2024 James Beard Award Semifinalist Ravi DeRossi’s Mission-Driven Hospitality Group Taps Into Fungi Madness With Revolutionary New Dining Concept
New York City- Fresh off of his 2024 James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Restaurateur, Ravi DeRossi and his mission-driven hospitality group Overthrow Hospitality – together with Chef Juan Pajarito of the widely acclaimed Avant Garden – today unveiled Third Kingdom, a revolutionary, entirely mushroom-focused dining concept. Located in the heart of New York City’s East Village, Third Kingdom’s fungi-centric menu expands on Overthrow Hospitality’s popular & Beer concept, which opened in May of 2023 as a temporary pop-up, and offers an expansive wine list curated by Overthrow Hospitality partner Drew Brady, renowned for his award-winning wine list at the Michelin Bib Gourmand-winning Soda Club.
“It’s no secret that mushrooms have skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade, and the incredible response to & Beer encouraged us to take mushroom-centric dining to the next level,” said Ravi DeRossi, Founder of Overthrow Hospitality, whose goal is to transform the way people look at plant-based cuisine. “Our intention with this and all of our concepts is to offer elevated plant-based cuisine in an inclusive environment that appeals to everyone, whether they are vegan or not.”
Featuring fungi varieties including Chanterelle, Oyster, Lion’s Mane, Shitake, Hedgehog, Black Pearl and many more, the menu showcases a variety of sumptuous and thoughtfully prepared mushroom dishes. Signature dishes include Lion’s Mane Dumpling with daikon sauce and micro cilantro, Black Pearl Oyster Mole Enchilada with epazote sour cream, and Beech with cauliflower cream, nori butter, herb breadcrumbs and parmesan, among others. Dessert is not to be missed, with options such as Lava Cake with Rosemary and porcini ice Cream or Candied Shiitake Chocolate Crumble, also created by Chef Parajito. A weekly rotating “Forager’s Corner” of Yellow Foot Chanterelle and Hedgehog will also be available.
“I’m so honored to be a part of this incredible team,” said Chef Juan Pajorito, also known for the beloved East Village restaurant Avant Garden. “I am looking forward to welcoming guests into Third Kingdom for some of the most exciting and unique cuisine I have been lucky enough to help create.”
The brand-new 50-seat restaurant has a moody, Gothic aesthetic, featuring deep burgundy walls, rich black banquette seating, handmade Spalted Maple wood tables – which feature ruggedly beautiful natural variegation hues and lines as a result of fungus decay coveted by woodworkers and designers – along with unique, sometimes whimsical mushroom art in gilded frames adorning the space throughout.
Located next door to the original &Beer pop-up, the restaurant features a sensational menu of groundbreaking mushroom dishes and a robust rotating beer selection – along with an expansive wine list created by Overthrow Hospitality partner Drew Brady.
“The variety of flavors happening with mushrooms make them a natural option for wine pairing,” said Drew Brady. “They provide such a rich base for experimentation, and I can’t wait to introduce some truly exceptional tasting experiences for our guests.”
We asked Ravi DeRossi, founder of Overthrow Hospitality about his perceptions on the culture of plant-based dining. “I think most intelligent people understand that plant based dining is necessary to the health and future of our planet, but there are plenty of lobbying groups spending billions of dollars trying to undermine the science of it all and unfortunately it has become a political hot button issue. There is a ton of money being spent on how to make cows contribute less methane to the environment rather than just taking beef off the menu, it’s ridiculous if you ask me. In this time that we are living everything is becoming a political issue and half the country feels the need to rebel against the other half, so instead of listening to the doctors and scientists people are acting out of willful ignorance.”
He proceeds to add, “We all believe that our pets at home have feelings and complex emotional lives but yet we deny that other animals that are not our pets have the same emotions. We all see the extreme changes that our planet is going through due to climate change but we tell ourselves it is not out of the ordinary because we do not want to give up the taste of rotting flesh. Science has proven that certain types of cancer and other diseases are directly correlated to the consumption of meat, and these maladies are on the rise, but we deny it because we ‘did our own research and found out that it’s all just a conspiracy.’ I would like to believe that plant based dining will continue to grow and that we will all wake up one day from this uninformed slumber in which we currently exist but I greatly fear that when we do, it will be too late.” But to remain optimistic, with more innovative, inspiring plant-based dining concepts coming to fruition by Overthrow Hospitality, and important political efforts led by groups like Agriculture Fairness Alliance, we will reach a plant-powered food system sooner than later.
About Third Kingdom
Opening February 1, 2024, Third Kingdom is an entirely mushroom-focused restaurant from James Beard Award nominee Ravi DeRossi’s Overthrow Hospitality and Chef Juan Pajarito of the widely acclaimed Avant Garden. Featuring a menu composed entirely of fungi-centric dishes, Third Kingdom expands on Overthrow Hospitality’s popular & Beer mushroom concept, which opened in May of 2023 as a temporary pop-up. The brand-new 50-seat restaurant has a moody, Gothic aesthetic, featuring dark burgundy walls, black banquette seating, handmade Spalted Maple wood tables and mushroom-themed art framed in ornate gold frames throughout. Located next door to the original pop-up, the restaurant has an extended food menu and a great rotating beer selection – along with an expansive wine list created by Overthrow Hospitality partner Drew Brady, who created the award-winning wine list at the Michelin Bib Gourmand winning Soda Club.
Signature dishes include Lion’s Mane dumpling with daikon sauce and micro cilantro; Black Pearl Oyster mole enchilada with epazote sour cream; Beech with cauliflower cream, nori butter, herb breadcrumbs and parmesan; and Blue Oyster with celery root, fennel, button mushroom puree, charred cipollini and peppercorn sauce, among others – along with a weekly rotating “Forager’s Corner” of Yellow Foot Chanterelle and Hedgehog. Third Kingdom is located at 21 East 7th Street in Manhattan and will be open from 5 until 11 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, taking reservations as late as 10 p.m. For more information or reservations, please visit www.thirdkingdomnyc.com or call (833) Eat4Luv, and follow along on Instagram @ThirdKingdomNYC.
About Overthrow Hospitality
Headquartered in New York’s East Village, Overthrow Hospitality is a mission-driven, plant-based restaurant and bar group. With its motto “Eat. Drink. Start a Revolution.,” it advocates for the ethical treatment of all living beings in restaurants, bars and beyond. Founded and led by Ravi DeRossi, a two decade veteran of the industry and a former abstract artist, it is reimagining how New Yorkers eat, drink and socialize through inclusivity, sustainability and compassion. DeRossi, a 2022 and 2024 James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Restaurateur, is also a Co-Founder of the game-changing East Village drinks shrine, Death & Company. The group’s venues include Amor y Amargo, Avant Garden, Cadence, Etérea, The Fragile Flour, Ladybird, Proletariat, & Beer, Soda Club and Ubuntu. For more information, please visit www.overthrowhospitality.com, and follow them on Instagram at @overthrowhospitality.
