EL BARRIO, newly opened in the Loft District on Second Avenue North, is absolutely the most exciting new restaurant I've been to in months.

I have already had several arguments over this new addition to downtown dining.

You may think you know the Vietnamese restaurant on Highway 150 in the Publix shopping center.

Bunny was embarrassed as usual when I barged right into the kitchen to see Ram Karki of Nepal juggling frypans to cook several dishes at once, stirring in red, orange, and yellow spices atop the beautiful blue gas flames.

This summer Ronnie and Lora Trice opened LoLo’s, nicknamed for the better half, near where 3rd and 5th Avenues South diverge.

You may not know it but you probably have never eaten in a real Chinese restaurant. There are many around the States that claim that category, but would hardly be recognized by the man in the street in Beijing.

Restaurants usually get a lot of review attention when they are new. That is especially true if a well-known chef like Chris DuPont is one of the principals.

At the risk of making another jealous, I took Bunny to the place she so zealously coveted for as long as she’s known me (at least two weeks).

Bunny was embarrassed as usual when I barged right into the kitchen to see Ram Karki of Nepal juggling frypans to cook several dishes at once, stirring in red, orange, and yellow spices atop the beautiful blue gas flames.

You may not know it but you probably have never eaten in a real Chinese restaurant. There are many around the States that claim that category, but would hardly be recognized by the man in the street in Beijing.