Cliff Bell's

Stepping into the newly restored art deco live jazz bar with an even more recently opened kitchen is to arrive in another era. Before the stage, the main area is separated into two spaces: One with round, candle-lit tables, the other, a stunning curved bar. All this sits below massive barrel-vaulted ceilings. All this ambience comes from pricey restoration work done in 2006 to make today’s Cliff Bell’s look like the Cliff Bell’s of 1935. That and the way they mix a cocktail. Neither cheap nor fast, mixed drinks are crafted old-school, more for taste than ease of production. With everything from a standard fillet of beef tenderloin to cassoulet, the French-inspired eclectic food menu speaks for itself. Try the duck confit on a buttermilk biscuit with cranberry jam for a small plate reduction of Thanksgiving dinner. Hedonists will go for a chunk of tender braised pork belly (otherwise known as bacon when cured and smoked) that comes plated with a rich, spicy sweet cider sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes and a pinch of cracklings for good measure.