The Stanton Social Deals in New York, NY 10002

<img src="http://images.nymag.com/listings/restaurant/5stantonsocial.jpg" width="420"> Popular since opening in 2005, Stanton Social knows the secret to Lower East Side popularity: Appeal to the transplanted A-listers without alienating the neighborhood’s scruffier long-timers. The posh first-floor dining room is a romance of dark wood with semicircular chocolate-suede banquettes, flickering votives, and cylindrical glass lamps suspended from a soaring ceiling; the upstairs lounge is a shrine to wine. Yet any hint of pretense vanishes once the food arrives. Chef-owner Chris Santos’s globe-spanning tapas menu is as quirky as it is nouveau. Some plates are delicate (tuna tartare in dainty phyllo; French-onion-soup dumplings); other choices are adamantly messy (Kobe-beef sliders; crunchy red-snapper tacos). The snack cakes for dessert include a bite-size version of the Twinkie and a cream-filled chocolate cupcake. Now isn’t that sweet? — Sarah Gold, New York Magazine Reviews <b>Recommended Dishes</b> Nori spiced tuna tartare roll, $12; red snapper tacos, $10; Kobe beef slider, $7; moo-shu shrimp, $16