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Lina Frey
201 E. Houston St., 212-995-5546, Lower East Side, Manhattan
A sidewalk crepe stand fronts this sweet French bistro on a lively stretch of East Houston Street. Indoor tables have an outdoor feel due to the sliding glass windows and retractable ceiling. Currently open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch, hours will be extended to 3am once the liquor license arrives—ideal for late-night noshes, say, after a show at The Mercury Lounge. Also ideal? The cheap prices—everything is under $13. Savory crepes are filled with mushrooms and Emmental cheese or lardons and eggs, while dessert crepes might have fillings of chocolate and chopped peanuts, Nutella or simply sugar and butter. Bistro-style salads, burgers, mussels and hanger steak round out the menu.

The Plaza Food Hall
1 W. 59th St., 212-986-9260, Midtown West, Manhattan
Walk down to the concourse level of The Plaza Hotel and you may be surprised to find The Plaza Food Hall, brought to life by celebrity chef Todd English (Olives). The venue is inspired by food halls in Europe, but it has a modern American panache. Each culinary station is lined with stools and has its own theme—a seafood and oyster bar, a sushi bar, a grilling station (with burgers, sandwiches and salads), a stone-hearth-oven-pizza bar and a wine and tapas bar, plus a bakery station (with sweets and coffee), a charcuterie and artisanal cheese counter and a demo kitchen where special tasting events will be held. The Plaza Food Hall also serves as an upscale market, with beauteous produce displays, gift baskets and shelves of high-quality olive oil, vinegar and truffle butter. Coming on the heels of The Plaza's $450 million rejuvenation, The Plaza Food Hall has made the fabled hotel an even more captivating destination.

Seersucker
329 Smith St., 718-422-0444, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Arkansas native Robert Newton puts an upscale spin on Southern food at this hip Brooklyn bistro. The name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to his predilection for seersucker suits, arrived at with his co-owner girlfriend, Kerry Diamond (whose background includes being the beauty director at Harper's Bazaar and the public relations vice president at Lancôme). Stylish patrons frequent the tasteful, streamlined space, and many crowd around the bar, where there's Red Hook Winery rosé and local craft beers on tap. Newton has cooked at Aquavit, Le Cirque and Tabla, and brings refinement to lightly fried catfish, chicken and dumplings, and dreamy shrimp and grits. To start are stellar snacks like homemade-spiced potato chips with pimento cheese and fried bologna on an English muffin laced with fiery Dijon.