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In 2008, seven years after Emmanuel Verstraeten opened the first Rouge Tomate in Brussels, the onetime Mercedes-Benz salesman expands to New York, where he aims to indoctrinate us into the lofty ways of S.P.E. (Sanitas Per Escam, or Health Through Food). While this might sound like a fancy way of saying spa food, S.P.E. is actually a “nutritional charter,” espousing “social and environmental consciousness” and “a balanced approach to sourcing and preparing food.” Boulud and Robuchon alum Jeremy Bearman collaborated with an in-house nutritionist on dishes like curried carrot broth with black-pearl tapioca, and lettuce-and-root-vegetable cassoulet. The former Nicole Farhi store is now an airy street-level café with a downstairs dining room and à la carte and prix fixe pricing, respectively ($34 at lunch, $72 at dinner), and a bar that dispenses fresh juice and artisanal cocktails. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

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Best of New York Awards

• Best Juice Bar (2009)

Featured In

• Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2009 (1/5/09)
• New York Restaurant Openings: The Oak Room, Rouge Tomate, and West Branch (11/3/08)