Sexy and Clubby Is the Word on New Marco Moreira Restaurant in Union Square

Happy returns–Marco Moreira is the longtime proprietor/chef of two storied restaurants in Union Square - Tocqueville Restaurant which serves New French-American cuisine and 15 East Japanese Restaurant & Bar which has one of the first omakase counters in NYC.

After surviving COVID shutdowns and a catastrophic fire, Moreira merged and reinvented the two iconic restaurants creating 15 East @ Tocqueville, at 1 East 15th Street, bringing together East and West dining in one venue which opened in November 2022. And it’s a hit. The restaurant’s new design, by Alexandra Champalimaud, is described as “sexy Parisian classic meets clubby townhouse elegance with bohemian touches of velvety textures.” There’s a fireplace, a stunning onyx bar, Venetian plaster finished ceilings, and a hand- painted mural in the private dining room’s ceiling. The menu offers a myriad of choices, including a seasonal menu in a 3, 5, and 7 course menu format. The Omakase Room, with a 7-seat counter, offers a 20-course sushi and sashimi experience which is also served in the main dining room. A sampling of the must-have menu highlights includes Dutch Jumbo Poached White Asparagus with mimosa and Caviar, aged Carnaroli Risotto Acquerello with peas, spring onions, wild ramps, and red cow Parmesan, Royal of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard), Brouillade of Pheasant Egg with chives and Ossetra Caviar. There’s more. I could go on. Go. Find out for yourself.

Beyond the Bench–It was an in-person and Zoom event on May 24th at Columbus Citizen’s Foundation on East 69th St., Judge Barbara Jaffe gave a visual presentation and analysis of a late 15th century Dutch two-panel painting illustrating the ancient historian Herodotus’s account of Cambyses, King of Persia. He appointed to the royal judicial bench Sisamnes only to later order him flayed alive for taking a bribe in exchange for an “unjust judgment.” Jaffe connected the flaying with a bas relief in the first panel, which represents the myth of Apollo and Marsyas, and placed it in historic, aesthetic, mythological, legal, musical, and scientific contexts. Wonder if there will be a future lecture on a present-day example?

And to recap: There will be no primary in the 76th AD, Part A District Leader race. Ben Akselrod, the Four Freedoms Democratic Club’s endorsed candidate, will succeed the current male District Leader Ben Wetzler at the end of Wetzler’s term in June of this year. Judge Lucy Billings upheld the decision of the Board of Elections to remove Akselrod’s opponent Todd Stein from the ballot because Stein’s designating petitions did not include a gender ID as the law requires. And the law’s the law. Here’s to kumbaya.