The pilgrims weren't this lucky. (Photo: Roberto de Luna)

Americana isn’t exactly the stock-in-trade over at Germanic steak haus Prime Meats, but starting at 1pm on the 26th, you can order a classic T-Day repast: slow-roasted turkey with soft-pretzel stuffing, plus honey-roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts ($16 a head for the whole shebang). Stick around after the feast for mugs of hot buttered rum or mulled wine (those cost extra).—Julia Fleming

Veal with sweetbreads at SD26 (Photograph: Virginia Rollison)

San Domenico’s Tony May has passed the family torch to his daughter Marisa at the new SD26, writes Jay Cheshes, who awards the restaurant four stars. It’s “enormous, modern and frenetic—the opposite of its stuffy forerunner.” [TONY]

Three-star Russian chain Mari Vanna “trades in both pre- and post-Soviet kitsch,” but “you pay for the spectacle as much as for the food.” [TONY]

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The folks behind the Food2 web series Kitchen Conspirators are your companions at this underground dinner. Prime Meats chef David Colston will be turning out dishes such as beer-braised pork trotters, and Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver will be on hand for beer pairings. Reservations are required; the location will be revealed to confirmed guests. R.S.V.P. to music@fotpnyc.com. 7:30pm, suggested donation $100.

Photographs: Roberto De Luna

If it’s true that you eat with your eyes first, feast them on these bonus shots from Jay Cheshes’s three-star review of Carroll Gardens meatery Prime Meats—a “second-wave hot spot, with generous portions of fuss-free food, locavore sourcing, and a cultish appreciation for the butcher’s and charcutier’s arts.”

New York strip steak at Prime Meats. (Photograph: Roberto De Luna)

Jay Cheshes heads to the three-star Prime Meats, where “top-notch ingredients speak for themselves.” [TONY]

Blanca Rincon makes fresh pasta in the dining room of Spina, and while “the fruits of her labor are phenomenal,” they’re worth only two stars when “muddled by poor sauces.” [TONY] Read more »

Grilled octopus with romesco and green-bean salad at Locanda Verde (Photograph: Marlene Rounds)

Jay Cheshes gives Robert De Niro’s Locanda Verde four out of five stars and calls it “undoubtedly this summer’s big hit.… A Voce’s former top toque sends out dishes so gutsy, you’ll wipe your plate clean and wish for seconds.” [TONY]

Another four stars are awarded to American bistro Rye in Williamsburg, where, despite the “whiff of the hipster…there is real talent and pride coming from the kitchen.” [TONY]

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Halibut roasted on a block of Himalayan salt at Daniel (Photo: Roxana Marroquin)

While the classic dishes are still top-notch at Daniel, “it’s the chef’s new creations that keep the food as fresh as the decor” for Jay Cheshes, who gives the redesigned restaurant six out of six stars. [TONY]

Despite the 30-minute wait to get a table and the hour-long wait for food, TONY found that “the misfires are relatively painless, the hits revelations” at Kefi. [TONY]

Though Prime Meats‘ “cocktail orthodoxy is more familiar than original” the “old-is-new-again” bar executes its tipples well enough to earn it four out of six stars from our bar reviewer.  [TONY]

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David Lynch reaches for Chinese-friendly wine (yes, there is such a thing) at Joe's Shanghai. (Photo: Jeff Gurwin)

The latest issue of TONY highlights the city’s best indie shops. In that spirit, Eat Out directs you to some fine DIY dining experiences—we speak of none other than BYOB, of course. John Dory wine guru and Wine Snob’s Dictionary coauthor David Lynch is our copilot in the quest for the best wines to pair with a variety of cuisines—Indian, Chinese, vegetarian, French, pizza—and no bottle costs more than $20.

In other important news, for the second time in Eat Out history, a restaurant is awarded six stars. Read more »

The bar at Prime Meats (Photo: Daniel Krieger)

Having just opened the bar portion of his new venture, Prime Meats, co-owner Frank Castronovo provides some more details on the timeline for full-scale operation. According to Castronovo, in recent weeks “the bar has been open Thursdays to Saturdays to accommodate overflow from Frankies [457 Spuntino], but this particular week, because we received our health certificate, we decided to open the front door.” Right now, only the cocktail menu is available, with beer and wine most likely coming sometime next week, and limited bar food by the first week of March; full use of the dining room—with the entire restaurant menu—is still about three months away. Operating hours will probably vary, but the goal is to be open seven days a week starting March 5, from morning to late night (look for Stumptown coffee and breakfast treats in the a.m. by the second week of March).

Prime Meats, 465 Court St at Luquer St, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (718-254-0327). Cash only.

That's what we call recession friendly! (Photo: Daniel Krieger)

A tipster sends word that Prime Meats, the new restaurant and bar from the owners of Frankies 457 Spuntino, quietly opened its bar last night. See photos of the wallet-friendly cocktail menu, after the jump. Read more »