The best restaurants explain a neighborhood, and few do it better than Nopa, which helped define the North of the Panhandle area when it opened in 2006. Laurence Jossel and his partners converted a corner building that started life as a bank, and turned it into one of the most popular reservations in town. Because the dining room stays open until 1 a.m., it's become a gathering place for chefs and night owls drawn to its vibrant bar scene and great cocktails. Much of the food comes from the grill, including an exceptional grass-fed hamburger, or from the wood-burning oven that produces smoky calamari with cabbage, olives and aioli.
Specialties: White beans with feta and oregano; flatbread; grilled pork chop; rotisserie herbed chicken; hamburger; Moroccan vegetable tagine; sopapillas with honey-butter sauce.
Dinner 6 p.m.-1 a.m. nightly; brunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.