New Yorkers love glitz and glamor, hype and buzz, but what really gets resident foodies pumped is a fresh new talent. Enter Chef Matthew Lightner, who has made us all sit up and take notice. There's not a bad seat along this hushed 18-seat, smooth concrete counter, as each offers an up-close view of the brigade as they craft each precious bite in their gorgeous slate-clad kitchen. While eager gourmands flock to the luxurious bar stools, there is also a corner reclaimed wood table set beneath a wall of blooming herb planters. At first, a dish may seem monochromatic, but further appreciation reveals visually arresting and stimulating cooking; their approach to food is reverent, unbridled, and delicious. A parade of trompe l'oeil dishes may begin atop rocks, bespoke ceramics, or perhaps a wood plank echoed in its presentation of a gnarled, knobby, fried sunchoke chip filled with creamy buttermilk. Such eye-popping canapés might be the prelude to diver scallops cured in gin botanicals, or dry-aged squab breast swathed in pear vinegar reduction. Freeze-dried chocolate meringue shattered into charcoal-like bits before your eyes, or truffles nestled in house-grown moss offer a strong finish.