Just over a year old, but with a window full of gastronomic accolades, former Le Cirque pastry chef Iacopo Falai's eponymously named Clinton Street joint radiates with new flavor and experimentation of Florentine style brought to the Lower East Side. With white tile, white tables, white chairs, white candles, and a white-bricked garden, Falai relies upon the reflections of dining patrons in the mirrors and the color of food on plates to bring color where color is due. When Gothamist visited on a recent night, reservations were required even for an early seat--upon sitting waiters hovered with the night's menu, immediately taking beverage orders and reciting the evening's specialties. more ›

Gothamist is grateful to be within walking distance of a great concept in neighborhood dining. Chef Charlie Palmer, who made his bones at Brooklyn's River Cafe before launching to super-stardom through his Upper East Side flagship Aureole, is the author of the idea: a short-menu 3-course prix fixe for $25, offering the same skill of preparation that you might find at one of his pricier restaurants but with less fussiness. There are five choices for each course, each of them drawing on seasonal ingredients -- the central philosophy of Palmer's cuisine. The result is a pair of restaurants - Kitchen 22 and Kitchen 82 -- that put much of the "neighborhood" restaurants they compete with to shame. Although the desserts seem less inspired and less inspiring than the rest of the menu, on the whole Palmer's "Kitchens" are a bargain for the quality. more ›