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Okay, this Jeffrey Chodorow production (with Zak Pelaccio) is only cheap relative to the serial restaurateur’s other pricey holdings. And our waiter one night was as goofy as anyone who’s ever pulled up a chair to chat about the daily specials. But we like the gimmick, which is celebrating the city’s greatest gastronomic achievements—from an uncredited Shopsin’s-inspired mac-and-cheese pancake to whatever it is Staten Islanders eat when they’re not gobbling down pizza at Denino’s. Some dishes, like oysters Rockefeller, evoke the city’s culinary past. Some give a shout-out to a particular ingredient like DiPalo’s ricotta or the Calabria Pork Store’s sweet Italian sausage. And some, like the three-herring plate with toasted black bread, come straight from the source—in this case, the Lower East Side’s Russ & Daughters. With its salvaged woods, exotic Pelaccio- curated pantry shelves, backroom pool table, and cheesy-paperback-reading nook, the place feels like the rec room at some sort of culinary summer camp in the Adirondacks. In short, it’s pretty themey, a little hokey, and kind of fun. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite

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