Jimmy's   

You'll enter this former Ukrainian social club down a few steps from the street, the cluster of small rooms separated by fantastic arches with old beer kegs lining the low ceilings. One small room has a built-in wooden stage, now perfect as a performance space. The preservation works well with the young East Village crowd that fills this bar and restaurant, some of whom have known Jimmy since his days at Patio, a popular bar once just down the street. An eclectic bunch of brews are on tap, and Jimmy is now the chef behind the kitchen's swinging doors. Experimenting with Mediterranean flavors, Jimmy tops off chickpea soup with spareribs, sauteed escarole with slab bacon from the Ukrainian butcher down the street, and takes a page from Marcella Hazan's cookbook with a rich red wine-based beef stew.