Noche   

If you like being elbow to elbow with young, hip, happy intowners, you'll like the wee curvy smart-looking confines of Noche. And even if such close quarters don't exactly ring your bells, you can enjoy the lively Noche take on Southwestern cuisine on the rear balcony, a space shared with other restaurants on the block. Noche has revamped its hours, menu and, best of all, its prices. With the addition of weekend lunches, the overall feeling is a wide-open and hearty welcome to the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood. The bar scene remains as hot as a Southwestern summer with margaritas served in huge heavy blue tinted glasses with cobalt blue rims. Cocktail specialties such as the Screaming Rita and Trailer Park Punch add to the festive scene with their humor and sizzle. Many of the old favorites from the last menu have stuck around to the delight of regular customers who swoon over such things as the plump steamed mussels in lobster chili broth, famous for a lingering presence on the tongue long after the last morsel is swallowed. Starters range from Tortilla Soup with avocado and Queso Blanco at $4.50 to the mussels at around $11. Entrees such as slow-roasted pork tacos with pineapple and pepper salsa, barbecued salmon with chipotle mashed potatoes, and sun-burned tuna steak with mole Amarillo range from $8.95 up to $16.95. Weekend lunches might consist of a $2 cup of chili and a pile of chips, a queso fundido for $3.95, or a shredded rotisserie chicken enchilada with mole verde and pico de gallo for $8.95. If you're in a breakfast state of mind, the burrito with eggs and chorizo sausages hits the spot on those lazy weekends. Sweet endings include an untraditional creamy chocolate tres leche in a big fat latte cup accompanied by chocolate "cigarettes." -- Judith Augustine Insider Tip: To lure that beginning of the week crowd, Noche offers half price margaritas on Mondays and Tuesdays. And there's a happy hour menu daily from 5:30-7PM