Back Forty.(Restaurant review)

Traditionally, the "back forty" is the most far-flung parcel of land on a farm, where, out of sight, it's easy to be up to no good. At this recently opened East Village spot, however, the phrase has a more innocent connotation: it refers to the acres a farmer sets aside from his regular crop, for planting whatever he fancies. Certainly Back Forty is a playful departure for its co-owner and chef, Peter Hoffman, who has helmed the sophisticated Savoy, in SoHo, for seventeen years. Back Forty proclaims itself, somewhat disingenuously, to be a mere burger joint--but the burger is made of grass-fed beef that's thrillingly juicy and the impeccably crisp fries are sifted with rosemary-laced sea salt. As at Savoy, the buzzword here is sustainability, with a seasonal menu that reflects Hoffman's longstanding relationships with local growers.

Back Forty shies away from outright rusticity, preferring Shaker simplicity, albeit as if filtered through the mind of John Pawson: the walls are spare and high, adorned here and there with ikebana-esque groupings of antique farm tools, tall glass cylinders stacked with apples, and curiously shaped gourds with elongated necks; electric candelabra are suspended from the ceiling in clear globes. There are touches of quaintness--a glass of wine comes to the table in a milk quartino, water is poured ...