Restaurant review, Dean Street--Another Pub for Your Gastro.

For much of the 20th century, bar food in New York meant the cafeteria line at Blarney Stone, Blarney Castle, Blarney Cove, or any of the other Irish drinking establishments that dotted the urban landscape. The fare consisted of boiled meats, mashed potatoes, and canned veggies, shooting up great clouds of steam that fogged the glass sneeze guards. Antiquarian though they seemed, these establishments invariably turned out a satisfying cheap meal. Then, after a gradual upscaling and diversification of bar food toward the end of the century, along came the Spotted Pig in 2004, calling itself the city's first gastropub and aiming to elevate the bar-food conversation to a more refined level. Suddenly, we had burgers pushing $20 with melted French cheeses cascading onto the plate, leaf-only salads dressed with finely tuned vinaigrettes, and—Bloomberg help us—desserts made by pastry chefs.

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