Sweetbriar is Chef Bryce ShumanвЂ™s broadly appealing second act. This rather modest sushiya is simply outfitted the best seat in the house - naturally - is at the counter, where diners can watch the master in action, as he prepares his top-notch fish and seafood with purity and delicious simplicity. An adjoining space also comes to life as a roaring wood-fired grill bathes the room in flickering amber hues and signals the start of dinner service. By nightfall, the room morphs into a spacious cocktail bar.

The menuвЂ™s approach to Asian cuisine is daring and has no sections - it's a roaming, borderless lineup.Д«y day, the front is a bakery and bodega. In a vintage space that was once the set of a Martin Scorsese film, big flavors and big portions fly with abandon. From coriander garlic naan to maple sweet crumbly corn bread, the fresh bread basket is a marvel. Whole fish at Nura in Greenpoint, Brooklyn Idlewild Photo Co.Д¬hef Jackie CarnesiвЂ™s menu is deliciously informed by co-owner Michelle Lobo-HawleyвЂ™s Indian heritage. Chef Melissa Rodriguez has the necessary skills to make a truly good pie (think a paper-thin crust with chew and char).ДЄ former pop-up from two SsГ¤m Bar alums, chefs Victor Xia and Jeff Kim, Nudibranch has found its footing in its East Village space, proffering a three-course prix fixe (or four if you seek dessert - and you do).

Salads and vegetable-focused dishes kick things off and then there are the pizzas. Run by chefs/partners Jay Kumar and John Kim, this unique corner storefront at the base of a Park Slope residential building delivers creative, highly enjoyable Indian-infused and American fare. The room has a presence of its own, notable in scale and hidden away in the back past a cocktail bar.Д¬hef Jiho Kim and pastry maven Kelly Nam merge global flavors on their approachable tasting that riffs on familiar dishes, like jajangmyeon, made here with squid ink-sourdough noodles.Д¬hef Sol Han has created a menu that offers freedom of choice in its contemporary Г la carte compositions, all of which delight with endless - and many Korean - surprises. Gotham exudes old-school New York, as does the classic American cooking with Continental accents.Д¬hef counters are a treat, but a seat in front of Chef Kazushige Suzuki feels like a best-kept secret. Three decades in, longtime pastry chef Ron Paprocki now runs the show at this tried-and-true institution.

Fish city grill