If there was an Oscars ceremony for restaurants, we’d feel comfortable nominating Verōnika for several categories, like Best Borscht, and Best Impression Of A 19th-Century Aristrocrat’s Clubhouse. Even if Verōnika’s Eastern European food weren’t elegant and delicious (it is), the room alone could make your night - from portraits of powerful women on the walls and little Bauhaus-style lamps on every table, to ceilings so high that it’s almost inappropriate not to have a firehouse pole. Verōnika is unquestionably formal (it’s owned by Stephen Starr and designed by Roman & Williams), but after a few visits, it's the food here that stands out compared to most special occasion spots in the city. You’ll find Eastern European classics, like a bowl of porky borscht, lamb goulash over some nicely chewy spätzle, as well as a black cod dish with a lemony beurre blanc sauce that will be memorialized in our hearts and minds for years to come. Reserve Verōnika for nights when you fully intend to pay $6 for a beautiful loaf of poppyseed milk bread with dill butter - you’re going to like it.