Steak with a side of modernist easy melt

Mettle flank steak

Rainey St is currently so overrun with development that the future of even its crown jewel, Lustre Pearl, is uncertain. It's thus only natural that bar baroness Mrs. Bridget "Make It Rainey" Dunlap headed East for her newest project, Mettle: an anything-goes take on bistro fare that's gone so far as to serve its flat iron steak with a side of potato chips covered in what the chef refers to as modernist easy melt.

Mettle interior

Located at the front of a warehouse that also houses Hops & Grain and Mass Gallery, the space has a cleanly modern vibe and features eye-catching details like a woven rebar sculpture (scroll down!) created by architectural upstarts and compass rose enthusiasts North Arrow Studio.

Mettle four tomato salad

The chef's brought his French Laundry training, experience at Olivia, and Malaysian upbringing to the table by dousing these four varieties of tomatoes in Asian shiso oil.

Mettle flat iron steak with potato chip au gratin

Taking a cue from the modernist cookbook (The Love Song of Marco Pierre White?), this flat iron steak is served alongside a veal reduction, oyster mushrooms, and a cheesey Mornay sauce made with sodium citrate to ensure it retains flavor once melted over freshly fried potato chips.

Mettle dessert

This leaning tower of dessert features a crispy wafer balanced over brioche-flavored ice cream, sassafras white chocolate crema, hazelnut powder, anise meringue, and a hyssop leaf leaf that looks just like a typo, but is essentially a mix between anise and mint.

Mettle bar

Here's that sculpture we mentioned earlier (nice scrolling, BTW), which doubles as a bench on which to enjoy cocktails from the back bar ranging from the Siamese Caipirinha (Thai chili and basil-infused cachaca, lime) to the Ketel One-lime juice-Angostura-ginger beer Rainey St Mule.