Rae

REVISITED: Chef Daniel Stern's latest venture is a contemporary American brasserie in the Cira Centre lobby. The creative menu ranges from updated bar food (rabbit nachos and truffled pizzas) to haute foie gras tastings, but was initially too wide-ranging and overwrought for its own good.

A recent revisit, though, was spectacular, showing plates with a lighter touch and more elegance, from an incredibly complex but tasty turbot stew to witty updates of Jewish soul food like mini-Reubens and veal kreplach with artichokes. The modern space may be austere for some, but the service is impressive, and so is the wine cellar. With the kitchen now locked in, Rae is finally becoming the powerhouse destination it was meant to be. Reviewed April 1; revisited late November.

Tinto

Chef Jose Garces takes his magic tapas touch to Rittenhouse Square, where his lively new wine bar, Tinto, turns out exquisite "pinxto" small plates that do for Basque flavors what his Amada in Old City did for Andalusian tapas. The noisy, crowded space and uncomfortable tall tables are the only drawbacks, but should be alleviated by an imminent expansion. Reviewed June 24.

VERY GOOD

Aqua

The neighborhood near Jewelers Row gets a satisfying taste of exotic Malaysian cuisine with this sleek venture featuring a former chef from Chinatown's Penang. The long dining room has a waterfall to soften the minimalist look, but the food also offers plenty of intrigue, with a proper dose of an authentic funky edge (e.g. shrimp paste chile sauce) to keep the otherwise mainstreamed Malaysian menu real. Reviewed Jan. 7.

Bluefin

The strip-mall storefront doesn't promise much, but chef Yong Kim crafts some of the suburbs' best sushi for a devoted and lively clientele. The crunchy, spicy Marlee roll is a favorite creation, but simpler here is almost always better. The kitchen needs more range and consistency to be an elite destination, but this is already neighborhood sushi at a high level. Reviewed Nov. 18.

Brandywine Prime

REVISITED: The team behind Wilmington's Deep Blue has crossed the Pennsylvania state line to revamp the historic Chadds Ford Inn into a swanky chophouse and grill. The grand old stone inn has gotten a chic update, and also improved the menu enough since its initial review - most notably, in lightening its sauces - to step up to a second bell.

At a recent revisit, seafood dishes remained a weakness. But the Angus cattle rancher at my table had to concede: His special 14-ounce prime dry-aged rib-eye was shockingly expensive ($50!), but it was memorably, meltingly good. So was my big elk chop with cranberry sauce, and a fabulous California meritage, Lateral, listed (like most of this cellar) at a very fair markup. Reviewed June 17; revisited early December.