Opening

Odo East Village

Japanese restaurants usually adhere, strictly, to the categories that define the cuisine, be it omakase or kaiseki. But for his compact new spot in the East Village, the chef and restaurateur Hiroki Odo, who has the two Michelin-starred Odo in the Flatiron district, has purposely blurred the lines and gone freestyle. He adheres to the seasonal kaiseki approach but does not serve it as a typical tasting menu. Everything is à la carte ($8 to $40), allowing the diner to mix and match, as at an izakaya. Rice is an essential component in most dishes, including with seasonal vegetables in an iron pot, thick rice noodles in broth with meat or seafood, and grilled Wagyu with rice koji. (Opens Sunday)

536 East Fifth Street (Avenue B), odoeastvillage.nyc.

Tacos Fonda

Roberto Santibañez, whose chain of Mexican Fonda restaurants are in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Nashville and Tokyo, has boarded the taco train with a fast-casual entry in the Time Out food hall at Union Square. A pared-down menu of tacos, quesadillas and desserts are on offer here.

Time Out Market Union Square, 124 East 14th Street, timeout.com.

Looking Ahead

Ops East Village

This pizzeria has a hefty lineup of weekly contributions by guest restaurants to add uncommon touches to their pies. This week (through Thursday) there’ll be anchovies, potato chips and Basque Garrotxa cheese from Eel Bar; and next week (Feb. 3 through 5), Adda will add ground lamb and fresh mint for one option and white korma sauce with braised short rib, Fontina, chiles and cilantro for another. Leon’s, Ernesto’s, Bartolo, Hags, Virginia’s and Golden Hof are some others lined up, through March 26.

176 Second Avenue (11th Street), 646-755-8565, opsbk.com.

Unapologetically Filipino

The series of dinners by Filipino guest chefs at Naks in the East Village continues next week. Kevin Navoa and Thirdy Dolatre from Hapag in Mindanao will join the chef Eric Valdez in his East Village kitchen next Monday and Tuesday. The six-course menu, including spiced beef tendon broth; chicken heart, duck breast and lamb loin in peanut sauce; and grilled tiger prawn in crab fat curry, is $135 plus drinks, tax and tip.

Naks 201 First Avenue (12th Street), no phone, naks.nyc.

SOUP

Manischewitz, the kosher brand with products on grocery shelves, is adding heat-and-eat jarred soups to its inventory. To celebrate, the company has organized an exhibit about soup in art and photography, some humorous, some nostalgic, by contemporary artists. The soups, in 24-ounce jars, are chicken matzo ball, chicken broth, chicken noodle, tomato-rice, split pea, Bubby’s vegetable and mushroom barley, all kosher, pareve and made with everyday pantry ingredients. Be ready to ramp up the seasonings (salt, pepper, a squirt of lemon) before serving.

Artifact Art Gallery, 155 Suffolk Street (East Houston Street), 212-475-0448, artifactnyc.net.

Taqueria El Califa de León

The longstanding, Michelin-starred taco counter in Mexico City, known for its way with simply grilled beef, has collaborated with the American chain Tacombi in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Miami, and also opened pop-ups elsewhere. (The Dallas location closed abruptly in the fall when the host location failed to meet its standards.) It now has plans for a permanent New York footprint. It will move into the Chanson space at street level and open in late spring.

20 West 23rd Street, califadeleon.com.

On the Menu

Caviar Happy Hour

You can extend a celebratory New Year’s mood with bubbly and caviar at Café Susanne, an all-day newcomer to Domino Park in Brooklyn. Mondays through Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m., purchase of a one-ounce serving of baeri ($88) or osetra ($110) caviar (farmed in Greece) and a complimentary bottle of Crémant de Bourgogne ($75 on the wine list) is yours. Opt instead for French smoked trout roe ($25) and the price of all bottles on the wine list drops by 25 percent. The caviars come with crème frâiche and potato chips.

Café Susanne, 8 River Street (South Fourth Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, no phone, barsusanne.com.

Feast of the Seven Shanks

Cold weather demands slow-cooked succulence. Few cuts of meat comply with as much rich generosity as shanks. They’re satisfying winter appetites in restaurants across the city, including at Bodrum (Turkish braised lamb shank), Junoon (baby goat shanks) and Osteria La Baia (osso buco, aka veal shanks). And for home cooks who have time to permit them to braise leisurely in the oven or on stovetop, Heritage Foods in Brooklyn is has them in seven iterations: pork (four ways), lamb, goat, and Wagyu (cut for osso buco), $15 to $70, heritagefoods.com. For recipes: cooking.nytimes.com.

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