**UPDATE 12/21/11: It appears that New Wasabi closed unexpectedly over the weekend. That content has been removed from the online version of this article.**

The new cupcake has arrived, and it's a meatball. While the cupcake trend has been sweeping the states for the past few years - inspiring more than a half-dozen cupcakeries in Rochester alone - the nation's newest food trend makes up for what it lacks in prettiness with heft. The start of the meatball trend has widely been attributed to the opening of The Meatball Shop in New York City last year. Since then, the recession-friendly comfort food has been popping up everywhere (including another New York City establishment from "Top Chef" Season 1 finalist Dave Martin, called The Meatball Factory). Now Rochester has its own meatball-focused business with the opening of the Skylark Lounge last month.

Located in the Union Street space that formerly housed Club Muther's, Skylark Lounge is a restaurant and bar - emphasis on bar - with a simple menu premise: five meatballs, five sauces, five sides. With the goal of offering simple-but-fun bar food, owner Herman Gatto originally wanted to serve only corndogs, but a conversation with his business partner steered him toward the meatball concept.

"I thought it was a nifty idea," says Gatto. "It's something easy for us to do now, and we'll see where we go from here."

The five meatballs offered are traditional ground beef, barbeque pork, spicy chicken, vegetarian eggplant, and turkey. The meatballs can be ordered three at a time with a choice of one of five sides ($7.50), three on a 6" hero roll ($6), or one on a meatball slider with a choice of sauce. Side choices include pasta with a choice of sauce, citrus coleslaw, roasted vegetables, creamed spinach, or deep-fried mashed potatoes. The five sauces offered are classic marinara, parmesan cream, buffalo sauce, roasted red pepper, and pesto.

Skylark Lounge also has a full bar that serves up a handful of draught beers, bottled beers, and mixed drinks. Gatto, who worked as bartender at The Bug Jar for 15 years, also recommends his new intoxicating concoction: the Barrel Bomb, made of root beer and Jagermeister. "The sweetness of the root beer cuts the grossness of the Jager," he says.

In the future Gatto plans to feature rotating art shows on the lounge's walls, and live music and DJs on the bar's newly built stage.

"And, there's no TVs," he says. "For some people that's a plus."

To find Skylark Lounge in City Newspaper's online Restaurant Guide - including a map, user reviews, and more - click here.

Skylark Lounge is located at 40 S. Union St. It is open Monday-Friday 4:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. and Sunday 7 p.m.-2 a.m. For more information, call (585) 270-8106.

Fresh take

A moderately upscale pan-Asian restaurant opened its doors in Fairport earlier this month. Chakara Bistro and Bar serves up Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean fusion dishes in a casual, relaxed setting. Taiwanese-born head chef San Lee makes all of the noodles from scratch, using a rare noodle press imported directly from Taiwan.

The lunch menu offers a selection of noodle and rice dishes, notably the fried honey pig (roasted pork loin, bell peppers, and pineapple), a beef noodle soup similar to Vietnamese pho (with braised beef, onions, and cilantro), and a homemade spinach noodle served with chicken, shrimp, beef, or mixed vegetables. For dinner the menu expands considerably, offering appetizers, salads, soups, entrees, and desserts. Traditional Asian cuisine offerings like dumplings and wontons are kicked up a notch with the addition of homemade sauces like garlic-ginger-soy vinaigrette and red chili-infused oil.

Noteworthy entrees include a butternut squash and soft-shell crab dish made with Thai curry paste and basil coconut sauce, and a wild mushroom and king oyster dish prepared in a garlic wine sauce. Ten varieties of loose-leaf tea and specialty beverages like Vietnamese-style coffee and coconut smoothies are served to drink.

To find Chakara Bistro in City Newspaper's online Restaurant Guide - including a map, user reviews, and more - click here.

Chakara Bistro and Bar is located at 7328 Pittsford-Palmyra Road. Prices range from $8 to $20. It is open Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30-10:30 p.m.; and Sunday noon-9:30 p.m. For more information call (585) 223-8101 or visit eatchakara.com.

Sip and read

Have you noticed new reading materials at your favorite local coffeehouse? A group of University of Rochester students started a community literacy project last month called Coffee Pages. The students have left a variety of books in several local coffeehouses, including Spot Coffee (200 East Ave.), Living Room Cafe (118 Monroe Ave.), Crossroads Coffehouse (752 S. Goodman St.), Coffee Connection (681 South Ave.), and the Towpath Cafe (6 N. Main St. in Fairport). The goal is to encourage patrons to read the books and then leave reviews on the Coffee Pages blog, coffee-pages.blogspot.com. Patrons are then asked to either return the book or replace it with another from their own collection. The students plan to continue adding additional coffeehouses to the project. For more information, visit the blog or Facebook page.

Closings

Cafe 54 in Victor has closed. The restaurant offered moderately upscale selections, including entrees like crab cakes, short ribs, lamb, and mahi mahi in a cozy atmosphere. The reason for its closing is unknown, but the owner has announced the restaurant's closing on its website, thanking patrons for their support.

Lee's Vietnamese Sandwiches (982 Monroe Ave.) has closed temporarily. The restaurant specializes in banh mi, or Vietnamese sandwiches, as well as other traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The owner cited a health problem as the reason for the restaurant's temporary closing and plans to reopen as soon as possible.

Chow Hound is a food and restaurant news column. Do you have a tip for our Chow Hound? Send it to food@rochester-citynews.com.