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. Like its Columbia Street sibling, Whiskey Soda Lounge is slammed most nights, so be prepared to wait.

Noah Bernamoff and his crew recently revamped the original location of Mile End in Boerum Hill so that now it's basically a beer bar with deli-inspired pub grub. Lunch and breakfast are gone, and the evening menu includes things like schmaltzed hot wings, fried corn, poutine, charred lamb's tongue skewers, and a fried artichoke salad. The wildly popular smoked meat sandwich is still available, of course.

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.

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.

Restaurateur Sara Conklin and chef Sara Kramer recently opened this spacious new Mediterranean restaurant, which is located on the ground floor of a century-old warehouse near Newtown Creek. It's an unusual, but very charming location. The menu includes a lot of vegetable dishes, as well as things like lamb tartare, flatiron steak with trout roe, and a whole rabbit for two. Make sure to order the fresh breads and the lamb and bulghur croquettes.