● Village Bistro East (East Village) - Name says it all. Bistro fare between A and B at surprisingly reasonable prices.
● Manhattan Inn (Greenpoint) - Name doesn't reflect borough confusion, that's the Greenpoint avenue it's on.

● Dos Toros (Union Square) - Bicoastal burritos mash CA expertise and NY bull.
● James Coviello (Lower East Side) - Vintage looks in a vintage shop on an evolving stretch of Orchard.
● spVino Osteria (Park Slope) - Confusing name belies simple small-plates-and-good-wine approach.

With all the fuss that attends wines from France, California, and even Chile, Austrian vintages tend to fly under the radar. (My first inkling that I was missing out on something came from an Italian sommelier at an Italian restaurant, who had stacked his list with the fruits of Austrian vines.) Anyone interested in bolstering their wine knowledge shouldn’t miss out on these underrated (and underpriced) bottles. A good opportunity to learn more is the first-ever Austrian Wine Month in New York, which runs through November 22. Fourteen Brooklyn and Manhattan restaurants are participating, offering up prix fixe menus, flights, pairings, and rare glassfuls. The likes of Klee, Café Katja, and Thomas Beisl will be playing along, and stocking glossy travel guides to Austrian wine country as well, should you get really inspired. Three wine pros at participating restaurants share their tips below.

● Corsino (West Village) - Warm Italian spot on the MePa fringe from the pros at 'ino.

Executive chef Bill Peet’s cooking at Aretsky’s Patroon shows off what 36 years of kitchen experience can do for a person. Peet has worked at several New York legends, including Lutèce, Asia de Cuba, and 44 at the Royalton. At Patroon, he’s serving a refined American table, with some French influences layered in. The short rib recipe below exemplifies his approach. The main ingredients -- carrot, onion, garlic, beer -- are anything but exotic, but the resulting flavors are totally sophisticated. Removing the bones and tying the meat takes the presentation up several notches. Short ribs are huge right now, and it’s not hard to figure out why, given their superior balance of tender, meaty, and fatty. As the weather turns, it’s hard to picture a comfort food dish that would impress dinner guests more.

Top-quality ingredients, presented without undue complication, are Craft’s stock in trade. The commitment carries over to the dessert department. Craft and TOM: Tuesday Dinner pastry chef Stephen Collucci takes simple elements and puts them together with an expert’s touch. The results may be haute, but Craft makes a point of not showing off. (It’s probably no coincidence that Collucci, like Tom Colicchio, hails from Jersey.) In honor of late October, Collucci passes along his recipe for pumpkin bread pudding. It’s straightforward, easy to follow, and delicious -- although your guests only need to know the latter part.

● The Vanderbilt (Prospect Heights) - Saul Bolton puts his Michelin-starred stamp on another BK nabe.

● Casa Lever (Midtown East) - Italianified Lever House still packing plenty of pomo glitz.
● Brinkley's (Nolita) - Gastropub heir to Bar Martignetti is more Christie than David.

In Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain famously called out brunch. What might be a red-headed stepson for chef Bourdain is a favored ritual for most New Yorkers, though. Why else would hour-plus brunch waits be routine? Bar Blanc Bistro has recently expanded its brunch program, offering up a great deal. For $16 you get an entrée, coffee or tea, and a full-on brunch cocktail. The meal is a great opportunity to sample chef Sebastiaan Zijp’s expertise. Zijp was most recently at Bouley Upstairs and has stints at Gramercy Tavern and Gilt on his résumé. His Dutch familial background can be glimpsed in brunch items like pannenkoeken and French fries (the sauce is a sure conversation starter for Vincent Vega types). To recreate a taste of Bar Blanc Bistro at home, whip up a batch of Spiked Arnold Palmers. They make a perfect accompaniment for Indian summer.

Guides to dinner parties tend toward the dowdy and the sanctimonious. They suggest dated social rituals, perhaps witnessed in footed pajamas from the top of a staircase. Their advice to fledgling cooks tends to not be of the “stir like a mofo” variety. Not so Forking Fantastic!, which sets out to “put the party back in dinner party.” Authors Zora O’Neill and Tamara Reynolds met when they worked at Prune. They discovered they shared a neighborhood, Astoria, and an affinity for adventuring with food. From that commonality, Sunday Night Dinners were born. Friends, friends of friends, and eventually more or less random strangers were added to the mix. O’Neill and Reynolds share wisdom accumulated over years of feasting, walking readers through stocking kitchen and cabinets, a “baby-step dinner party,” and on to full-blown blowouts.