FIFTH AVENUE FARE

Café SFA (611 Fifth Ave. at 49th St., eighth floor, 212-940-4080), the restaurant in back of Saks Fifth Avenue’s 8th floor women’s shoe department, 10022-SHOE, has been spruced up.

Hambrecht and Oleson, the designers of 10022-SHOE, so named because it is so large that it has its own ZIP code, have reworked the 200-seat restaurant, which now features horizontal mirrors reflecting the views of Rockefeller Center and Channel Gardens. New menu items include deviled organic eggs with chives and bottarga, a cubano sandwich, and a chicken quesadilla.

KIBBEH AND MUSIC

Ilili (236 Fifth Ave., between 27th and 28th streets, 212-683-2929), a 110-seat restaurant featuring contemporary Lebanese cuisine, opens Friday.

Chef and owner Philippe Massoud will be cooking up dishes such as mussels with arak, garlic, and Aleppo pepper, and tuna kibbeh with Israeli couscous and garlic-chive vinaigrette while a DJ spins global tunes.

CHANNELING ISTANBUL

Farther uptown, Tarabia (1071 First Ave., between 58th and 59th streets, 212-888-0809), chef Aytekin Yar, formerly of Turkish Kitchen, found inspiration in Istanbul. The restaurant is serving the usual hummus and baba ghanoush, as well as stuffed grape leaves, whole roasted fish, and at least five different lamb preparations.

GETTING DIZZY

Chef Nima Khansari, who was the chef at the Asia Society’s Garden Court Café, is now running the kitchen at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola

(33 W. 60th St. at Broadway, 212-258-9800). The company Great Performances runs both restaurants.

SWEET SPOT

The kitchen at Solex (103 First Ave., between 6th and 7th streets, 212-777-6677), a French wine bar that opened last week, is being run by pastry chef Eric Hubert, who was the opening executive pastry chef at Jean-Georges and, more recently, was the executive pastry chef at the now-shuttered Atelier. He is serving straightforward French fare. Solex is the latest creation of Bar Veloce owner Frederick Twomey.

MEXICAN GRILLS

The latest Chipotle Mexican Grill opened yesterday at 464 Park Avenue South (at 31st Street, 212-689-0305), bringing the total in New York City up to 19.

TIME FOR DESSERT

A dessert extravaganza is being held this Friday night, starting at 9 p.m., at the Waterfront (269 Eleventh Ave., between 27th and 28th streets). The event, called Sweet, will benefit the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength. Several dozen chefs are scheduled to be featured at the party. So are food television personalities including Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis. Among the pastry chefs will be Marc Aumont of the Modern, Will Goldfarb, formerly of Room 4 Dessert, Johnny Iuzzini of Jean Georges, Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernardin, Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti, Pichet Ong of P*ONG, and Alex Stupak of WD-50. Tickets are $200. For more information, visit nycwineandfoodfestival.com.

Mr. Thorn is food editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. He maintains nrnfoodwriter.blogspot.com.