After a 14-year run on Smith Street, chef Saul Bolton recently packed up his acclaimed New American restaurant Saul and moved it to spacious new digs inside the Brooklyn Museum. The dinner menu includes things like celery root soup, a foie gras terrine, chicken with black trumpet mushrooms, striped bass with mussels, and venison with walnut bread pudding. The cocktails from head bartender Dan Carlson are getting some great buzz right now. Consider the Red Leaf, made with Banks 5 Rum, Cocchi Americano, and Campari.

Ravi DeRossi recently reopened the old Bourgeois Pig space as a cozy bar and restaurant specializing in cocktails and raw fish. The menu includes a handful of crostini and salads, plus composed seafood plates like shrimp ceviche, tuna confit with warm zucchini, and octopus with escarole and onion pureee. Sother Teague created cocktails that complement specific dishes on the menu.

The people behind The Randolph on Broome and Randolph Beer just opened this stylish sister establishment in Williamsburg. The space has red vinyl booths, vintage TVs, and and retro graffiti. The menu is full of American comfort food favorites made with local ingredients, and the beverage list has original cocktails plus 12 draft beers. Try the pan fried chicken with collards if it's available.

Hometown is the massive Red Hook barbecue restaurant from pitmaster Billy Durney and Warren 77 restaurateur Christopher Miller. Durney's menu includes things like brisket, ribs, smoked jerk chicken, half hog (chopped East Carolina-style), and a few sandwiches, including a smoked lamb belly banh mi. Durney describes his style as "classic American barbecue steeped in tradition and history yet done with a little Brooklyn flair." So far, the 'cue aficionados have nothing but great things to say about Hometown.

Whiskey Soda Lounge is the hip new bar and restaurant from Pok Pok's Andy Ricker. The menu includes a few favorites from Pok Pok, plus many dishes that aren't served down the block. Whiskey Soda Lounge also has a long list of cocktails, and plenty of salty snacks to go along with them.

Shalom Japan is the new Williamsburg restaurant from chefs Aaron Israel (Torrisi, Mile End) and Sawako Okochi (Annisa, The Good Fork). As the name implies, the food here has strong Japanese and Jewish influences. The menu changes daily, but recently it included things like chickpea tofu with eggplant, tuna tataki with black tahini, lamb ribs with panko and caraway, pastrami-stuffed chicken, and chilled udon with pork and kale. So far, the early word is very strong.

Atrium Dumbo is the airy new restaurant from DB Bistro Moderne veterans Laurent Kalkotour, Alexander LaPratt, and Leslie Affre. The menu includes things like oysters on the half shell, quinoa tagliatelle, marinated scallops, pork tortellini, grilled trout, roasted free-range chicken, and a strip steak with fries. LaPratt's wine list has over 100 selections, and the bar is serving cocktails created by PDT veteran Payman Bahmani. The space has a ground-level dining room, plus a mezzanine that looks out onto the Brooklyn waterfront.

Chef Daniel Burns recently opened a 26-seat Nordic-influenced restaurant in the back of Greenpoint beer bar Tørst. The chef is serving a $75 tasting menu made up of four courses plus several snacks. The menu at Luksus changes frequently, but recently Burns served things like roasted baby gem lettuce with pea broth and egg yolk, and razor clams with bone marrow. Luksus is already a very hot ticket.. Call the restaurant or visit the Luksus site to check for reservation availability.

Corton's Paul Liebrandt makes the jump from Manhattan to Brooklyn with this new stylish, casual restaurant in the King & Grove hotel. Liebrandt's menu features things like Swiss chard angolotti, duck with pickled cherries, a chicken for two served "Kiev style," and pork belly with squid and pan con tomate. This is the first time that a chef with two Michelin stars has opened a restaurant in Brooklyn.