Like ships steering into a typhoon wind, a number of places are on the verge of opening in this awful business climate. First up is super-chic café The Smile at 26 Bond Street, run by Matt Kliegman and Carlos Quirarte, which I believe will capture the imagination of the neighborhood hip set. I’ve heard they only have a beer and wine license, which I’m trying to confirm, but they will definitely be serving food. Official opening date is March 8, but I took a tour of the place while it was under construction, and it's simply wonderful. The downstairs tenant is renowned tattoo artist Scott Campbell, which is a hot twist. I wish them well. The local tenants (through their condo associations) don’t seem pleased about nocturnal business on the block, but I am told that there is a much gentler wind blowing regarding licensing at the SLA. There is a novel concept being circulated that bars, clubs, and restaurants mean jobs and tax dollars, and that is a good idea. Change in SLA board members is predicted to ease the backlog of licensing and get things back to a semi-logical decision process. All hail.

1. Alta (Greenwich Village) - Alta, as in "high," as in "haute," at this sexy Village tapas spot. 2. Degustation Wine & Tasting Bar (East Village) - Mannered tapas more about multiple changes of silverware than half-gallon pitchers of sangria. Put on a classy costume. 3. Flor de Sol (Tribeca) - Sexy Spanish tavern with the best sangria in the hood.

Harbour Drive, the much-anticipated Soho restaurant-lounge, has hit a reef. Two of the four partners have left the project following the community board’s refusal to grant anything but a 1 a.m. license to the Spring Street side of the establishment. The space has two rooms and two bars -- one with the Spring Street address and another with a Hudson Street address. The Hudson Street address was granted a full (till 4 a.m.) license. Despite this setback, the remaining two partners, who wish to remain anonymous, will forge ahead.

You heard it here first: Soho is the new MPD. Or is it the old MPD? Whichever, there are two clubs of note opening imminently: Greenhouse and Harbour Drive. The former is an eco-friendly hothouse club from Jon B. of 27th Street fame in Soho proper; the latter is a yacht-inspired outpost in West Soho. Both are promising a little bit of rock n' roll. If we're lucky and you behave, we'll follow up with some first-glimpse photos very soon.

With the sky falling and everyone I see in an advanced state of worry, it's time for the state to wrest control of liquor sales from community boards and hand it over to the State Liquor Authority. The SLA used to be seen as a regulatory body with an eye on the bottom line. Issuing licenses to responsible people generated tax revenue and jobs, which in turn created more tax revenue and kept people off unemployment and welfare. Delis, cab drivers, people who sell cups and napkins, garbage men, and many more eat at this table. More people attended nightclubs last year than Yankees games, Mets games, Knicks and Ranger games, The Met, and Broadway shows combined -- 65 million people, to be exact. Right now a virtual moratorium on new liquor licenses and constant attacks on the club industry are severely hurting the New York economy.