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60 Thompson Street (212-219-2000).

The chef and staff at jazzy 27 Standard are showing some real chops.

The menu at L-Ray sounds old, but chef Aaron Sanchez has got some new mojo working.

Live high on chef Douglas Rodriguez's celebrated roast hog, or settle for a bowlful of swoony seviche at Chicama, in the Flatiron district.

The Park, 118 Tenth Avenue, near 17th Street (212-352-3313). Open every night, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Appetizers, $6 to $18; entrées, $15 to $30. A.E., D.C., M.C., V.

When they go out for Chinese, Upper West Siders are used to taking unnecessary culinary risks, but Ruby Foo's dramatically improves the odds.

Rockefeller Center reopens two restaurants, Sea Grill and Rock Center Café, but their ambitious menus are forced to compete with the show outside.

Chef Mark Spangenthal moves uptown to work the stove at the newly opened Dining Room, an oasis for New Yorkers without dining rooms of their own.

At long last, advertising legend and restaurateur Jerry Della Femina brings a version of his namesake Hamptons hangout to Manhattan.