Where We're Eating: Koo Zee Doo

This new BYOB from David Gilberg and Carla Goncalves — the husband-wife/chef-pastry chef duo who won raves while cooking at the Ugly American — focuses on rustic Portuguese dishes like moélas, a surprisingly tender pile of braised chicken gizzards, and saucy pork-and-clam stew with potatoes. Design elements remain from Copper, the spot’s old inhabitant, like the open kitchen and exposed brick wall, but the cooking is chock-full of original flavors. Goncalves’s pastries are inspired, especially her coconut tart topped with a dried mission fig stuffed with sweetened chestnut paste and dipped in dark chocolate.
Insider tip: A bottle of pinot noir will match up well with the hearty fare.
koozeedoo.com, 614 North 2nd Street, 215-923-8080

Where We’re Eating contributors: Joy Manning and Ashley Primis.