Chive   

There's an interesting new trend toward calling restaurants by the names of vegetables, then tailoring the decor to fit. Chive: luminous green, hard edges. Next door at Aubergine: dark and rich like an eggplant. Next up: a lumpy beige Cauliflower? Chive is a downtown restaurant owned by the same folks as the ever-popular Kensington Grill. Its location in the hippest part of the Gaslamp practically guarantees a stylish crowd. Although there's no live music, it's still a busy bar, and not just with restaurant patrons waiting for their wild mushroom goat cheese dumplings, pan fried cod cakes, seared tuna served over Asian vermicelli or beef ribeye with grilled nopales cactus leaf. With its green-and-orange neon accents and elegant silk pillows, this place is definitely easy on the eyes, and so are those who patronize it. The extensive wine list draws from every corner of the globe. -- Simone Butler