Philip Kirschen-Clark, the “secret chef,” is leaving his underground home at Jimmy’s to take over at the Pegu Club. As of last night, Kirschen-Clark was settled in at the cocktail mecca and working on a new menu of his intense, modern, painterly dishes. His food will have a new tone, he says: “Sexier, lighter cocktail cuisine.” Like a peekytoe-crab roll with Kewpie mayonnaise, Korean red-chile flakes, and a medley of citrus zests, rolled up in a raw cucumber; or a diver-scallop-seviche “slider” with grilled corn, fava beans, green tomato, currants, red verjuice, and heirloom sweet peppers, on a tiny grilled brioche roll. There’s also a tentative plan to pair Kirschen-Clark’s dishes with classic Pegu cocktails. We hope that plan comes to delicious fruition.

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