I first met Nick Anderer when he was in high school. His older brother Erich was a student at Columbia and a member of my fraternity. Dr. Eric is now a renowned brain surgeon. Youngest brother Peter is a partner in Legacy Records restaurant near the Hudson Yards in NYC. He started coming to the Columbia gym when he was about 12 years old & played basketball during my Sunday basketball program for neighbor young men. Dad was the head of the East Asian Department at Columbia (just retired) and mom Mia taught at St. Aloysius in Harlem. New Years Day they have a party at their apartment near Columbia for faculty members and friends. I have attended at least a dozen of those. I came to many of Nick’s high school basketball games at Regis. I often felt like I was related to the Anderer family.
Nick credits a year studying abroad in Italy while a junior at Columbia as the experience that drove him to pursue a career in culinary arts. He spent time cooking in New York kitchens, including Larry Forgione’s An American Place, Buzzy O’Keefe’s The Water Club, and Babbo. He then returned to Italy working in kitchens in Rome and Milan. Nick joined the kitchen team of Gramercy Tavern where he served as Sous Chef to Tom Colicchio, and later Executive Sous Chef to Mike Anthony. He went on to open two flagship Italian restaurants - Maialino (2009) and Marta (2014) - with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, serving as Executive Chef and Managing Partner for both. It has always been his ambition to own his own restaurant. The name Anton’s pays tribute to Anderer’s great, great grandfather, who immigrated to New York City in the late 1800s.
Nick has partnered with General Manager/Beverage Director Natalie Johnson to open (November 11, 2019) a West Village neighborhood place celebrating the food, drink, and spirit of old New York. There is room for 70 inside and when the weather cooperates, 30 in their outdoor seating area. The Saturday I ate lunch there the place was packed and it was pouring rain. Nick classifies his food as comforting, eclectic American cuisine with deep European influences. The menu spotlights local farmers through a selection of salads, vegetables, and NY-harvested shellfish. Nick’s Italian leanings come through in a variety of house-made pasta dishes. Desserts often come from family recipes extending back four generations.
Natalie has put together a 550+ bottle wine list with upwards of 20 wines by the glass. I asked her for her best value wines and she mentioned Sicily, Corsica, and Spain. There are many bottles on the list in the $50-$70 price range. Even in Champagne and Burgundy, there are wines under $100. At the other end of the price range is a Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet 2014 in magnums and priced at $2,850. A Bruno Giacosa Santa Stefano Riserva 1988 priced at $1,350. The space features rich mahogany woodwork, beautiful wrought-iron windows, vintage tableware hand-selected by the team, dramatic florals by Fox Fodder Farm, and a series of still-life paintings the duo commissioned from Georgian artist Vitali Dvali. Anton’s marks Anderer’s first foray as an independent Chef-Owner-Operator, following a successful run with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, most notably as Executive Chef/Managing Partner for the critically-acclaimed Maialino and Marta. Anderer’s formative years were spent cooking at iconic NYC kitchens, including Larry Forgione’s An American Place, Buzzy O’Keefe’s The Water Club, and Babbo. Most recently, Johnson served as the Beverage Director of Loring Place, a celebrated West Village restaurant from renowned Chef Dan Kluger. She served as a sommelier at Marta where she and Nick first collaborated. 
Anton’s was previously the restaurant Frankie’s 570 from NYC restaurateurs Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli. The two remain connected to the address as silent partners in the new restaurant. Anton’s sits on a block of landmarked 1850s Greek-revival style buildings.
As of now Anton’s is open for lunch Friday-Sunday & for dinner 7 days/week, (212) 924-0818- http://www.antonsnyc.com
Natalie has put together a 550+ bottle wine list with upwards of 20 wines by the glass. I asked her for her best value wines and she mentioned Sicily, Corsica, and Spain. There are many bottles on the list in the $50-$70 price range. Even in Champagne and Burgundy, there are wines under $100. At the other end of the price range is a Domaine Leflaive Chevalier Montrachet 2014 in magnums and priced at $2,850. A Bruno Giacosa Santa Stefano Riserva 1988 priced at $1,350. The space features rich mahogany woodwork, beautiful wrought-iron windows, vintage tableware hand-selected by the team, dramatic florals by Fox Fodder Farm, and a series of still-life paintings the duo commissioned from Georgian artist Vitali Dvali. Anton’s marks Anderer’s first foray as an independent Chef-Owner-Operator, following a successful run with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, most notably as Executive Chef/Managing Partner for the critically-acclaimed Maialino and Marta. Anderer’s formative years were spent cooking at iconic NYC kitchens, including Larry Forgione’s An American Place, Buzzy O’Keefe’s The Water Club, and Babbo. Most recently, Johnson served as the Beverage Director of Loring Place, a celebrated West Village restaurant from renowned Chef Dan Kluger. She served as a sommelier at Marta where she and Nick first collaborated.
Anton’s was previously the restaurant Frankie’s 570 from NYC restaurateurs Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli. The two remain connected to the address as silent partners in the new restaurant. Anton’s sits on a block of landmarked 1850s Greek-revival style buildings.
While there, I had a poached salmon salad, an 8-minute egg, radishes, lemon vinaigrette and dill and the Hanger Steak Lorenz with melted onions (named after Nick’s great grandfather (son of Anton). Dessert included a Kiss Me Pudding and a Dark Chocolate Tart, Sour Cream and Olive Oil.
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