Cafe Apamate

The beets "three ways" were among the more precious creations. But these beet chips topped with scoops of sherry-poached beets, goat cheese and sugar-crisped Marcona almonds brought a mouthful of intriguing textures and shades of sweet. The gorgeous tuna escabeche, meanwhile, was a clear tribute to the quality of the sushi-grade fish, lightly seared and coiled in thick ribbons beneath a shine of arbequina olive oil, and topped with a tangy nest of onions infused with sherry vinegar and herbs.

Though Apamate is BYOB, it makes an excellent, fruit-filled sangria with your wine. After dinner (and especially during brunch), Apamate also makes some of the better espresso drinks in town, thanks to good Intelligentsia beans from Chicago that darken a richly textured cafe con leche.

When it comes to hot drinks, though, the hot chocolate here is the extreme - midnight black, like liquid silk, so intense that a small cup will suffice. And there's nothing like a plate of freshly fried churro sticks for lapping it up. The chocolate pools inside the deeply grooved, sugar-crusted ridges, channeling 73.5 percent worth of molten cocoa pleasure straight to the brain.

Did I mention that it was sublime?