Saro Bistro is as personal a restaurant as you will likely find in New York in 2012, the singular vision of Eran Elhalal. In a ćevapčići-sized room, Elhalal serves "the cuisine of long lost empires." For him, that's the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman-inflected Balkan comfort food his grandmother (whose nickname graces the restaurant) served him while growing up in Israel. It's a complicated, delicious backstory, and one he's happy to share. More

The grass sandwich ($8) is one of two veggie-friendly options on the menu, and it's good enough to compete with some of the more meaty options. Roasted beets, mashed butternut squash, fried goat cheese, and arugula is served on delicate, light flauto. The bread has just the right amount of crust to not overwhelm the rest of the sandwich, important for one built on simple ingredients. More

Cutting a tattooed figure as a judge on "Chopped" and in the neighborhood restaurants he owns and cooks in (last year's Beauty & Essex and the celebrity-studded Stanton Social), Chris Santos is something of a Lower East Side legend. When he's not running two busy kitchens, he's rocking out in the neighborhood, grabbing late night gyros to fuel an '80s dance party or scarfing down tacos at the Essex Street Market. Read on for Chris's greatest hits of the LES. More

Here's a stunner for the warm spring weather. Il Laboratorio del Gelato is churning out batches of decidedly lush and fragrant rose gelato ($4.25/small). It pairs exceptionally well with milk chocolate (the rose notes give the heavier chocolate a floral lift), and also with a scoop of strawberry—complimentary flavors that could not possibly be prettier in appearance. It's not excessively floral in flavor, present enough to appreciate but still delicate with a light, barely sweet finish. More

[Photographs: Jessica Leibowitz] "It's as much a reflection of the Lower East Side as it is of Spain," said head chef Ryan Bartlow of Francesca, the latest offshoot of the Frankies Spuntino empire. He actually lives just a few minutes... More

They're easy to take for granted these days, but there was a time when Asian fusion restaurants were an oddity. If they were vegetarian, or—even worse, vegan—they were considered places only hippies or bohemians would visit. Tiengarden on the Lower East Side has been around for over 15 years, making it one of the oldest vegan fusion restaurants in the city. I thought I'd stop in and see how the food holds up to my modern sensibilities. More

[Photograph: Kathy YL Chan] I love the huge variety of flavors at Doughnut Plant: the square peanut butter and jelly doughnut, the coconut cream, and crème brûlée. And, of course, seasonal flavors like peach and festive holiday numbers like... More

The newly opened Christian Vautier Le Concept offers housemade truffles in a colorful collection of flavors—just in time for Spring. More

Before we usher straight into spring and summer, keep an eye out for the Honey-Chestnut gelato at Il Laboratorio del Gelato. Chestnut is the predominate flavor, full-bodied and creamy, studded with the tiniest bits of roasted chestnuts. Subtle notes of honey are evenly laced throughout, an ideal pairing and perfect backdrop to the chestnuts. More

Nothing too novel, but it hits just the right balance of sweet and bitter, vegetable-heavy and goat cheese-creamy. More