Chestnut (CLOSED)

A big bowl of salty, toasty-brown potato chips sits on the bar in this spare but charming little room. Those stellar house-made chips reveal the soul of the kitchen, one that’s long on quality and short on pretense. The seasonal menu is rustic (snappy bread-and-butter pickles as a giveaway table nibble; snacks like caramelized onions and fresh ricotta on toast), but it’s also savvy enough to compete on Brooklyn’s restaurant row. Moist roasted chicken, scattered with wild mushrooms and strips of lemon peel, has a perfect partner in cushiony polenta, and meaty duck matches deliciously with earthy baked beans and bitter braised celery root.