Le Crocodile

The brasserie on the ground floor of the Wythe Hotel, from the people behind Chez Ma Tante in Greenpoint. The room is grand — high ceilings, arched windows, old brick, a long marble bar under mirrors the size of billboards and a few big round booths — but the cooking is the plain, confident kind you'd find in a small Paris wine bar.

The menu runs long; the move is the roast half chicken, crisp-skinned and served with a heap of frites. Around it, order leeks in tarragon vinaigrette under toasted hazelnuts, coarse-cut steak tartare, oeufs mayonnaise or the escargots, and finish with profiteroles. It does breakfast, lunch and brunch as well as dinner.