"After some delay, the Four Seasons Restaurant will attempt to make its way back into the lexicon of NYC’s power dining next week. The Times reports that Alex von Bidder and the notoriously handsy Julian Niccolini — who pled guilty to misdemeanor assault for groping a woman — have spent some $30 million to build out the new space for their famed restaurant, which left the Seagram building in 2016 and is now located in a less historic building at 42 East 49th St. at Park Avenue in Midtown. It’s got two-stories, a bar room with a sunken centerpiece mimicking the landmarked pool in the restaurant’s longtime former space, and a “beige and honey” dining room, all designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld. The new Four Seasons is also smaller than the old one, with about 110 seats to the former 160. Despite questions on whether Niccolini should be allowed a comeback in the post-#MeToo world, von Bidder and Niccolini have managed to rally up quite a dining team. Besides Le Bernardin alum Diego Garcia as executive chef, the Times reports that Obama-era White House pastry chef Bill Yosses will be taking care of the sweets. Yosses will be doing his versions of famed Four Seasons desserts like the fancy cake and chocolate velvet cake and will add seasonal dishes like a peach cream tart. Garcia, along with fellow Le Bernardin alum and chef de cuisine Brandon Lajes, will continue to do favorite dishes from the seminal original, such as the duck, but like Yosses, he is adding his own flair here. Expect more seafood, like a charred squid with snow peas and turbot for two." - Serena Dai
