All the dish: as if channeling the spirit of Virginia Woolf, a number of rising whisks are whipping up restaurants of their own

Beyond rave reviews and a full reservation book, there is perhaps no more concrete evidence of a chef's success, or courage, than the addition of the word "owner" to his or her job description. The achievement represented by those who succeed at it speaks not only to their skill with a whisk, but to their ability to persuade those who'll be forking over the cash to get things up and running. The following are three New York City restaurants that, despite the odds, have been opened in the past year by chefs who had previously toiled--to both popular and critical acclaim--In other people's establishments. The results? Read on.

SUENOS 311 W. 17th St.; 212-243-1333

Over the years, Sue Torres has introduced scores of Mexican food lovers to the creative possibilities of cooking from this region. It's a delicate balancing act she nails once more at her latest outpost, Suenos, a subterranean operation lightened up with gallons of peach and fuchsia paint. Given the restaurant's name (dreams in Spanish), it is a safe assumption that having a place of her own has long been a goal of Torres's--a bit of guesswork supported by the gusto of the cooking currently coming out of her kitchen. Starter standouts include a lava bean-and-marinated goat cheese empanada, mini tacos stuffed with smoked duck breast and fingerling potatoes, and little flautas stuffed with sauteed huitlacoche (a kind of fungus found on corn). But as inventive as these items may be, Torres knows not to mess with the tried-and-true--her guacamole, prepared on a raised platform in one corner of the dining room, is a bit of live theater, as well as an exceptional rendition of this Mexican classic. Entrees include a terrific tamarind-glazed sirloin, fine roast chicken-and-squash blossom enchiladas, and grilled salmon with a wonderful green-chili corn bread. Only a too-dry pork tamale disappoints. Desserts range from the too sweet to the somewhat muddled, though the guava-and-cream cheese empanadas prove a consistent favorite at my table--a nostalgic twist for those who grew up in a Latin household, or for those who just dream they did.

L'IMPERO

45 Tudor City Place; 212-599-5045

When you're just 31 years old and have already won praise for stints behind the stoves of some of New York City's most well-regarded restaurants, it stands to reason that you'd think about opening a place of your own. Such is the case with Scott Conant and his recently opened L'Impero. With its dark wood and linen-sheathed walls, the restaurant--designed by Vincente Wolfe, a partner in the operation along with Chris Cannon and Jane Epstein--capitalizes on the glamour inherent in L'Impero's Tudor City home, while never sliding down the slippery slope of nostalgia. The same can be said of the Cooking. Studiously avoiding the gimmicks and cliches typical of so many other Italian establishments around town, Conant instead relies on a sounder equation: preparation + presentation = authenticity. Appetizer favorites include pan-roasted diver scallops with farro as well as a fine fricassee of mushroom, while pasta dishes include a wonderful orecchiette with clams and radicchio and a robust egnolotti stuffed with duck and foie gras. Entrees present plenty of the satisfying flavors one associates with Italian country-style cooking--roasted lamb loin in a vinegar reduction, tuna poached in olive oil, and an exceptional roast capretto (baby goat), to name a few. I haven't met a dessert at L'Impero I didn't love, but special mention must go to the olive-oil cake with lemon cream and the decadent chocolate soup. Rich, perhaps, but a lot less expensive than a Roman holiday.

WD-50 50 Clinton St.; 212-477-2900

During Wylie Dufresne's tenure at 71 Clinton Fresh Food, his cooking made such an impact that for many the restaurant literally put Clinton Street on the map--culinary and otherwise. Now comes WD-50, at last a place he can actually call his own. Though considerably roomier than 71 Clinton's closetlike proportions, WD-50 is only marginally better appointed--this despite the polished pine tables, whimsical light fixtures, and gleaming, lablike kitchen. It's an austere setting that's perfectly in keeping with Dufresne's rigorous, mad-scientist approach to cooking. Mixing up ingredients in unusual ways that often leave diners playing impromptu games of name-that-flavor, Dufresne steers clear of the current comfort-food kick, instead creating something entirely more radical. So the foie-gras terrine is coupled with anchovies and citrus chutney, pounded oysters with apples and olives, and squid (sliced into linguine-thin slices) with melon and Serrano ham--each as successful as it is unique. Entrees, often arriving with the prismatic look of a painter's palette, offer similar strokes of creative genius, including a lamb loin with arugula sauce, flatiron beef with a bone-marrow tart, and sea bass accompanied by a puree of almond and cauliflower. There are more off-the-wail pairings on the dessert menu (tomato-mango ravioli with black olives, strawberries with parmesan ice cream), but it's the relatively quiet combo of parsnip cake with coconut-cream cheese sorbet that presents the biggest Eureka/moment.