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[title]Birds & Bubbles City Grit founder Sarah Simmons moves from planning events to planning menus at her debut Southern restaurant, the idea for which sparked when a friend brought champagne to one of her guest-chef fried-chicken dinners. “Everyone was shocked when I popped the cork, and I understand why,” she says. “For a while, I had the same mental block—that champagne is only for special occasions—but it’s not.” The sparkling beverage makes its way into fizzy lifting drinks and classic cocktails courtesy of Evelyn Drinkery co-owner Christian Sanders, while a mini champagne dictionary guides guests in their choice of nearly two-dozen varieties, tagged with flavor notes like “crisp green apple” and “brioche and spice.” Drawing on the Sunday dinners from her childhood—tomato pie, potato salad, Vidalia onion soufflé—Simmons puts a twist on her mother’s recipes but leaves some dishes untouched: “Sometimes, the real deal is magical for a reason.” 100B Forsyth St between Broome and Grand Sts (646-368-9240, birdsandbubbles.com)
Boobie Trap Beer and barbecue are owner-bartender Kristen North’s focus at this quirky watering hole, kitted out with nudie coloring books and a topless mannequin sprouting taps for a pair of drafts—one light, one dark. 308 Bleecker St between Irving and Wyckoff Aves, Bushwick, Brooklyn (347-240-9105, boobietrapbk.com)
La Cigogne At this Alsatian eatery, dishes like spaetzle macaroni and cheese, and baeckeoffe casseroles reflect co-owner Damien Frey’s upbringing in northeastern France. 213-215 Union St between Clinton and Henry Sts, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (718-858-5641, lacigognenyc.com)
Marta Danny Meyer’s getting into the pizza game. The restaurant mogul (Union Square Cafe, Shake Shack) has teamed with his Maialino chef, Nick Anderer, for this rustic Roman pizzeria inside the Martha Washington Hotel. A self-proclaimed Rome fanatic, Anderer fell in love with the capital city’s thin, crackly crusted rounds, which he pulls from two wood-burning ovens and a nine-foot-long over-embers grill. “It’s so light that the pizza becomes part of the meal rather than the entire meal itself,” he says. “The dough is a blank canvas for seasonal flavors.” Along with the traditional pies (Margherita, Napoletana), the toque turns out outré renditions like an okra-and-lamb–sausage pie and one with pecorino, crumbled potato and crispy guanciale. The two-level restaurant, which features a mezzanine with bird’s-eye views of the main dining room below, is anchored by an open kitchen slinging more than just pizza: Expect rabbit meatballs, beer-brined chicken and butterflied trout saltimbocca presented on hand-painted ceramic dishes and custom-made butcher blocks. 29 E 29th St between Madison Ave and Park Ave South (212-651-3800, martamanhattan.com)
One Fifty One Find late-night munchies like frozen Girl Scout cookies and a peanut-butter–banana–bacon Elvis sandwich at this East Village den from Death & Company’s David Kaplan and Alex Day. 151 Rivington between Clinton and Suffolk Sts (646-490-4338)