Blue Elm

Restaurants on the Lower East Side come and go, but Blue Elm is a cut above the rest. While it looks unassuming—compact space, dark wood walls, charcoal gray banquettes—the eclectic food is made with more care than you'd expect. Chef Malik Fall is Senegalese, but his cooking style is more French/Asian due to his training and globe-trotting. Accomplished dishes include crab-crusted and roasted portobello mushrooms as well as pan-seared scallops with sweet corn puree. At brunch, each order of $20 or more includes two cocktails.