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Mark
Here's something that hits the mark: A new St. Marks Place spot that isn't a ramen joint. For realz! It's from the same folks behind East Village mainstay Sidewalk Café, and the grub skews upscale diner-y: think burgers, shakes and homemade pies. The 2-ounce, slider-style burgers are made with chuck, short rib and sirloin, and come in two versions: regular and a bacon "blend," in which diced and broiled bacon bits are mixed into the patty itself. Best part: They're only 2 bucks a pop. The goal was to "bring Saint Marks back a little bit," says co-owner Helah Kehati, who grew up hanging out at Sidewalk Café. Which meant referencing the nabe's grittier, graffiti-strewn past—evident in a massive graffiti artwork on the building's façade, created by an artist from next-door tattoo parlor Studio 33. Wine and beer help those burgers go down easy, but do yourself a favor and go for the Guinness milkshake, infused with a homemade Guiness reduction and mixed with both vanilla ice cream and gelato. A front patio is in the works for spring. (33 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Aves., 212-677-3132)
Piquant
The former Mitchell's Bar & Grill has been rebooted as a Southwest-focused restaurant anchored by former Mustang Grill chef David Sharp, a Texas native. With name like Piquant, Sharp and owner Mike Issa are certainly hoping that the food lives up to its tasty tease, with dishes like orange-dusted shrimp with mashed plantains and orange-avocado salsa, seared tuna with black beans, and grilled lamb chops with chipotle sauce. A big change from Mitchell's: The onetime deli up front has now been converted into a bar, which Issa hopes will give the space a much more inviting, upscale feel: "I had customers come in and say, 'There's one problem—that deli in the front doesn't really give you respect.'" Here's hoping this redo finally does. (259 Flatbush Ave. between St. Marks and Sixth Aves., 718-484-4114)
Bill's Bar & Burger
In a city where the $26 burger is not only considered acceptable, but a cheap eat, there is now a mighty $5.50 version ready to jump into the ring. The big-brained chefs at Meatpacking District's Bill's Bar and Burger sampled over 20 blends of Pat LaFrieda beef before establishing perfection. According to BR Guest corporate exec chef Brett Reichler, "We went with a simple philosophy—that a burger should be griddled, cooked perfectly and on a simple bun." And he plans for the public to accept this doctrine: The 70-seat bar in the former Hog Pit location can knock out "between 1,000 and 2,000" burgers a day, if the demand calls for it. In other words, they're ready for the masses! Four additional burger varieties are available, including caramelized onions topping a patty on an English muffin and turkey burger with aged provolone and pickled tomatoes. Boneless chicken wings, chili and grilled Hatfield hot dogs will work well for late night. Five specialty shakes (including Oreo, peanut butter banana, coffee and berry; $7) can be boozed up, if your night is just beginning. (22 Ninth Ave. at W. 13th St., 212-414-3003)
Ardesia
Hell's Kitchen has its share of terrific wine bars (Xai Xai, Casellulla), but this attractive newcomer boasts a swanky pedigree: Owner Mandy Oser is a former Le Bernardin vet. Ardesia offers 80 whites and reds by the bottle, plus 25 or so by the glass, as well as a short food menu from El Quinto Pino alum Amorette Casaus, featuring cheese, gourmet bites and homemade charcuterie. Wines top off at $15 a glass and food at $16 a dish, making for a pleasantly cozy and affordable evening, provided you're not thirsty for a dozen glasses of $15 wine, but who knows! Ardesia's décor is streamlined and chic, with a nice mix of modern and rustic touches-glass display cases and hourglass-shaped wooden stools-plus a cute wall-sized chalkboard announcing the day's offerings. (510 W 52nd St. between 10th and 11th Aves., 212-247-9191)
Also open:
Takes a lotta balls to name your new joint Ultimate Burger and Dogs, which moves into the old Chicory location in Cobble Hill. Is it really the ultimate? Find out for yourself: Vienna beef hot dogs are sourced from Chicago and burger beef from Brooklyn's A. Stein Meat. (243 Degraw St. between Court and Clinton Sts., 718-797-2121)
At Highlands, a cozy Scottish den hosts top-shelf cocktails alongside gourmet Scottish dishes like Cullen Skink, a traditional smoked haddock, and the Gairloch Bay Mussels, steamed with garlic, lemon, mustard, dill and Galloway cream. (150 W. 10th St. at Waverly Place, 212-229-2670)
A former fashion consultant enters the nightlife biz with Bar Celona, a Hollywood-glam-style lounge in a former Williamsburg glue factory. If the name didn't tip you off already, they're serving Spanish tapas but with a Latin twist, including codfish bombas (deep-fried codfish and potato balls served with a orange garlic marmalade) and stuffed piquillo peppers with goat cheese. (104 S. Fourth St. between Bedford and Berry Sts., 718-237-7828)
Meals, deals, specials:
Avec Eric Perfect Pairings wine club: What pairs well with Eric Ripert's acclaimed new PBS series "Avec Eric"? How about a new wine club! The Le Bernardin chef-owner and his James Beard-winning sommelier Aldo Sohm will choose two wines every month, which will be sent to members, along with detailed tasting notes. Monthly membership is $59, and gift packages are available from three months ($219) to 12 ($849). To sign up, check out aveceric.com and click on "Wine Club."
20 percent off at Sandro's: To spur some late-night grubbing, Upper East Side spot Sandro's will be knocking 20 percent off diners' checks between 10 and 11:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Yep, that's the entire check, including food and booze. (306 E. 81st St. near Second Ave., 212-288-7374)
Dim Sum at the Oak Room: Waaa? At the venerable Oak Room? Well, it's actually "dim sum" with quotation marks: Chef Eric Hara is taking the idea of rolling dim sum carts and filling it with upscale bites like beef tartare and oysters with pineapple-vanilla mignonette. (10 Central Park South at 59th St., 212-758-7777)
Café Noir's 15th anniversary: The Soho Moroccan spot celebrates its 15th on Monday, Oct. 19, with a two-hour open bar from 6 to 8 p.m.: mojitos, sangrias and select beer, along with tapas. No catch-seriously. All free, for two hours. It's two-for-one drink specials after that, plus live music and DJs. (32 Grand St. at Thompson St., 212-431-7910)
Additional reporting by Matt Rodbard and Edith Zimmerman; photo by Sam Horine
