Minetta Tavern:Every food blogger and his brother

is ecstatic about this old restaurant reopening under new management. Why? Because they use trivial dining news as a way to silence all the hungry demons in their heads. Kidding, it's because the place has a lot of history, being 72 years old and located in the romanticized Greenwich Village; and also because the new management in question is unpretentious big shot restaurateur Keith McNally, the man behind such winners as Balthazar and Pastis. If these photo spreads are to be believed, McNally has painstakingly restored the old doll to an almost ethereal level of amber-hued comfort, with an oak bar, red banquettes, and walls lined with black and white photos completing the atavistic scene. The menu is French bistro with a splash of Spanish, and you'll pay for it; cocktails are $14 (just a buck less than at gold standard Milk & Honey), and a burger costs $26. Those with expendable incomes are welcome for brunch, dinner until midnight, and a smaller "supper" menu until 2 a.m. 113 MacDougal Street at Minetta Lane, (212-475-3850)

Scuderia: Also opening in the Village is this casual 100 seat restaurant across the street from longtime Italian mainstay Da Silvano. It's run by Da Silvano's proprietor Silvano Marchetto and his kids, and a youthful influence prevails in the restaurant's jovial website. The rustic northern Italian menu features pizza, panini, and pasta, as well as dishes like marinated grilled half rabbit, skirt steak, and seafood stew. Scuderia also boats a full bar with beer on tap, standard specialty cocktails, and a wide range of Italian wines. Eater and Thrillist have photo spreads, and it looks like a bright, festive place. 10 Downing Street, (212) 206-9111

Ramen Setagaya: This popular Japanese chain has just opened its third location in Manhattan, on University Place. Grub Street has it that besides the shio-based (salt-based) ramens served at the original location on First Avenue, diners here will also have shoyu-based (soy-sauce-based) varieties to choose from, plus the side dishes like curry rice that regulars have come to expect. (And heads up, Astoria, a fourth outpost is coming your way.) For the moment, however, they're only doing a limited range of dishes because the gas isn’t fully operational. But beer and ramen are available, and everything's $1 off during the soft-opening, so it's all copacetic. Here is the menu. 90 University Place, near 12th Street. No phone yet.