Second Stop:

Gimme Coffee might want to give you a price break; seems there's now a bit of competition nearby. Located on Lorimer Street near the L station, Second Stop (pictured) brews Portland's acclaimed Stumptown Coffee and serves pastries (including vegan varieties) prepared by former Le Bernardin baker Merrin Frazier. Grub Street has photos and says the décor "elevates Second Stop above your standard coffeehouse. Lamps are from JP Morgan's Wall Street office; table bases are from the Oak Room of the Plaza Hotel, tile work was done with century-old tile from vestibules and foyers in brownstones around NYC, and the fireplace mantel was salvaged from Johnny Depp's townhouse in the West Village." 24 Lorimer Street, (718) 486-6850

Bati: Fort Greene's newest restaurant is this cozy Ethiopian spot named for a town in Ethiopia famous for its sprawling market, and a type of music originating in the highlands. Clinton Hill Blog stopped by for dinner last night and "loved the whole experience." The menu has a wide spectrum of options, from beef, free-range poultry, to a large variety of vegan/vegetarian dishes. The Doro Wett (chicken stew) is recommended, and the portions are reportedly generous. Owner Hibist Legesse immigrated from Ethiopa as a teenager, and calls the menu "traditional Ethiopian with a focus on nutrition and health." And it's still BYOB for now. 747 Fulton Street at South Portland, Fort Greene, (718) 797-9696

Above Allen: Both Thrillist and Urban Daddy are stoked for this new members-only bar on the enclosed roof of the Thompson LES hotel, which is not yet members only. Open to the public until March (after which visitors will have to be part of some club), the space is described by UD as evoking "an urban greenhouse with booze instead of plants, if greenhouses were on the seventh floor of boutique hotels and featured retractable roofs. Which means it's perfect for a mellow cocktail-with-a-view before the summer masses crowd in." For edibles, there's a small-plates menu from the hotel restaurant Shang, featuring such items as smoked squab breast and foie gras, and slow cooked Berkshire pork belly 190 Allen St (between Houston and Stanton), open weekends only.

And check out our photo spreads on Trigo, TriBeCa's new Mediterranean restaurant, and La Fonda del Sol, the new "modern Spanish" restaurant in the MetLife Building.