The dell'anima crew goes American

Because you can only run your hands through R. Kelly's fro, like, five times before he starts peeing on you, the dell'anima/l'Artusi/Anfora team is bringing a welcome boost to the beleaguered-if-safer hotel lobby, gracing the Nolitan's with a New American venture spanning two ruggedly refined, stone-laden rooms: a sunken, calf-skin-rug'd lounge, and a main dining room loaded with custom oak tables and a white Carrera marble bar

The non-talian menu kicks off with seafood noshes including a high-minded deconstructed "chowder" of raw clams, cod, and leeks (topped w/ caviar), and an uni-buttered peekytoe crab salad, plus...landfood (?) bites of grilled sweetbreads w/ cherry glaze & fava beans, and summer-succotash-sided quail, which hopefully isn't the extent of your game.

Belying inspiration from nearby hoods including Chinatown (peanuts, cilantro, and pickled watermelon rind accompany their fried chicken) and Little Italy, larger plates range from wild king salmon with porcinis/juniper lamb jus/blueberries, to a melon-consomme'd striped bass, to pork tenderloin that arrives dressed with shrimp broth and grilled stone fruit, a good way to drupey, dog

And since you'll need a drink after the after-party, the expectedly deep wine list'll be backed up by still-in-the-works orginal 'tails, and "fun" takes on classics including White Russians, Harvey Wallbangers, and Rusty Nails, which R. Kelly must be pretty used to, what with all those watersports.