Beauty and Essex is a "sceney" restaurant. Try to go on a weekend, it'll be packed. But, what I didn't expect is the food to be outstanding. It is. Chef Chris Santos' playful, fusion, sharing plates are genius and delicious. I went recently and tried his Grilled Cheese, Smoked Bacon, and Tomato Soup Dumplings. They were fabulous. The sister to his ingenious French Onion Soup dumplings at The Stanton Social two blocks away, these were also pure bites of joy. A sceney restaurant with great food? It does exist.

Beauty and Essex

146 Essex St.

New York, NY 10002

212-614-0146

www.beautyandessex.com