Tap Room at COLICCHIO & SONS

Craftsteak, once part of the 10th Avenue restaurant row with Del Posto and the short-lived John Dory, is now Colicchio & Sons. I had always liked the space in the front room - high ceilings, huge windows, long bar - and with a few changes, that front lounge has become the Tap Room. Now there's a pizza oven where the raw bar once was, 12 new taps of artisanal beer, and the televisions are gone. It retains that American big box feel, and from the bar you can see the busy West Side Highway and the Hudson River in the distance.

The Tap Room menu is superb: very well-priced, starters, main courses, and two pizza specials(both vegetarian, oddly). I ordered a specialty drink from the cocktail menu, The Pitmaster's Punch, which was an interesting concoction of Old Overholt Rye whiskey, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, and iced tea. It was light and frothy and delicious.

The selection of beer is impressive. About 25 varieties on tap, and another dozen in bottles. No big names, mostly small artisanal selections. Funny thing, though, nobody seemed to be drinking beer when I was there. The bar was busy making cocktails and serving wine, so I wonder if the Tap Room will actually draw the serious microbrew audience.

My main course, and only course that night, was the Skirt Steak with Chimichurri, Leeks, and Potatoes (pictured here). Served medium-rare to rare, it was stunning. $23. The restaurant has definitely moved away from Craftsteak's high-end steak concept with offferings of quail, baked rigatoni, roasted clams, bone marrow, and herb roasted poussin on the menu.

One other comment about the Tap Room. The music was playing in the restaurant was amazing. An eclectic mix of blues, New Orleans R&B, Americana - everything to BB King to Levon Helm to Professor Longhair to John Hiatt. The bartender told me the music was controlled by Tom Colicchio himself, straight off his personal iPod. He's got soul.