On our first date, Balao stood me up. I’d made reservations under one of my ever-evolving pseudonyms and arranged to meet friends. But when we walked up to the hostess station at Burwell’s, the downstairs neighbor and gatekeeper of the rooftop location, we were met with a confused...

Tucked behind Whole Foods in Mt. Pleasant, Betty’s Eatery is a breakfast and lunch joint, with a promise to “take you back to your grandma’s kitchen.” It does not stink of boiling cabbage and there wasn’t so much as a single TV playing an overly loud game show,...

As you walk into Bistro A Vin ­— the sister establishment and next-door neighbor to pastry-focused Cafe Framboise — the sound of Frank Sinatra fills the air. In accordance, the olive oil shop-turned-wine-bar is elegant, but cozy, with two high-tops, a handful of tables, and a bar with seating...

As an introvert and an aspiring recluse, I first arrived at Uptown Social feeling a little … antisocial. Nonetheless, it was a mood that soon passed. Maybe it was the friendly waiter, with his go-getter hustle? Perhaps it was the late ’70s/early ’80s soundtrack, seemingly...

In a town teaming with establishments serving small, thoughtful, farm-to-table dishes, it’s hard to stand out. Renzo, employing a seeming mantra of originality squared, has found a niche. It’s the bastard child of a well-heeled Spanish/Italian chef and a mad scientist. Not...

Chef Joshua Walker of Tu began his career in design—working as an artist and designer in New York, prior to parlaying that creative vision to restaurants—and it’s a background that shines through at each of his establishments. The first, Xiao Bao Biscuit, a Pan-Asian eatery co-owned by...

There’s dog friendly, and then there’s Mainland Container Co. “Four-legged friends!?” my dining companion read aloud, visibly aghast. “Why would they write it like that? That’s horrible! And chickens don’t have four… Oh.” Yep. Mainland...

Walking into Cannon Green is like arriving at a perpetual garden party. With its moss-like chair cushions and charming country house facade, the bright, airy space is evocative of both a stage set and a putting green. The restaurant is undeniably beautiful, filled with reclaimed heart pine...

In 2003, Chef Mike Lata and co-owner Adam Nemirow opened the now-iconic FIG. “What we stand for goes back to the beginning when we first started FIG,” Lata recalled. “We were in a city where the fine dining restaurants were very elite and exclusive, and their check average – as well as the...