Loring Place

As dinner progresses at this bustling nouveau green-market joint in the West Village, you get the feeling that the kitchen might be straining a little too hard to duplicate the elevated farm-to-table recipes that the chef, Dan Kluger, learned during his time as the executive chef at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s hit establishment, ABC Kitchen. That favorite Jean-Georges garnish, jalapeño, is sprinkled on several of the overworked (though nicely baked) whole-wheat pizzas (try the crab and fennel), and many of the pastas we tasted (ricotta-stuffed agnolotti with parsnips, spaghetti drowned in spinach and a slick of chile oil) could have used an ingredient or two less. Still, there’s a good burger to be had (and lately, a much-discussed calzone), the bar is one of the better places for a drink in this bar-mad neighborhood, and if you’re a fan of neo-comfort-food desserts, the selection includes a spongy choco­late “Hostess cupcake” filled with orange crème fraîche, and an impressive artisanal, post-gourmet version of a Dairy Queen Blizzard.