DBGB - 299 Bowery b/tw 1st & Houston

It was a sausage fest in more ways than one. Two ex-Navy Seals as my dinner companions and nothing but meat, and mostly sausage, on the menu. At the risk of sounding totally crass, I loved it! With not a reservation to be had on a Monday night in the dead of a recession, others are clearly loving DBGB's too. We sat in the bar area but still enjoyed a feast from the raw bar, the Frenchie burger (beef, pork belly, arugula and gruyere cheese) Tolouse sausage, the Chop Chop salad and a beer float (no root in that) for dessert. The place is fun and lively, the service a little slow, but the food wins every time and the food was great. Nothing delicate or too complex, but unique and wonderfully, easily flavorful. Even the salad was stand-out and the beer float was unusual, but a surprising treat. I'm going back and have my mind set on the Piggie burger (who could resist?) topped with pork BBQ and jalapeno mayo and, of course, I'll have to have that with a side of sausage.

Table 8 - 25 Cooper Sq b/tw 5th & 6th Sts.

Table 8, was not so great, but I will give it a second chance. I had high expectations: the place looks very cool, the menu is interesting, the chef has solid, global training and the restaurant has a track record in LA and SoBe. I wanted fine dining in a sleek, chic environement. I got hit or miss food, friendly, but unprofessional service and a noisy, harried room. Bright spots: the scallop & kumquat and fluke in red chili oil from the salt bar were excellent; the crispy soft shell crab was also perfectly seasoned and the Albarino at $38 was a steal. Disappointments: tell me what your menu is about and how to order from it - really, what is a salt bar? The halibut was dry, flavorless; the quail was over-seasoned and tasted too gamey to be fresh and the small bite side dishes were nearly inedible. I will try again, though, as not only do I want to snag a seat in the outdoor patio, but it can take time for a restaurant to hit its stride, and I am eager for Table 8 to be great.

Mayahuel - 304 E. 6th St. at 2nd Ave.

You can't be one of those people who remembers their first experience with the porcelain god everytime you take a whiff of tequila and expect to get a drink at Mayahuel. Nothin' but tequila on this menu, but tequila used in some of the most creative and innovative ways: tea infused tequila; watermelon juice, tequila and cayenne pepper; tequila with mole-flavored bitters and, thankfully, plain 'ol sipping tequila. Mayahuel is worth a try just for the sheer entertainment of the drink menu, but it's table service only, so probably not good for groups bigger than 4. And, while I liked the cozy, dark wood and spanish-tiled downstairs, I'm not sure what type of interior decorating explosion occurred upstairs. Be prepared for red stained-glass windows, chandeliers, button-cushioned booths, foil-speckled walls and my grandmother' dresser against the main wall. I suppose after three of their cocktails you'd never notice the difference, and maybe that's the point! Try it for the tequila.

Apiary - 60 3rd Ave., b/tw 10th & 11th

Apiary is an E Village restaurant with Upper East Side aspirations, but one of the better meals out there for a 1-handle or less (depending on what you choose for wine). As an UES wannabe, the decor and scene are conservative, but not stuffy and still attractive. The service could use a little extra training and they couldn't figure out what to do with the music. But, all is forgiven, since the kitchen knows what they're doing and the food is worth it. I loved my spring vegetable salad, which was beautifully presented, delicate and yet incredibly flavorful. The Peking duck breast on a bed of celery root puree and lentils was, similarly, delicious. Scott Bryant, formerly of Veritas, is the chef and it shows both in the food and wine list. No booze in this spot, but a great selection of moderately priced wines from all over the world, in addition to the Veritas-hallmark $800 Bordeaux, Barolos and Burgundies. Good for a foodie date or dinner with the rents.

Tonda - 235 E. 4th St., b/tw Aves A & B

Who are these Martini Boys anyway? They gush about Tonda in their review and while the pizza's were reasonably tasty, I'm close to uninspired to write anything because the place itself was somehow uninspiring, although not completely unappealing. In the old EU spot, you have to give them credit for attempting to redecorate one of the highly stylized AvRoKo spots and not butchering the thing to death. The atmosphere is kind of cool and relatively pleasant, although I would question their choice of sappy 80s music. We had a few, somewhat dull starters - a seafood salad and cauliflower salad which, I think, both had the same dressing on them - but the speck, gorgonzola and mozzarella pizza was actually pretty incredible. The service was spotty to poor, though, and I didn't go nuts with the wine or food ordering because, frankly, I was having a hard time reading their plastic covered menus in the candle light. Eh, maybe worth a try if you're in the hood and mood for pizza.