A Lacroix vet's beefed up small plates

The occasional frog dissection aside, high school science labs usually meant rampant Bunsen burner-ing, using the emergency eye wash as a water fountain, and hassling kids about their atomic weight, if you were a real Crick. Now feeding you in one: Adsum.Opening on Wed, Adsum's headed by acclaimed former Lacroix chef Matt Levin, who'll be doling out upscale bistro fare in what amounts to an old-school science lab: antique beakers, microscopes, and old books lining the walls, a backlit red oak bar, and gray soapstone slab tabletops reclaimed from a school lab, home to all high school experimentation not involving lip piercings and calling your dad "Barry". The menu's stocked with little guys like tater tots prepped w/ whiskey, bacon, and green goddess dressing; sauteed foie gras w/ sour cherries and pistachios; and grilled rock octopus w/ black pepper caramel, along with bigger plates of short ribs w/ bouchot mussels and brown butter Worcestershire, skate w/ fried broccoli and Lillet-stewed apricots, and a beet relish-topped Wild Salmon, also Bill & Ted's original band name, until they realized they couldn't do scales. Concocted by a bar manager with ties to APO, signature cocktails include A View of Vieux Carre (rye/cognac/spiced red wine reduction/angostura/Peychaud's bitters), Logical Consequence (gin/green tea/dill/lime/honey/splash of absinthe), and a blanco tequila/smoked blackberry balsamic/ginger beer concoction called Unholy Water, though good luck getting that confirmed.They've got 20 chairs worth of outdoor seating ready to go, and brunch'll debut later this month. Also in the works is the beer and wine list, with the latter being served in variously sized beakers: little ones for a glass, mediums for a half bottle, and big'uns toting a full bottle, if you're a real proton.