Yesterday’s opening of @jupiter.newyork, a subterranean Italian restaurant in @rockefellercenter from the owners of the buzzy SoHo eatery @king.newyork, makes it official: Midtown, once viewed by New Yorkers as an office lunch wasteland, is poised to become Manhattan’s new gravitational center. ⁠ ⁠ It’s something of a civic miracle what Rockefeller Center, the storied constellation of Art Deco commercial buildings between 48th Street and 51st Street, has become under the ownership of @tishmanspeyer. This is no small feat, considering most high-profile developments in New York City lead to soulless eyesores like Hudson Yards, a tragedy-stricken monument to barren luxury condos and shopperless shops, and the Oculus, the World Trade Center transportation hub cum mall that is about as charming as a post-apocalyptic Apple Store.⁠ ⁠ The secret to Midtown’s makeover? Tastemakers below 14th Street as tenants, like the Brooklyn record shop @roughtradenyc, and @lodinyc an Italian café from @ignaciomattos of @estelanyc and @altroparadiso, which kicked off the Rock’s rebirth last year. In the period since, the plaza has functioned like a gourmand’s advent calendar, delivering highbrow treat after highbrow treat — @pebblebarnyc in February; @leehanson66 and @riadnasr’s French bistro, @lerocknyc, in July; @fiveacres_nyc, @gregbaxtrom’s farm-to-table project, in September; and now @naro.nyc and @jupiter.newyork in the months leading up to the tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 30. Photo illustration: @elliot_beaumont Other photo: Marcus Nilsson⁠