Hot Plates

Striking while Iron is hot: Black Iron Burger Shop

La Bouillabaisse
Neil Ganic must have U-Haul on speed dial: The Yugoslavian-born chef, who's developed a rep for moving his French-themed restaurants around Brooklyn, unveils the latest version of his beloved bistro La Bouillabaisse, which hop-skipped from Brooklyn Heights to Carroll Gardens and now decamps in Red Hook. The long-gestating project, located next to Ganic's new Franco-American bar Annabelle's, serves up the déjà vu with ease: Expect familiar fare such as the restaurant’s saffron-tinged namesake seafood stew, plus other savory seafood dishes ranging from crab cakes to fried oysters to a spicy seafood combo plate. (44-46 Beard St. at Dwight St., Red Hook; 718-643-2679)

Black Iron Burger Shop
Rarely do a restaurant's name and ambience match as closely as this East Village burger joint. The space feels like the type of place the toughs in "Gangs of New York" would saunter into for a post-row pint or—had it been around in the 1860s—the Iron Horse Burger: a double patty with horseradish cheddar and grilled onions. Intriguing sides like fried pickled green tomatoes, buttered corn and baked beans share space with more traditional fries and onion rings. The 10-beer list has a diverse selection from Delirium Tremens to Magic Hat, and milkshakes and malts run about $6 apiece (Vincent Vega, meet inflation). (540 E. Fifth St. between Aves. A and B, 212-677-6067)

Hea
Pronounced "HEE," this bi-level East Village eatery named after the Cantonese slang for "chill" is the fourth spot from Third Avenue mini-monopolizer Joe Ngai (Friend House, Red Curry), who describes the menu to us as "home-style Asian cuisine." Translation: a sort of pan–South Asian mélange that incorporates Indonesian, Thai and Hong Kong influences in dishes like coconut-galangal broth with organic chicken, and skate wing grilled in banana leaves. The aesthetic aims for, ahem, Zen "chill," with stone fixtures, custom-made carved wood furniture from China, and a first-floor bar serving beer, wine, sake and cocktails. Yep, load up on the sake—that'll chill you out. Hea opens on Monday, Sept. 8. (145 13th St. at Third Ave., 212-982-1688)

Rock-n-Sake
Does Chelsea really need another sushi joint? We'd say...maybe, especially given that California rolls are the perfect pre-club bite. But here's the kicker: Rock-n-Sake aims to provide a party vibe and serve Japanese-fusion fare like dragon rolls, honey wasabi shrimp and the questionably named killer scallops. That's like fugu, no? "Rock-n-sake implies a rocking good time," says co-owner Richard Volpe. "We'll kick the disco, techno and the hip-hop when it's crowd-appropriate, and for our daytime lunch I plan to kick a little more classic rock or blues or whatever I want." (138 W. 25th St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves., 212-255-7255)


Also open:

Yet another cookie-cutter NYU Thai joint, Tong Thai, takes up residence, this time on 13th Street. We'd polish off our "Thai me up" jokes, but we're tired. (39 E. 13th St. at University Place,  212-253-2696)

Maoz Vegetarian carries the anti-meat crusade (whoops, ‘scuse us: healthy-eating crusade) to the Upper West Side—pitas, falafels and all. (2047 Broadway at 71st St., 212-362-2622)


Closed:

Zen (Battery Park City)
Burritoville (East Village)
Lime (West Village)


Additional reporting by Matt Rodbard, Jeremy Cesarec and Kelly Dobkin. Photo by Dan Peterson.