Spanish Tavern   

Casually dressed neighborhood regulars mix easily with a professional crowd in this softly lit, intimate Spanish restaurant. The understated decor tends toward the usual heraldic shields and medieval flourishes. The menu is heavy on dishes that combine sea creatures, including the very generous mariscada marinara in Salsa Verde -- fresh lobsters, clams, mussels, shrimp and scallops in a green sauce -- or the baked salmon stuffed with crab meat. There are rotating daily specials. Owner Manual Vazquez, who took over the restaurant three years after his father had run it for 30 years, speaks with an air of absolute confidence when he says that his restaurant is "the best on the East Coast." He says, "I've been doing this since I've been 14. I've bussed, I've waited tables. I've done everything here, and I know how to run a tight ship."