Wooden City Spokane

Let me start by saying: legitimately some of the best food I've had in a restaurant in years. We were a party of nine, so we tried a wide variety — from the wings and blistered Hungarian peppers to the beet ravioli, I can't rave enough. Service on our visit had an off night, but management owned it and made it right without hesitation — that's the mark of a well-run house. I'll be back, and soon.

Wooden City brings a stylish, slightly loud energy to the historic Genesee Building downtown, built around neo-Neapolitan wood-fired pizza and a rotating seasonal menu of comfort-food small plates. The sausage and mushroom and bacon pesto pizzas are the most-ordered, but the Hungarian stuffed peppers, beet ravioli, and chicken schnitzel show real range beyond the pizza oven — and the upstairs mezzanine and balcony make it a fun pick before a downtown show.

It runs a bit spendy for what it is, and pasta portions in particular have drawn some "small for the price" comments, along with a warm, noisy dining room when it's full. Still, it's a reliable, stylish choice for a nicer dinner, a pre-theater bite, or happy hour with friends.