New Restaurants: Bar Pleiades, Numero 28, Juliet Supper Club

Forget the Age of Aquarius (and forget the recession, too, while you're at it); it's the age of the Pleiades, that mystical blue star cluster in the constellation of Taurus. Those stars are presumably far enough away that chef Daniel Boulud isn't worried about getting a C&D for naming his swank new bar after them. Located in the ground floor of the Surrey Hotel, across the lobby from Cafe Boulud, Bar Pleiades is a spacious and comfy cocktail lounge serving a changing finger food menu from the restaurant.

The cocktail menu is created by Cameron Bogue, whom Boulud imported from his Vancouver outpost of db bistro moderne. Apparently, Bogue is like Canada's Sasha Petraske, and his drinks are mostly innovative twists on old classics, with lots of house-made infused liquors. His take on the Moscow Mule, for instance, is the Beijing Mule, which uses vodka infused with roasted Asian pears, yuzu juice, saffron-flavored simple syrup and house-made ginger beer ($15).

At the opening party last night, we were loving the Southern Fashion ($16): Espelette Candied Pecan Bourbon, Vermouths, Maple, and Islay Scotch as a garnish—which Bogue fastidiously adds with an eye-dropper. Halfway through the crisp and light Cornucopia (Gin, Kirsch, Apricot, Sage, Lemon, $16), Boulud led us on a tour of the new Cafe Boulud kitchen, which was noteworthy for its focused lack of drama (at least with Chef hovering around). Commenting on the recent two star rave review for DBGB in the Times, Boulud remarked, "Maybe one [star] would have been better! We don't want young people to get the wrong idea about the place." 20 East 76th Street; (212) 772-2600 (Photo: Melissa Hom)