There is something so right about the name Alias, because this corner spot, a lovable fixture in the heart of the Lower East Side, feels just a bit sub rosa, like a members-only club that doesn’t really want you to know what’s going on inside. In truth, this chic little spot, hiding in plain sight behind bright-colored bulbs, is totally aboveboard. It’s as if somebody said, “Let’s create a simple place with a no-clutter downtown aesthetic and serve all kinds of good food.” All kinds: buttermilk blue cheese salad; panko-crusted crab cake; and a nerve-quieting plate of good old fried chicken. Did somebody say tacos? Yeah, they got them, too. And you have to love a place that highlights a Negroni (with tacos? why not?) on the drinks menu, as if that ’50s classic were no more exotic than a gin and tonic. Call it whatever you want, but Alias tries to please everybody, from late morning (the brisket breakfast burrito is as tantalizing as it is tongue-twisting) to well past dusk—and succeeds brilliantly.

Panko-crusted crab cake
Handmade pasta of the day
Warm fried chicken plate
St. Louis–style barbecue ribs
Key lime pie view full menu here

All fine, but the ones along the window let half your party stare out at the action on Clinton or Rivington (and there’s plenty of action) and the other half look across the room to that little gem of a bar—a four-seater, partially lit by the kitchen behind it.

OK, why “Alias”? It’s not secret code. The management simply kept the signage—and the colored bulbs—of the Dominican restaurant that had been on this corner since the 1970s.

breakfast and lunch: Tues.–Fri. 11 AM–4 PM
dinner: Tues.–Thurs. 6 PM–11 PM; Fri.–Sat. 6 PM–11:30 PM; Sun. 6 PM–10:30 PM
brunch: Sat. 11 AM–3:30 PM; Sun. 10:30 AM–3:30 PM
closed Monday

$17 (spinach lasagna) to $23 (seared sea scallops)
$30 (prix fixe Sunday Supper)