"After a more than year-long pause during the pandemic, the Lower East Side’s Metrograph theater is (almost) back in full swing. The two-screen theater reopened for in-person screenings on October 1, and now its ambitious, upstairs restaurant and bar have returned, as well. The Commissary is open for dinner from 5:30 to 11 p.m., Thursday to Sunday, with plans to reopen full-time, with brunch and late-night service, in the coming weeks. The Commissary opened shortly after the Metrograph theater in 2016, and is inspired by the backlot cafeterias of Hollywood studios a century earlier, where directors and key grips would rub elbows over steak frites and other affordable fare. The team is sticking to that theme for the reopening, with a revamped menu that now includes spiced lamb chops, chicken liver pate, and other bistro classics. Most dishes are priced between $10 and $25." - Luke Fortney
