Penny Zimmerman-Wills

The sign on the door makes it clear: The recently opened Nantucket Grill is not associated with the New England Lobster House, which until February occupied the space on MacArthur Boulevard. But if the sign weren’t there, you might not perceive much of a difference between the old and the new. The interior still features […]

It’s unfortunate that the décor and feel of Los Agaves don’t rise above the offerings of the typical Mexican restaurant — the food and service certainly do. The interior of the restaurant, which opened in November in a strip shopping center across from White Oaks Mall, is standard-issue Mexican eatery. The bold gold-and-green walls are […]

I had two thoughts after dining at Tuscany: “Why haven’t I been here before?” and “I’ll be back.” The inside of the restaurant resembles an Italian patio, mostly because of painting done by local artist Dana Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer has made the walls look like old crumbling stone and painted a blue ceiling with clouds to […]

From now until Labor Day, there’s no better way to enjoy the warm days of summer than an outdoor meal. Firing up the grill for an outdoor barbecue is one of America’s favorite pastimes. The aroma, the appeal of the great outdoors, and the taste of a meal hot off the grill combine to yield […]

When you think of takeout, the options that usually come to mind are cartons of Chinese food, a pizza, or a bucket of fried chicken. Homemade eggplant Parmesan and stuffed artichokes probably aren’t the kind of dishes you usually pick up for dinner on the way home from work — but they should be. A […]

Cecil’s Bar and Grill is, as its name suggests, a neighborhood bar that serves basic food: burgers, appetizers, pizza. Like many similar establishments that serve a dual purpose, it offers customers a place to down a cold brew after work and also serves up lunch and late-night food — and does it well. The restaurant […]

Indigo Grill is a spinoff of the city’s popular west-siderestaurant Indigo, but it has a face all its own. There are signs that the two restaurants are related — extensive wine lists, creative menus, and large paintings of blue dogs dotting the walls of both establishments — but several differences are evident as well. The […]

Does your typical noontime meal consist of a burger grabbed from a drive-thru window or a boring sandwich eaten at your desk? If so, it’s time to try one of the many great places around town. Here are three of my favorites: Bentoh’s is at the top of my list for lunch, for several reasons: […]

The place is small, the menu simple. (You’ve got your burritos, nachos, soup, and salad). But that’s OK, because at El Presidente Burritos, it’s all good. The downtown corner eatery, which has been open since January, brings a bit of California cuisine to its brand of burrito. Co-owner/cook Tim Von De Bur has created six […]

Describing Augie’s Front Burner is no simple task. It’s not a high-concept restaurant offering tiny helpings of obscure foods: Augie’s serves generous portions of lamb, chicken, grouper, and filet mignon. This is not a basic “American food” place, either: The chicken breast is flavored with Dijon mustard and served with sweet-potato ravioli. The filet mignon […]

To me, “All you can eat” usually means “You won’t want to eat this stuff.” With the exception of elegant Sunday brunches, the places that promote overindulgence in trip after trip to the buffet offer food that just isn’t worth the effort. Buffet City proves that every rule has an exception. Located at 1774 Wabash […]