Hard to tell yet, since I don’t have the stomach for a 2.5-hour line, as it was tonight. But till I summon up the [patience, tolerance, spare time] for it, here’s a few snaps to tide you over. The place is gorgeous, the kitchen is open to the dining room, and the crowd seems to average around 34. A waitress told me the hours are 11 to 3 for lunch, 5 to 11 for dinner, but the website says 10 to 3, 5 to 11, Sunday through Thursday, and open till midnight on Friday and Saturday. She added that the plan is to eventually be open from 9 to midnight every day. The Sawada coffee bar at the entrance (with the skateboards on the wall) is open from 8 to 5.

It’s a romantic, charming location, there on the alley. And the decor — with its warm lamp lighting and wood panelling and sort-of secret entrance — makes it feel like a hideaway. And of course, they had me at first come first served. I hate everything about making reservations — the commitment, the panic of being late, the guilt and the sucking up required when you inevitably are late. One of the best parts about living in New York is you can just stroll into any number of great restaurants in a two block radius. So when the answering machine at Au Cheval told me that they had dispensed with the whole process, I was in.

More TK.