Greenpoint’s Cecily (80 Franklin St.) is approaching its first anniversary next month and has a lot to celebrate.
To start, the restaurant has welcomed a new executive chef, James Salazar, alongside a new seasonal menu. Chef Salazar has worked at local favorites Diner and Marlow & Sons, plus Manhattan hotspots Cafe Altro Paradiso and Estela.
Guests experiencing Chef Salazar’s menu this Fall will notice that he adds unexpected touches to Cecily’s cuisine without sacrificing refinement. Together with the kitchen team, Chef Salazar has developed dishes with seasonal ingredients and a focus on larger plates.
In addition to its exciting new chef, Cecily is now offering private events and full buyouts of the restaurant, plus the team plans a mezzanine addition in early 2025 that will be ideal for intimate gatherings.
Greenpointers spoke with Cecily’s Chef James Salazar about his new menu, his favorite dishes on it, and his favorite place to eat in the neighborhood when he’s not at work.
Greenpointers: You recently took over the kitchen at Cecily and have injected some energy into the menu with slightly offbeat touches. Tell us about some of your favorite new seasonal menu items.
Chef James Salazar: My favorite menu item is the kabocha squash with puntarelle, salva cremasco, and hazelnuts. It’s a fun salad that has a bunch of really intense ingredients that actually relax and become more subtle when mixed together on the palate.
Greenpointers: And what should our carnivorous readers order?
Chef James Salazar: My other favorite is the skate wing.
Greenpointers: It looks like you added an Asian flair to Cecily’s menu. For example, there’s the okonomiyaki rice with bunashimeji mushrooms, cabbage, and bonito flakes. Where did you get the idea for this?
Chef James Salazar: The okonomiyaki rice is a special one to me. I’ve always loved okonomiyaki and fried rice, and as a line cook coming home late at night this was always my go to late night meal. Super easy to make at home with just a small handful of ingredients.
Here at Cecily, I’ve just decided to combine these two personal comfort foods while elevating it slightly without it being too fussy.
Greenpointers: Is there one dish guests have to try when visiting Cecily for the first time?
Chef James Salazar: For a first time guest (or any guest), I would suggest ordering a dish or two that has ingredients that you are unfamiliar with and can’t pronounce. Be a little adventurous with your meal and find a new flavor profile or texture to use in your own cooking or to show off to your friends.
Greenpointers: You worked at two Williamsburg favorites: Diner and Marlow & Sons. How does Cecily differ from these other popular local haunts?
Chef James Salazar: Cecily differs in many ways to Diner and Marlow & Sons. One of those is just the sheer age! Diner has been around for 22 years, and both are absolute staples in Brooklyn.
With that though there is an expectation when you go somewhere that has been established. Working there, it was great to learn what that expectation was and to continue to maintain that identity, but here at Cecily it’s different.
Cecily is coming up on our first birthday and so far we’ve gone through lots of transitions and exploration to figure out who we are, and we are still very much working on this every single day. In a lot of ways it’s super scary going into the unknown, but also really beautiful to nurture this project and see it grow and flourish. A lot of that work also comes from the guest and their feedback as well.
We’re building something new, open and fun, and I am just excited to share what we come up with and how it transforms.
Greenpointers: Do you have a favorite restaurant in the neighborhood that you go to when not working at Cecily?
Chef James Salazar: Three Decker Diner is my jam, and I’ve been going there for years now.
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