Rider (CLOSED)

After a three-year sojourn in his native St. Louis, where he helmed sleek basement pub Basso, James Beard Award–winning chef Patrick Connolly (Bobo) makes his New York return with this 64-seat bi-level restaurant, set inside Williamsburg’s nonprofit music venue National Sawdust. And although it’s named after tour riders, the often ridiculous dressing-room requests of musicians, you won’t find color-coordinated M&Ms or Rihanna-approved Hot Cheetos on Connolly’s menu—instead, expect vegetable-forward plates such as ricotta toast with grilled mortadella and shaved raw beets with blue cheese and quinoa. Meatier offerings include confited chicken wings with caramelized fennel, and roasted beef served on a bagna-cauda–lavished baguette with roasted marrow. Diners can enjoy their meals in the upstairs dining room, decorated with padded leather booths and dark-wood seating, or downstairs at a bar trimmed with beechwood benches and stainless-steel stools. Behind the marble bar, general manager Colby Zito (Maialino) crafts cocktails like a brandy-rum Bernie Sanders Rookie Card (vanilla, grenadine) and a mescal-based Free Brain Surgery (lime, fernet).