As a follow-up to their popular downtown Dominican cuisine restaurant El Sabor de la Isla, husband and wife Luis Tejada and Yesenia Cruz opened D'Mangu Dominican Restaurant last month in Henrietta. Their new suburban venture is spacious and vibrantly decorated with bright orange, green, and yellow paints, along with bright and lively art adorning the walls. The name D'Mangu is a reference to a traditional Dominican dish called mangu (pronounced man-GOO) - available as a side on the restaurant's menu - made of boiled, mashed plantains mixed with cheese, often topped with fried vegetables or meat.

The menu includes a variety of appetizers, salads, soups, meat or seafood entrees, desserts, and even specialty beverages. Notable selections are available in every category, including patacones (or thickly sliced, fried plantains), ensalada de pulpo (octopus salad), paella (a traditional Spanish rice dish cooked over an open fire, though made with annatto instead of saffron in Dominican cuisine), bistec empanizado (breaded steak), chicharonnes de pollo (fried chicken pieces), and asopao de camarones (shrimp and rice soup). Dessert selections include bizcochio tres leches (three milk cake), flan, and habichuelas con dulce (a pudding made of kidney beans and condensed milk). The house drink, morirsonando, is made of orange juice, milk, cane sugar and chopped ice.

To find D'Mangu in City Newspaper's online Restaurant Guide - including a map, user reviews, and more - click here.

D'Mangu Dominican Restaurant is located at 1475 E. Henrietta Road. It is open daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Prices range from $10-$24. For more information, call 424-2200 or visit its page on Facebook.

Mo' pho

SEA Restaurant (741 Monroe Ave) owners Mao Seng and Vilay Sysavath have opened a new restaurant in Irondequoit called Viet-Thai (the couple also owns a restaurant in Niagara Falls, NY, called Mii Restaurant) in the location formerly home to Asian Jade. Like SEA Restaurant, Viet-Thai offers a variety of Southeast Asian cuisine, including Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, and Cambodian (Seng and Sysavath are Cambodian and Laotian, respectively).

While the menu at SEA Restaurant focuses mostly on several varieties of pho (a Vietnamese soup), Viet-Thai offers a wider menu of rice, noodle, and curry dishes, as well as the aforementioned pho. Some of the dishes offered include a spicy basil fried rice (made with egg, roasted pepper, and basil), kaeng phet (red curry with basil, red pepper, eggplant, and bamboo served with chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp) and vermicelli noodles with cucumbers, beansprouts, mint, and crushed peanuts served with chicken, pork, or beef.

Viet-Thai is located at 1780 E. Ridge Road. It is open Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Prices range from $6 to $12. For more information, call 266-8878 or visit its page on Facebook.

Born in a barn

American steakhouse Pittsford Grill has opened in the former site of longstanding restaurant Crystal Barn, which closed last year. The space is a three-story converted barn, rich with exposed beams and decorative chandeliers. The menu focuses mostly on upscale steak and seafood fare with options like a 16 oz. ribeye or 20 oz. porterhouse steak, seafood cioppino (shrimp, scallop, clams, and mussels in a tomato saffron wine sauce), pistachio-crusted sea bass and lamb lollipops. The upper dining area also features live jazz music on Fridays and Saturdays.

Pittsford Grill is located at 2851 Clover St. It is open Tuesday-Thursday 4:30-9:30 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 4:30-10:30 p.m. Prices range from $15 to $30. For more information, call 381-2000 or visit pittsfordgrill.com.

National news

National sandwich franchise Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches opened in Webster last month (1075 Ridge Road). The sandwich shop has two simple offerings - subs and clubs - both of which come in several varieties on either French or seven-grain bread. Typical offerings include sandwiches stuffed with roast beef, tuna, turkey, and ham. Some of the more notable sandwiches include the "J.J. Gargantuan," which contains five meats (genoa salami, sliced smoked ham, capicola, roast beef, and turkey), provolone cheese, onions, tomatoes, and mayonnaise and homemade Italian dressing; or the vegetarian-friendly sandwich or club, both topped with provolone, avocado spread, sliced cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. Jimmy John's is open daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Prices range from $4 to $8. For more information, call 236-1123 or visit jimmyjohns.com.

National fondue chain The Melting Pot is expected to open in The Marketplace Mall (290 Miracle Mile Drive) on Wednesday, August 24. The restaurant offers several styles of fondue, including cheese, chocolate, vegetable bouillon and bourguignonne (canola oil). The cheese fondues come in five varieties, including a cheddar cheese and lager fondue with jalapenos and salsa, a Wisconsin trio made with fontina, butterkase, and bleu cheese with sherry and scallions, and a traditional Swiss fondue made with gruyere and emmenthaler along with white wine, nutmeg, and garlic; all are served with a variety or breads, vegetables, and apples. Entrees come with variety of meat and seafood selections including filet mignon, salmon, shrimp, chicken, and duck. For dessert, chocolate fondue is offered with dipping choices like strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, and marshmallows. Prices range from $15 to $40; four-course and couples packages are available. For more information, call 424-6358 or visit meltingpot.com.

National seafood chain Joe's Crab Shack is slated to open in Henrietta (100 Marketplace Drive) in early September. The restaurant is known for its buckets and steampots of seafood including crab, lobster, clams, and shrimp. It also serves burgers, pasta dishes, and a wide array of appetizers and salads. Prices range from $10 to $40. For more information, visit joescrabshack.com.

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