Though Graydon Carter's much-hyped Ye Waverly Inn doesn't open for another few weeks, insider-to-all-things-hype UrbanDaddy grabbed a peak of the Vanity Fair editor new's eatery during the soft opening. (And all this time we thought Graydon's soft opening was called "Vanities.")

Push open the tiny green wooden door and remember to duck. Low ceilings, fireplaces everywhere you turn (watch those leather elbow patches), and opulent old-world touches will transport you out of modern-day New York and have you hankering for a pipe, a drink and a book (or at least a pipe, a drink and a Blackberry).

Knock off one craving with a well-shaken martini (duly hyped by Carter himself) at the old refinished wood bar. Grab a seat in the cozy main dining room and scope the crazy murals of famous West Village dwellers, like Bob Dylan and Nathan Lane. Or for a more private meal, try the lush Conservatory Room in the back—yes, that's a tree growing through the glass greenhouse ceiling (take that, concrete jungle).

Hang your coat on the brass coathooks above each table and settle in for some classic comfort food like braised ribs, chicken pot pie and oysters (just as good now as in 1840). You'll feel so well-fed and well-settled in here after some good conversation and friendly, unpretentious service that you might be wishing there were rooms upstairs.

Though "friendly" and "unpretentious" – nor "good conversation" – are not terms we'd usually associate with Mr. Carter, we're willing to give Ye Waverly a chance. Any restauranteur with the balls to put Nathan Lane on the wall – in a place where people eat – deserves a shot at lasting more than six months.