Brooklyn’s Little Fino Opens With Campari Creamsicles and a Cacio e Pepe Burger | Eater NY
"Opening April 15 in The William Vale hotel (111 N. 12th Street at Wythe Avenue), the new Brooklyn newcomer — the name translates as "until the next" in Italian — comes from Andrew Carmellini and Noho Hospitality chef Anthony Ricco and presents a playful, value-minded day-to-night concept that nods to its siblings Leuca and Westlight (opening nearly a decade after those spots in the hotel). “Spring felt like the ideal time for something fun and energetic for the neighborhood and to create a community space for locals to gather,” says Noho Hospitality partner Luke Ostrom. The menu leans into mash-up cocktails (a frothy Root Beer Negroni, a neon-orange Campari Creamsicle, and A Solid Dirty Martini — a variation on a Jell-O shot) and photo-worthy bar fare like crudite with dips served on mint-green cake platters, 20-inch-long sandwiches, and pistachio snacking cakes. Breakfast uses La Colombe coffee and pressed juices such as Valencia OJ, with pastries ($5 to $7) like a cinna-cruffin and larger items including a salmon cornetto ($19) — a savory spin on the lobster-tail/sfogliatelle-type pastry — and Sicilian flapjacks ($25) with pine-nut butter. Head chef Anthony Ricco shifts to an all-day lineup of drinking snacks ($5 to $14) — polenta tots and black-and-white tarallini (a blending of the New York-style cookie and the hard, ring-shaped Italian taralli) — and larger plates: a hot Caesar ($18), Tony’s antipasto ($22) (a salad with crunchy chickpeas and roasted artichokes and zucchini, finished with a salumi vinaigrette), and heartier items like a chicken cutlet muffuletta ($25), a super-long hot-pressed sandwich ($25), and a Roman burger that echoes cacio e pepe with fonduta and pecorino-pepper jam. Bar director Darryl Chan (Portrait Bar, Cafe Carmellini, Westlight) channels Italian aperitivo and soda culture with a short list of Teeny ’Tinis ($7 to $10) — including the jiggly Solid Dirty Martini (made by local brand Solid Wiggles), a Mole Martinez, and a Lemongrass Vesper — plus a “Frapperol Spritz” slushie, a Strega drop (an intense lemondrop), and a fig-leaf Americano ($14 to $19). Beer and wine skew affordable (Modelito and Miller High Life ponies for $5, a $12 “Make It A Spagett” with High Life, Aperol, and lemon; Von Trapp Helles for $7 to $9) while sommelier Josh Nadel selects wines in the $16 to $19 range, including Sicilian bubbles, Verdicchio, and an orange Trebbiano. Inspired by little bars and cafes opening in Rome, the space offers bar and counter seating with design by Saguez & Dash and neighborhood-focused murals by Manuel Santelices. For now the bar is walk-in only (reservations forthcoming); hours are 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. for daytime meals (cafe open until 3 p.m.), with bar and all-day service 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on Friday and Saturday." - Melissa McCart
