Openings

Out of the Shadows: New Freemans Diner Gets a Name

Peels' fried chicken.
Peels’ fried chicken. Photo: Roxanne Behr/New York Magazine

Although Freemans occupies one of Manhattan’s more obscure locations — at the end of a nondescript Lower East Side alley — its new offshoot, the lighter, brighter Peels, will debut on a highly visible Bowery corner. Co-owner Taavo Somer affixed a short, blank-slate name to a modern, utilitarian design: a to-go counter situated to expedite takeout orders, communal seating for quick lunches, and an upstairs dining room equipped with booths of all sizes. The all-day menu offers egg dishes like the Yosemite (poached, with succotash), a “build-a-biscuit” program, and blueberry-and-corn shortcake, plus soda-fountain drinks and Stumptown coffee. Dinner — and fried chicken, pictured — to come

Peels, 325 Bowery, at 2nd St.; no phone yet

Out of the Shadows: New Freemans Diner Gets a Name