Silk Rd Tavern (CLOSED)

Chinese-American restaurateur Andrew Lee pays homage to his multicultural childhood and recent travels through Asia with this 70-seat Chelsea eatery, named after the famed spice-trade route. He teamed up with Philippines-born chef Leo Forneas—who cut his teeth at nouveau Asian kitchens including Jean-Georges Vongerichten's 66, Buddakan and Philly's Sampan—for the East-meets-West canteen. Forneas dishes out refined Asian classics (shrimp toast made with a miso-butter-slathered baguette, and a seafood salad of shrimp, chinese celery and chili paste); Far East riffs on American comfort food (mac and cheese that swaps the pasta for Korean rice cakes); and mash-up creations (Singapore-inspired chili crab potpie with pickled cucumber). Handblown glass chandeliers, a granite-topped bar and bleached walnut wood paneling decorate the space.