Rae   

Chef Daniel Stern's (who was an exec chef at Le Bec-Fin and is the owner of the popular Queen Village eatery, Gayle) ambitious second venture, Rae, occupies 13,000 square feet on the ground floor of the gleaming high-rise, the Cira Centre, next door to the 30th Street Station. The state-of-the-art, bi-level Rae has a 220-seat dining room, a six-seat wine room (for dinners with paired wine) and a 10-seat chef table near the open kitchen. With a mezzanine, a ballroom, a glass-enclosed atrium and a smaller private room, Rae is well suited for private functions. A free wi-fi and A/V hookup show that the owner has a business traveler in mind, which makes sense, considering the train station's proximity. The menu, best described as new American, is on the high-end side (entrees range from the low $30s up into the $50s). It's divided into the a la carte "standards" and "renditions," "standards" being grilled Atlantic salmon with garlic and olive dressing, surf and turf, and roast chicken with potato sauce. The "Renditions" include beef tenderloin and smoked rabbit. There's a simpler fare at the lounge daily from 11AM till closing, and you can get pizza, panini and fancy snacks (think risotto fingers and smoked-rabbit nachos).