Swanky French wine bar meets delectable Asian bites at Bar Chinois. The space is eternally lively and the menu, with dim sum aplenty, is enticing.
While this may be a bar first (thrilling cocktails include a martini with pickled pearl onions, pickled shiitake mushrooms, plus kombu and bonito flakes), the kitchen takes its cooking seriously, offering a lineup of mouthwatering plates. Imagine half moon-shaped ginger chicken dumplings with a honey dip; shrimp toast batter-fried with sesame seeds; or Beijing pork dumplings with Berkshire pork and Chinese chives. The "Lion's Head meatball," starring oven-braised pork au jus, water chestnuts, and Shaoxing rice wine, is as regal as its title, and bears an almost apocryphal lightness.