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Showcasing a sustainably-sourced supply of beef, pork, poultry and lamb, Butcher Bar lets good meat do the talking – with a kind nudge from the grill. The Astoria restaurant, with a triple billing from “organic,” “local” and “natural,” is a wood-paneled, open-kitchen temple of flesh, offering patrons a smorgasbord of grilled, smoked, roasted and raw selections. The restaurant's barbecue, most of which is too lightly smoked to compare to classic Southern or Midwestern flavors, is a paen to slow cooking. Pork spare ribs are especially satisfying, as are burnt ends, which are given a much more delicate treatment here than in their native Kansas City. House-made sausage and house-butchered cuts are consistently fresh and grilled to order; they are just as noteworthy as the barbecue menu and often highlight individual farms and suppliers. For dessert, apple cake is always on the house. — James Boo

Burnt Ends, $7.49 per 1/4 lb.; St. Louis Style Dry Rubbed Ribs, $16.99 per half rack; Sausage of the Day, $5.49 per 1/4 lb; PBLT Sandwich, $10.99