A New Pretheater Entertaining Spot Conceived as a sister restaurant to Los Angeles flagship Patina, the Patina Restaurant Group’s newest East Coast offering is Lincoln, an eatery at Lincoln Center helmed by Per Se’s former chef de cuisine Jonathan Benno. Designed by Diller, Scofidio & Renfro, the team that redid Alice Tully Hall, the glassenclosed pavilion is intended to complement other areas of the Upper West Side campus, and a 7,200-square-foot grass-covered roof is open to the public. Inside the multilevel space, Lincoln serves Benno’s menu of Italian fare to a 111-seat dining room, 44-seat lounge, and seven-seat bar. Also on site are a private dining area for 16 and outdoor seating for 28. (142 West 65th St., 212.359.6500)
A Boutique Hotel Equipped for Meetings Just a few blocks south of Rockefeller Center, Cassa Hotel & Residences opened in August with 166 rooms and suites. The contemporary site was designed by Ten Arquitectos and CetraRuddy and offers an array of areas suited for meetings and events. On the 10th floor, the 1,000-square-foot Cassa Suite is available for private receptions or small presentations; the space holds as many as 75 people. Scheduled for a December debut are Restaurant 1945, an eatery from Hotel Griffou coowner Jesse Keyes, and a lounge and terrace on the eighth floor. (70 West 45th St., 212.302.8700)
Venues
New York
A Roomy Tiki Restaurant Fashion Week Tents Reconfigured Following Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week’s inaugural run at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, the Big Apple Circus took over the tents and redeveloped the structure for its own uses. This year, for the first time, the complex that houses the big-top tent for the show will also include venues for event rental. Available through January 9, 2011, the Event Tents include a 10,000-square-foot rotunda and a 7,500-square-foot open-plan space known as the Gold Room. Roy Braeger manages booking and provides on-site design and production. (West 65th St., between Columbus and Amsterdam Aves., 718.499.2782)
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Among a wave of new venues with tiki-style motifs is the Hurricane Club, a modern Polynesian restaurant from Fourth Wall Restaurants president Michael Stillman and chef/partner Craig Koketsu. Designed by AvroKO, the expansive 13,000-square-foot space is divided into a series of themed rooms, each sporting Pacific Islandinspired embellishments like rattan screens, brass leopard heads, forest-green banquette seating, hurricane lamps, and wallpaper modeled after Polynesian tattoo patterns. Rounding out the aesthetic is Koketsu’s menu of Pacific Rim fare, a selection that includes pupu platters, Hawaiian poke, and large-group luau options like roast suckling pig or whole crispy big island fish. The Hurricane Club offers 250 seats and areas for private events. (360 Park Ave. South, 212.951.7111)
PHOTOS: EVAN SUNG (LINCOLN), COURTESY OF CASSA HOTEL & DESIDENCES, GUSTAVO ROCHA OF ROY BRAEGER EVENTS (EVENT TENTS), BIZBASH (HURRICANE CLUB)
By ANNA SEKULA