BBE Editor's Pick

August

359 Bleecker St., New York (West Village)

Since the day it opened, in 2004, this intimate West Village charmer has been a smash hit, earning critical raves for its flame-kissed, thin-crust pizzas, its chicken under a brick and whole roasted fish, and super innovative traditional comfort food. The only snag, everyone agreed, was that the place wouldn’t take reservations. Happily, the owners changed that policy a few years ago, so now you can settle in to the cozy space with distressed plaster walls and antique floorboards and bite into butter-slathered hunks of country bread the minute you arrive. The no-nonsense bistro fare—much of it with roots in France and Italy and arriving directly from the wood-burning oven in earthy cast-iron pans—is as good as ever, and the neighborhood crowd as effortlessly cool as the restaurant itself.

menu musts*

Arugula, baby red mustard greens, walnuts, and Parmesan
Wood-fired pizza with guanciale, mushrooms and ricotta
Alsatian onion and bacon tart with crème fraîche
Roasted suckling pig with coco beans and kale
Marzipan gâteau with poached Seckel pears and pumpkin gelato
*menu changes frequently

sweet seats

Now that the weather’s so fine, you can’t beat the patio out back—though a candlelit table next to the window on Bleecker Street is about as quintessential West Village as it gets.

chew on this

August does “Pies & Peronis” Sundays (5:30 PM–10 PM), with a margherita, potato and lardo, or Milanese pizza plus four Peronis for just $25. (Some à la carte dishes are also available.)

hours

lunch: Mon.–Fri. 12 noon–3:30 PM
dinner: Mon.–Thurs. 5:30 PM–11 PM;
Fri.–Sat. 5:30 PM–12 midnight; Sun. 5:30 PM–10 PM
brunch: Sat.–Sun. 11 AM–3:30 PM

price range

$24 (oven-roasted whole dorade) to $27 (grilled hanger of beef)

359 Bleecker St. (subway: 1 to Christopher St., A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th St.), New York, NY 10014; 212-929-8727 www.augustny.com