New York City: The Standard Grill
From the outside, the Standard Grill looks a bit like a movie set. Inside, it’s a scene: L.A. on the Hudson. The beautiful people are three deep at the bar, long-legged around the fire pits on the terrace, and white-toothed over their Malpeques and Dom Perignon. Under the High Line, the restaurant is made up of the two very different rooms—in front, wood, whitewash, and tile like a New England clam bar, and then red leather booths and a high-arched ceiling in the interior dining room. The atmosphere is latter-day “21” Club and already a magnet for the glitter- and literati (last night, Anna Wintour; last week, Salman Rushdie), with owner André Balazs playing comely majordomo. Still serving a “preview” dinner, the kitchen, under chef Dan Silverman (ex-Lever House and Union Square Café before that), knows what it’s doing. On the menu there are crowd-pleasers like iceberg lettuce with Kentucky bacon and blue cheese dressing and an organic pork chop. There’s also a very tasty, accurately cooked (and amusingly named) “Demi-Vache” rib-eye, a nicely grilled halibut, roasted local beets, duck fat smashed potatoes, and a sense of humor: Under “sides,” you’ll find A Good Pickle for $1. 848 Washington St., New York City (212-645-4100; thestandardgrill.com) Christian L. Wright
Sydney: Sepia
With Tetsuya’s former chef running the show, interest in Sepia ran high even before the ink on the contract was dry. Martin Benn is one of the brightest chefs Sydney has seen, and the news that he was striking out on his own for the first time after years with Tetsuya Wakuda (and Marco Pierre White at London’s Criterion before that) had restaurant groupies going crazy. But this is no Tetsuya’s lite. Dishes like spanner crab and buckwheat risotto with tarragon-mustard butter and a cloud of foamed shellfish essence suggest a chef flexing his muscles anew. Desserts show similar inspiration, and the quietly luxe setting and punchy wine list indicate that Sepia has legs. Darling Park, 201 Sussex St., Sydney (02-9283-1990, sepiarestaurant.com.au) Pat Nourse