Restaurant of the Week: Rustik Tavern

Other than getting a cup of joe at Tiny Cup, there's a dearth of cool hangouts in the once shady now budding Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood adjacent to Clinton Hill.  Local lawyer Frantz Metellus felt it was time these deprived residents got a proper nighttime joint, so he opened his own place in an old grocery store. Rustik Tavern is exactly as its name suggests, warm and convivial, with brick walls, wooden benches and a fireplace. The cozy rear may as well be a living room with its vintage piano and collectibles like an old Commodores album. On an evening just after they opened, the flat-screen was tuned to election coverage, the bar was buzzing with hipsters laughing over pints of IPA, and a young mom navigating a stroller popped in for a bite to eat. The menu, with predictable must-have nachos and wings, features a few standouts. Daily-changing fish and chips ($10) featured a juicy tilapia on our visit, crisp without a speck of grease, and paired with wedge-like steak fries. A bowl of spicy turkey chili ($7) also hit the spot, loaded with black beans and served with a nicely charred but modest slice of garlic bread. The health-conscious should be sated with the salad ($8) teeming with apples, feta and red peppers; exactly the kind of refreshing dish you'd want to savor on a mild evening out in the sexy garden. 471 DeKalb Ave., (347) 406-9700