Changes have come to Rue Lafayette, co-owner Araceli Kopiloff-Zimmer told us – with more on the way.
First, pastry chef Sandy Stolberg, who’s freelanced at various places here, has joined the restaurant. Also, Mary Hennesy, who previously prepared Rue Lafayette’s soups, scones and savories, has been named the manager there.
Most of the menu changes won’t occur till next week – but one starts tomorrow morning. “Feedback from our customers was ‘Oh, we haven’t been in for a month because we’re on a diet,'” Kopiloff-Zimmer said with a chuckle. “And we want them to come in, regardless, for our coffee. So we’ll have this really amazing homemade granola – it has eight different types of nuts and berries, and then roasted.”
She also mentioned customer requests for sandwiches. “We can’t do a big variety, but we’ll have a sandwich of the day. … Whatever’s seasonal,” she said. “In the spring, I’d love to do a baguette with tomatoes, mozzarella, basil.”
Other changes will involve the restaurant’s soup offerings. “One day, instead of a soup, it may be a pasta,” Kopiloff-Zimmer said, “and if it’s summer, it could be a cold pasta. So there won’t be a big menu, but we’ll expand the menu rather than just have only quiche and croissants.”
This article appears in Feb 1-28, 2010.