We've learned that George Mendes, the very visible chef de cuisine at Tocqueville, is finalizing the lease on a restaurant space. Mendes tell us that his new place will be "gastronomically serious" but "modern, casual, and hip." No other details yet, but the guy is an imaginative young chef — one to keep an eye on.

Tocqueville, meanwhile, is still going strong in its new space at 1 East 15th Street; executive chef Marco Moreira will be converting the old room at 15 East 15th Street into a modern Japanese restaurant.