Mezzanine Restaurant 3433, Richmond

Mezzanine's Chef Todd Johnson loves creating fine cuisine from local, sustainable food sources. His restaurant has garnered numerous accolades, including 2009 Restaurant of the Year from Style Weekly magazine and a nod from the New York Times.

Johnson's work as a master chef has led him all over the world, but he celebrates his deep Virginia roots by sourcing from farms and fisheries throughout the state, resulting in an eclectic menu full of diverse flavors and fresh ingredients. Daily-printed menus feature creations whipped up from whatever produce, meat, and seafood is readily available. The chorizo, mushrooms, and Polyface Farm chicken come from Virginia, as do oysters served on the half-shell with drizzles of spicy sriracha aioli. You might also find Aspen Ridge rib-eye steaks and Sunday brunches of lobster omelets, fried-green-tomato BLTs, and Carolina shrimp and grits.

Mezzanine's intimate, two-tiered dining room fosters a relaxed and jovial atmosphere, and a covered patio accommodates outdoor diners during warmer months. Small tables, ideal for conversation and morsel stealing, lean their weight into hardwood floors as ambrosial aromas delicately waft by, unable to contain themselves within the kitchen.