Isabella's American Bistro, Westfield

The chefs at Isabella's American Bistro like to put their ingredients through their paces. French onion soup comes in its traditional form topped with garlic croutons, but it also pops up in dumplings oozing with gruyere, asiago, and Monterey cheeses. Braised beef short ribs star in an entree and melt into wild mushrooms and asiago cheese in a quesadilla, and crispy bacon both tops a bleu-cheese burger and fills a stuffed meatloaf. Their playful approach creates a broadly appealing menu that’s still unified by common flavors.

Isabella’s storefront perch in the heart of Westfield beckons neighborhood regulars and visiting shoppers alike to wander in between the baskets of flowers that flank the doors. They take a seat amid décor of brass, dark wood French doors, and mustard-yellow paint that puts the emphasis on the “bistro” part of the café’s name as they dig into horseradish-crusted salmon and juicy but still fashionable skirt steaks.