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Ever get on a subway and wonder what's at the end of the line? If it's the northbound 1 train, the answer is chef Michael Sherman’s homage to the delights of local living, Riverdale Garden. Unassuming outside, the restaurant's tasteful interior boasts a wood-burning fireplace, a dark, cozy bar, well-spaced rustic tables and access to a magnificent patio and outdoor garden in back. The pleasant, understated atmosphere leaves the neighborhood families and couples who dine here free to linger over their generous helpings of homegrown haute cuisine. Featuring seasonal, local organic foods, the menu created by Lespinasse veteran Sherman and his wife, pastry chef Lisa Sherman, changes daily. Free-range meat (veal, pork, steak) and fowl (ostrich to Long Island duck) are big on the menu, along with seafood and a few vegetarian dishes, all thoughtfully presented. The full-flavored veal is matched, but not overpowered, by a tangy mushroom sauce and fresh asparagus, while halibut is delicately redolent of lemon and saffron. Among the lush, equally well-designed desserts are a rich mascarpone cheesecake and a lemon tart soothed with a side of blueberry sorbet. — Jessica Branch

Endive, frisee and watercress salad, $9; mushroom-dusted Atlantic halibut, $25; mascarpone cheesecake with raspberry sauce, $9