Spiga Mmm... sliders stuffed with goat cheese & smoked bacon

Taking a break from fine dining to explore rad basics, Le Castagne's ex-chef brings you Spiga, a rustic Italian food & drinkery looking like a cross between a woodshop (tile floors, incandescent bulbs, exposed beams & brick) and a nightclub, thanks to swank tufted leather banquettes and a lumber-wrapped bar sporting a natural edge, but not an au naturale Edge 'cause... gross.

The menu includes a ton of savory shareables like fried heirloom tomatoes, crispy goat cheese (w/ red beat dip), and beef tartare (w/ rosemary focaccia & a 30-second egg yolk), plus you're-not-gonna-shareables like a selection of panini sliders, which include pork & provolone and the "Spiga BLT" -- a mini burg stuffed with herbed goat cheese & smoked bacon, also the first thing Kyra says when recounting her day. Making full use of the kitchen's double wood ovens -- one for roasting, the other for pizzas -- artisanal pies count a fig mostarda/gorgonzola/prosciutto and an artichoke/arugula/lardo, while hearty mains include a stuffed pork chop w/ pecorino cheese sauce and a crispy seared sea bass on a bed of wilted greens, also what you call dollar bills that were at one time sexed by Chamberlain. And because you just read somewhere that this is apparently Booze Is Delicious Month, Spiga'll have plenty to help you celebrate, including Italian wines, a dozen drafts mixing locals with Boot-y staples (i.e. Peroni), and a run of classic cocktails done their way (not Usher's), ranging from a raspberry-thyme gimlet full of Bluecoat & Aperol, to Summer Sazerac with Shine white whiskey & watermelon syrup, to a V/X rum & campari-packed Bitter Mai Tai.

Desserts keep it simple with a plate of cannoli filled with chocolate, vanilla & pistachio -- there're three there, so ignore that U2 dude insisting you just have "One".