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Every neighborhood needs a place with a good bar, a serious kitchen, and zero pretensions. NoHo has one in this Med-American restaurant, where a split log running down the center of the dining room conveys a babbling brook. Zen though that may sound, chef Marc Meyer's hearty cooking is more boldly passionate than coolly contemplative. Many dishes show enough spikiness to make you look down and go "hmmmm" before you go back to the conversation. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Sat.—Sun., 11 a.m.—3 p.m.

Wood oven-roasted Maine razor clams, $13; wood oven-baked pasta, $18; buttermilk-marinated free range chicken, $20; char-grilled burger, $14.50