Rylei

This pleasant little husband-and-wife-run bistro brings an ambitious Center City-style BYOB to the fine-dining desert of the Northeast. Self-taught chef Jose Vargas' debut is worthwhile, with a small menu that spins good ingredients into appealing dishes at prices low enough to give this trailblazer a chance. Reviewed Aug. 12.

Salento

Davide and Kathryn Faenza have opened a larger Center City sibling to their charming L'Angolo in South Philadelphia. This friendly BYO offers satisfying interpretations of authentic home cooking from Davide's native Puglia, including game ragus with homemade pasta, bean dishes, and seafood. The boisterous whitewashed room feels a bit basementlike, but the genuine flavors are worth a visit. Reviewed Oct. 7.

Shundeez Restaurant

In the former Roller's space, tucked behind the bookstore and bus station atop Chestnut Hill, the Lavasani family serves authentic renditions of traditional Persian cuisine, from delicately seasoned kabobs to pomegranate-sauced chicken. Affordable, flavorful and friendly (though service needs work), it's one of the neighborhood's best bets. Reviewed Dec. 16.

Silk City Diner

The red neon and stainless steel are aglow once again at Philly's seminal hipster diner, thanks to new owner Mark Bee, of N. 3rd. It's not yet the ultimate diner rethink it could have been, but given some early kitchen tumult, the updated comfort food still has plenty of cool moves (a boar BLT?) to fuel a hot dance night in the DJ lounge. Reviewed Nov. 25.

Snackbar

Get your foam on at this avant-garde small-plate boutique in the former Salt space near Rittenhouse Square. The edgy culinary munchies (and low-slung, oversized furniture) can feel overly precious for the loungey little room, but when young gun Jonathan McDonald hits the mark, his food is among the most intriguing in town. Reviewed March 4.

Susanna Foo Gourmet Kitchen

REVISITED: Susanna Foo has brought a more casual rendition of her Chinese fusion cuisine to a contemporary Main Line space, with a focus on dumplings, small plates, and reasonably priced entrees. There are some winning flavors, but the overly broad menu needed more fine-tuning to approach the success of its elegant Center City sibling.

A November revisit showed little progress. There were great dumplings and authentic dishes, like ginger-poached chicken over warm sesame noodles. But there were also too many duds - pedestrian sushi with mushy rice, dry Peking duck rolls - to nudge this kitchen beyond two bells. Reviewed Feb. 25; revisited November.

Teresa's Next Door

The Main Line goes Belgian at this handsome new mussel and brew house attached to popular Teresa's Cafe in Wayne. The 24-tap bar and 200-bottle list is the serious beer destination the suburbs have been lacking. Unexpected authentic taqueria flavors spice up the decent, but inconsistent, Belgian fare. Reviewed Sept. 23.

Tiffin

Order your "tiffin" boxed meals online or call for tandoori the old-fashioned way, because this clever Indian project from Karma founder Munish Narula not only is redefining ethnic delivery food, it's also the best Indian kitchen in town. The dowdy Girard Avenue dining room has expanded to an upgraded upstairs room, making the restaurant itself more worth a visit.

Tre Scalini