Lola the Restaurant   

When the space formerly occupied by Barclays in the wooded area along Fairmount Avenue became available, Van Roberts, a Barclay's regular, decided to take a shot at his own brand of haute cuisine. So the Volvo car salesman opened up Lola The Restaurant, a French eatery with a New American twist. The cozy, 70-seat space also gave Roberts an outlet for his creative side as his broad strokes cover the canvasses that adorn the walls at Lola's. As for the food, take a close look at the orange-caramelized salmon with sweet potato cakes. The fish is marinated in a combination of star anise, brown sugar, rice-wine vinegar, soy, orange juice and red pepper flakes and then rolled in breadcrumbs and broiled. A flexible fixed menu pricing ($32 for two courses, $40 for three, and $47 for four) allows for some minor substitutions of the structured courses.