Gobo When David Wu and his brother Darren were growing up, it was a given that they ate all their vegetables—their parents, after all, founded Zen Palate. Clearly, the organic apple doesn't fall far from the tree: After respective stints in the family business and at the New York Restaurant School, the brothers have opened Gobo (Japanese for "burdock root"), a vegetarian restaurant with an open kitchen, an organic juice bar, and—in a departure from their parents' alcohol-free policy—a beer-and-wine license. The meatless menu takes a global turn with tea-smoked tofu, flageolet-and-cremini casserole, tofu salmon with coconut-curry rice, and pappardelle with vegan Bolognese sauce. 401 Sixth Avenue 212-255-3242 · Cuisine: Asian, Vegetarian Perbacco Score one for carbohydrates. In a bold, blood-sugar-plummeting move, the enticing menu at Perbacco, opening soon in the East Village, reads like a greatest-starchy-hits list of regional Italian cooking. From the familiar (polenta, pizza, and piadina) to the not so (panzerotti, erbazzone, and tigelle, an old Modenese mountain hearth cake, meant to be eaten here with cheese, salumi, and even Nutella), it's an anti-Atkins manifesto. Owner Pierluigi Palazzo, who also runs the terrific restaurant Gnocco, rounds things out with a few pure proteins like grilled lamb skewers all'abruzzese, Parmigiano-Reggiano drizzled with 24-year-old balsamic vinegar, an all-Italian wine list, and five daily specials—which, we're betting, will include a pasta or two. (234 East 4th Street; 212-253-2038.) 234 East 4th Street 212-253-2038 · Cuisine: Italian

Week of December 9
Sugarcane, Acqua Pazza, Bella Via
Week of December 2
Sen, Mama's Food Shop
Week of November 25
CurryShop, Mad Tea Cup, Thalassa, Agave, Lamu, Murray's, Terrance Brennan's



and more ...

Photos: Patrik Rytikangas and Bruce Katz