7 new concepts drawing attention this week

From a sprawling food hall to a quirky neighborhood joint from a Food Network star to yet another delivery-only concept (this one with a twist!), here are the new openings you should be watching right now. 

At 60,000 square feet of underground space with more than 40 vendors, the new DeKalb Market Hall in Brooklyn is “among the city’s largest food halls,” according to the New York Times. The food hall features the first satellite location of Katz’s Deli. The hall also includes several stands from Foragers Market, a gourmet grocery store and restaurant. Two full-service restaurants—Han Dynasty and Fortina—will also call the market home. The food hall trend shows no sign of slowing, with an estimated 200 food halls to be operating in the U.S. by 2020, more than double today’s number, according to real estate firm Phillips Edison & Company. 

The team behind Chicago’s well-regarded, upscale Sepia restaurant have launched globally-focused Proxi. The new spot from Emmanuel Nony and chef Andrew Zimmerman in a former printing company building next to Sepia was designed by Meyer Davis, the firm that won this year’s James Beard Foundation Award for outstanding restaurant design. The sprawling, multiroom space has a midcentury feel and features a bar with floor-to-ceiling windows, oversized leather booths, subway tiles, a wood-burning grill and a chef’s table with a kitchen view. 

Celebrity chef Anne Burrell teamed up with bar owner Phil Casaceli to launch Phil & Anne’s Good Time Lounge in Brooklyn. The space is full of retro, rockabilly kitsch, including tangerine-orange wallpaper with gold leaf, guitars and microphones. The menu features shareable, appetizer-sized plates organized by “light, medium and heavy” with an emphasis on Italian-influenced Mediterranean cuisine. 

New to Las Vegas is Kuben, capitalizing on the customization trend in fast-casual concepts with bento boxes. Bento proteins include beef, chicken, salmon, eel and pork ribs. The restaurant also offers noodle bows, rice bowls and fish bowls with a choice of toppings. 

The wave of coffee shop brands from Australia and New Zealand making forays into America continues. New Zealand-based Mojo just opened its first U.S. unit in Chicago. The chain is known for Australian favorites like flat whites and long blacks (an espresso shot mixed with hot water), as well as “steampunk” pour over coffees. Mojo’s menu includes grab-and-go food options and also dine-in fare like lamb meatloaf and shaved smoked salmon toast, DNAInfo reports. And in Portland, Ore., there’s soon-to-open Proud Mary. The Melbourne-based roaster is opening its first U.S. unit there. The coffee shop features an extensive food menu, from muesli to breakfast sashimi to a grilled ox tongue with hummus, dates, green almond, molasses and za’atar, according to Eater.

Partnering with UberEats, Young Fava is the latest in the delivery-only (aka “headless”) restaurant trend. But this San Francisco newcomer has a twist: Young Fava is offering an upscale, updated-weekly menu that includes items like foie gras torchon, caviar service and even a prix fixe dinner for two. Get this: Diners can even order a $14 bunch of fresh wildflowers to be delivered “for the table.”

The chicken from new Washington, D.C., fast casual Farmbird is grilled, not fried, but it’s served in plates, salads and sandwiches familiar at other better-fried-chicken spots. Owners Dan Koslow and Andrew Harris launched the counter-service spot after starting a catering company out of food incubator Union Kitchen. The menu includes a choice of brined chicken breast or thigh, or tofu. Plates come with brown basmati rice or riced cauliflower, as well as a choice of sauces and sides. The space seats 32 with a small outdoor dining area.