BlackBook Magazine

In Miami, check our new listings for existing venues like Level 25 (hot rooftop bar atop the Conrad hotel) and David's Cafe II (celeb haunt for cheap Cuban fare in South Beach). For full Miami listings, see our nightlife guide and restaurant guide.

In Los Angeles, see new listings for existing venues like the Oinkster (among the best burgers in town) and Fraiche (an institution of French-Italian fusion perfection). For full LA listings, see our restaurant guide.

In Chicago, check out new restaurant listings for Schwa (impossibly popular New American in a drab hole-in-the-wall) and Su Van's (chill neighborhood coffeeshop counter to the Starbucks revolution). For full Chicago listings, see our restaurant guide.

The final evening of a sorely-needed spring break called for a splurge at an obscenely expensive restaurant. Seeking fancy steak and a sophisticated crowd, we whetted our appetites in the hotel room with Campari and soda and made our way to Kobe Club Miami, entering the dimly-lit black-and-gold dining room for a taste of the rich life. The somber atmosphere was enlivened somewhat by the image of dancing flames on a widescreen display and the glint of light from 2,000 shiny Japanese katanas hanging threateningly from the ceiling -- a less-than-subtle metaphor for the seared flesh that awaited us.

In Chicago, check out new listings for existing restaurants like Kite Mandarin and Sushi (surprisingly great Chinese/Japanese in a weird atmosphere) and Stubbs Café (vintage coffee house with Starbucksian in-joke). For full listings, see our Chicago restaurant guide.

In New York, check out new guide listings for existing venues like Esca (Mario Batali's seafood shaque) and Alta (sexy tapas in the Village). For full listings, see our New York restaurant guide.

In Los Angeles, check out new restaurant listings for Delancey (East Coast Italian vibe in Hollywood) and a Helms Bakery branch of popular Santa Monica steakery Father's Office. For full LA listings, check out our restaurant guide.

In Miami, check out new listings for Andú Restaurant & Lounge (Mediterranean resto-bar on the water) and the Whitelaw Hotel (classic Miami retreat where white decor is indeed the law). For full Miami listings, check out our restaurant guide and hotel guide.

Flanked on either side by the idyllic Brooklyn hamlets of Park Slope (Jennifer Connelly shops for groceries at Union Market! No one cares!) and Carroll Gardens (It's not too close to the murky canal, which, apparently, has a mean case of chlamydia or something!), Gowanus is home to ex-Mafiosos, sub-par pizza, broken glass, orphaned straight razors, and yes, Monte's Venetian Room. Established in 1906, the Italian eatery is tucked away on a back street in the most nondescript of neighborhoods.

Back in February, our Editor-in-Chief chronicled the weekend he ate and drank through his wallet. One of the stops on his bacchanalian odyssey was the almost-too-close-to-Meatpacking private club Norwood. Well, get ready for round two! The secret garden is now open (9 a.m.–11:30 p.m. on weekdays; 11 a.m.–11:30 p.m. on Saturdays; 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. on Sundays). Reservations aren't needed (or accepted), but lighting up outside is allowed.