Chef Vitor Goularte Mendes, a veteran of notable kitchens like Theodora, The Modern, and Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare, is set to open his first restaurant, iara, at 205 Allen Street this fall. Inspired by the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian eatery will showcase authentic regional ingredients brought back directly from Brazil—including fermented cassava juice (tucupi), sour cupuaçu, pimenta jiquitaia, and smoked biquinho peppers—while utilizing a design by Studio WDM that draws aesthetic inspiration from Amazonian soil rather than tropical clichés.