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[title]Botanica Owner Daniel Preston brought in Michelin-starred chef Saul Bolton to overhaul the food and drink programs at this lovely Red Hook drinkery, which features a white Murano glass chandelier, pale green stenciling on the walls and floor-to-ceiling French doors. Bolton honors Preston's Italian and Dominican roots with refined small plates, such as cured Maine sardines with dandelion greens, and roasted pork over rice and beans. Barkeep Dan Carlton hews to the Mediterranean-Caribbean ethos as well with the cocktail menu, including drinks like the Dune Grass (white rum, orange liqueur, lime juice, clove, cucumber, shiso and lemongrass) and the Amaro Cobbler (Amaro Nonino, sherry, grapefruit juice, baking-spice bitters, blackberries and mint). Bolton and Carlton also source ingredients from Preston's distillery and chocolate factory, Cacao Prieto, next door. 220 Conover St at Coffey St, Red Hook, Brooklyn (347-225-0148)
Biang! The owners of cult Chinese chainlet Xi’an Famous Foods expand their offerings at this small-plates restaurant, which is named for the reverberating sound emitted when a noodle maker slaps dough across a table (biang!). Like their takeout shops, this sit-down eatery showcases the cuisine of Xi’an, an ancient city in North-Central China, with a focus on hand-pulled noodles, like the signature liáng pí (cold, chewy wheat ribbons with seitan, cucumber, sprouts and a chili dressing) and qí shan shào zi biáng biang miàn (spicy-and-sour pork belly with star anise). Adventurous diners can also explore rare regional specialties like xi yù kao xiáo niao (marinated and roasted quail with a salad of cilantro, scallion, green peppers and celery) and gùi hua feng mì liáng zòng zi (a chilled rice cake steamed in bamboo leaves and topped with flower-infused honey). The 40-seat spot features brick walls, graphic Pop Art and exposed air ducts snaking across the high ceilings. 41-10 Main St between 41st Ave and 41st Rd, Flushing, Queens (no phone yet, biang-nyc.com)
Demi Monde Cocktail hotshots David Kaplan and Alex Day—respectively co-owner and former bartender of the exemplary Death & Company—transport enlightened tippling to a larger, louder stage with this 120-seat subterranean bar and New American eatery. Ditching the hushed tones and slo-mo stirring of Death & Company, the pair kitted out the glossy dark granite bar for speed with foot-pedal-controlled sinks and four filtered seltzer taps. Festive bubbles are the star of the drinks program—half of the 16 cocktails are effervescent, and the menu offers four house-made sodas (including celery and strawberry-tarragon) and ten sparkling wines. Plunk down on one of the plush gray banquettes and sip the Heads Up, which combines Aperol, acid phosphate, seltzer and a cutting-edge elixir: vermouth blanc is flash-infused with watermelon via a whipped-cream canister. Day, along with head bartender Scott James Teague (Pegu Club), also created a number of sophisticated noncarbonated concoctions, like the Wolf Tone, made with pisco, grappa, elderflower, eucalyptus and bitters. An art installation of knotted ropes made by bondage artist Midori hangs near the oak-and-brass chef's table, where Phillip Kirschen-Clark (Vandaag) will serve a tasting menu. But his inventive booze-friendly small plates—including Negroni-cured oysters and absinthe-pickled eggs—are also available throughout the space. In the coming months, Handsome Coffee Roasters will open a daytime café in the upstairs lobby. 90 Broad St at Stone St, entrance on Stone St (212-248-7220)
Maslow 6 Wine Bar The owners of Maslow 6 Wine Shop are behind this 43-seat vino bar next door, featuring offbeat bottles. Choose from 30 different wines and more than 20 craft beers (Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Hitachino Nest White Ale), plus small plates, like four-cheese truffle mac and cheese and lamb meatballs covered in puff pastry. 211A West Broadway between Franklin and White Sts (no phone yet, maslow6.com)
Middle Branch Sasha Petraske brings artisanal cocktails to Murray Hill with this bi-level spin-off of Little Branch, run by vets of the original Lucinda Sterling and Benjamin Schwartz. You can post up at the stainless steel bar on the ground level, or opt for table service upstairs for signature tipples like the East Side (gin, lime, cucumber, mint), the Conversation (white rum, orange bitters, curaçao, dry vermouth) and the Sixth Street Swizzle (lime juice, rhum agricole, cane syrup, Angostura bitters), plus three craft beers on tap. The dimly lit space features gray wallpaper and red upholstered banquettes, plus French doors opening to the street and a terrace on the second level. 154 E 33rd St between Lexington and Third Aves (no phone)
People’s Pops Five thousand Popsicle sticks decorate the facade of this artisanal-icy-treats store, the second brick-and-mortar location from the popular outdoor-market vendor. Locavores can cool off with pops and shave ices in seasonal flavors like strawberry-rhubarb, red-plum–sour-cherry and raspberry-basil. The six-seat shop channels childhood whimsy with colorful murals by fellow Brooklyn Flea vendor Claudia Pearson, a Ms. Pac-Man machine and a chalkboard wall that guests can draw on. 808 Union St between Sixth and Seventh Aves, Park Slope, Brooklyn (347-850-2388, peoplespops.com)
The Pony Bar Twenty taps dispense craft brews (Barrier, Empire) at this 50-seat beer bar, which is decorated with a white-pine-topped tables, exposed brick and lamps made from growlers. 1444 First Ave at 75th St (212-288-0090, theponybarues.com)
The Treats Truck Stop Kim Ima—the pastry maven behind the roving Treats Truck—opens her first brick-and-mortar bakery. Get signature homespun goodies, like peanut butter sandwich cookies, chocolate chip brownies and Rice Krispie treats, as well as breakfast (bagels, muffins) and lunch (salads, sandwiches). Curious sweet tooths can watch bakers through a window, rolling out dough in the back of the 30-seat café, which also features Formica-and-chrome tables and sparkly vinyl chairs. 521 Court St between Garnet and 9th Sts, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (718-330-0200, treatstruck.com)
Würstelstand Pick up European-style sausages and Boylan sodas at this seasonal takeout window (March–October) from the Vandaag kitchen. The menu includes the Van Dog (a pickled beef frank with coriander-scented red cabbage and shredded mustard greens on a house-made poppy seed potato roll) and the broodje frikandel (minced pork and beef fried sausage with chopped raw onions and spicy curry ketchup on a house-made pretzel bun), along with frites and pickles. 103 Second Ave at 6th St (no phone, vandaagnyc.com)