La Vista

A couple of things make this restaurant special. 1) The oval bread topped with caramelized onions, roasted figs, pecans, rosemary and garlic can be a meal in itself—order it as soon as you sit down, because it takes about 10 minutes to make. 2) Bring your own wine to enjoy the guilty pleasure that comes from drinking a $100 bottle of Italian barolo with one of the meatiest lasagnas in town. Chef Greg Gordon’s grill menu is worth exploring, starting with the corn-crusted trout served with a crab-and-shrimp enchilada. For something sturdier, try his rib eye with peppercorn sauce or the cult favorite, cinnamon-coffee-and-cumin crusted pork tenderloin. Cooked medium-rare, it comes with a lush sweet potato corn pudding with smoked red onion sauce.

Enophiles bring their own Riedel crystal wine glasses to La Vista. After all, you can’t savor a Bordeaux red in just any glass. If you forget, don't worry because there’s a great wine shop next door.