May 13 (Bloomberg) -- There's always much ado about pre- theater dining. But what about post-retail eating? Shopping, after all, is the universal form of exercise in Manhattan, and a famishing one at that.

Bar Q is well positioned in this regard. The Asian-inflected barbecue joint is just steps away from the West Village's Bleecker Street boutiques. That's where you spend thousands of dollars on a travel bag at Brunello Cucinelli.

Local food prices are more reasonable. Bar Q charges just $7 for Japanese Wagyu. You get two thumb-sized strips of raw, intensely beefy meat -- the proper amount. Eat too much of the ultra-fatty product and you have yourself a $100 stomach ache. Visit the Kobe Club for further details.

Thank chef Anita Lo for the discount. She's one of the city's few female chefs with a Michelin star (for Annisa). And judging from my meals during Bar Q's opening month, Lo deserves that accolade.

Expect a blend of Japan (tuna sashimi), Korea (kimchi), China (tea-smoked duck) and America (cosmopolitan cocktails).

Lo, along with Momofuku's David Chang, represents the forefront of modern Asian-American cooking. Practitioners mix Eastern authenticity and Western sensibility with local ingredients, usually at bargain prices; everything's under $30 at Bar Q. The old ways of cardboard-box takeout or Indiana Jones- exoticism (e.g., Volcanic Chicken at Spice) are dying out.

Bar Q even has a tribute of sorts to Chang: Spit-roasted pork belly sits next to steamed buns and kimchi. Momofuku is famous for a similar version that's cheaper ($9 versus $13) and juicier than Lo's.

Snake Bites

Get the eel fritters instead. Fluffy, bronze-hued balls are filled with sweet fish. Dip in soy. Repeat. Wash down with the shiso julep -- a cross-cultural riff on the Kentucky Derby mainstay: bourbon, sugar and perilla (Japanese mint); the latter adds a gentle licorice finish.

The space is white -- white booths, white walls, white bar stools. But not the floors. The floors are grey. Hard materials and low ceilings produce a noisy atmosphere. Imagine Marc Jacobs during a clearance sale.

The white, by the way, will make your rib stains look worse. And those ribs are aplenty: baby back, tuna, spare and short. Start with the tuna. They're thin, salty, juicy and spiked with bright yuzu. The beer snack of the century.

When Pigs Fly

Skip the baby backs. They're meaty, competent, sticky. Nothing you haven't tried before. The short ribs are good, marinated in garlic and soy, then grilled medium rare. But they need more char. Pork spare ribs? Better. They're deboned, braised, then stuffed with more pork. The interior is soft. The outside has a gorgeous, chewy lacquer. Just avoid the saccharine peanut butter sauce.

Need more swine? Try the pig ``wings.'' The extra porky calf muscle is slathered in spicy red barbecue sauce. Finish with sesame-covered balls of rice flour. They're deep fried -- Asia's answer to zeppoles. Dip 'em in caramel sauce. Pair with a Macallan 18-year-old scotch, a bit of affordable luxury at $22.

Bar Q is at 308 Bleecker St., near Grove; +1-212-206-7817.

Negroni Madness

I Sodi, a block or so from Bar Q, is another affordable post-retail hangout. Owner Rita Sodi is an ex-Calvin Klein executive.

A clever cocktail list features different variants of the negroni (typically made with gin, sweet vermouth and Campari). I tried versions with Punt e Mes and Cynar. They tasted great, though almost identical to regular negronis.

Sliding doors give the small venue a Japanese feel. It's a studio apartment of a restaurant, with 15 seats at the bar, 22 at tables.

We tried seafood salad (tender squid, moist turbot), pork salad (bland), tagliatelle all'amatriciana (al dente with smoky pig jowl), risotto Milanese (overcooked, no depth of flavor), artichoke lasagna (dreadfully overcooked) and langoustines (fishy and expensive at $51) and apricot tart (not enough fruit).

Best bet: drink some booze and continue shopping.

I Sodi is at 105 Christopher St., near Bleecker; +1-212-414-5774.

(Ryan Sutton is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 13, 2008 00:01 EDT