It's been nearly five years since pastry-trained chef Jehangir Mehta blurred the lines between sweet and savory with the opening of Graffiti, a closet-sized East Village food and wine bar serving up eclectic small-plate fare. The space is still as small as ever, but that hasn't stopped Mehta from serving up dishes with big, bold flavors. More
It's springtime at Prospect Heights' popular locavore kitchen, Flatbush Farm, which means a crop of great produce—lettuces, asparagus, spring beans, and beets—is making its way into the lunch and dinner menu. Over on the Bar(N) side of Flatbush Farm, the bar menu is also taking advantage of fresh spring vegetables. More
If you find yourself in Midtown in need of a dressed-up bar bite, Oceana—with not one, but two expansive bar areas (a regular and raw bar)—suits the purpose quite well. Though the full menu is available anywhere in the restaurant, Oceana offers a curated selection of finger foods for its bar menu, a more budget-friendly option for those who want to enjoy the trappings of a Michelin-starred restaurant without the typical price tag. More
The innovative and sometimes quirky drinks of The Wayland have catapulted the renovated dive bar into the latest cocktail mecca of the East Village. Chef/co-owner Robert Ceraso has come up with a great selection of shareable plates for his partner Jason Mendenhall's libations. More
Silver Lining, the Tribeca jazz bar opened by the owners of Little Branch, has all the expected characteristics of a Sasha Petraske-run cocktail den—meticulously crafted libations, swank style, and a gentlemen's code of propriety. The overall food offerings are a bit clumsy, lacking the same panache as their cocktail counterparts. But there is some quality food to be found. More
Bar impresario Ravi DeRossi (Death and Company, Mayahuel) comes to Carroll Gardens with Bourgeois Pig Brooklyn, the second outpost of the East Village original. The bordello chic trappings—think gilded ceilings and velvet throne chairs—complement an Old World-style drink menu inspired by spirits from Western Europe. More
Pera Soho, the sister restaurant to Burak Karacem's original Pera Mediterranean Brasserie in Midtown, opened recently with some fanfare about its 2000-square-foot garden—a teasing reminder that spring is not quite around the corner. Luckily for us, Pera's well-lit (and well-heated) lounge provides a great setting for winter cocktails and bar bites. The bar menu (also offered as small plates and mezes on the dinner menu) by chef team Ryan Skeen and Sezai Celikbas differs slightly from the original location, though the Eastern Mediterranean flavors remain the same. More
The cuisine draws from worldly influences (Spanish, Cuban, Mediterranean), but its soul is Italian—rich, homey and beautiful in its simplicity. More
If you happen to end up in Red Hook—whether by bus, bike, or long sketchy walk across the BQE from Carroll Gardens—Fort Defiance welcomes you with open arms, your journey rewarded with delicious cocktails and hearty food. Café by day, bar by night, Fort Defiance serves smart but simple fare befitting its artisanal-minded neighbors. More
Somewhere in between the lavish praise and sneering cynicism lies the truth (or at least my dispassionate version of it): Sons of Essex has at least a few respectable bar dishes. More
