s newest restaurant promises to be a little breezier than the options upstairs. Taking inspiration from a coastal seafood shack, this eatery takes classics such as lobster rolls and reimagines them with the help of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the chef behind the two-Michelin-starred restaurant that shares his name. Caviar Kaspia, which has its own restaurant elsewhere in the hotel, provides the caviar. The bar will be around for a limited time and plans to close at the end of summer.
Mark Clam Bar, 25 E. 77th St., Upper East Side
Café Brume
This Brooklyn Heights restaurant takes inspiration from the Alps, the high-altitude regions of Italy, France and Switzerland. Chef Ian Anderson has worked in both the Michelin-starred kitchen of Le Coucou as well as neighborhood restaurant Otway. The menu features wienerschnitzel with anchovy, spaghetti with duck liver, and a crayfish tart. There are no cocktails, but the restaurant offers domestic and imported wines and beers.
Café Brume, 80 Montague St., Brooklyn Heights
Little Fino
This Rome-inspired eatery is the newest from James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini. Located inside the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg, the restaurant opens at 7 a.m. for its early-bird menu, transitioning to all-day items at 11 a.m. The menu features new takes on Italian classics, such as a whole roasted artichoke, cornetto amaretto and a Campari creamsicle. Homemade soft serve is available for dessert.
Little Fino, 111 N. 12th St., Williamsburg
Pinky Swear
Pinky Swear wants to be more than a bar. It advertises itself as an interactive art space. Mirrors, light trails and TVs displaying digital art all come together to stimulate the senses, the restaurant says. The menu isn’t available online, but advertising materials tease a spicy margarita topped with everything bagel seasoning and a saffron Negroni.
Pinky Swear, 171 Chrystie St., Nolita
