My husband and I recently dined at one of our favorite local restaurants, Hearthside. The BYOB is located within walking distance of our house and often appears on local and regional “best of” lists. Hearthside serves contemporary American fare from its wood-fired oven and grill.

The restaurant currently only takes reservations for indoor dining, but outdoor dining is first-come, first-served. We arrived shortly after the restaurant opened for dinner service and, luckily, were seated immediately. The hostess gave us small paper bags for our masks and directed us to scan the QR code to access the menu. Our attentive waiter came by shortly after we were seated. He brought us wine glasses and a bottle chiller for our white wine, then went over the night’s specials.

We ordered a few small plates, a pasta and an entrée, all to share. To start, we opted for a salmon belly special with cucumber, cilantro, jalapeños and a citrus sauce. We also ordered a grilled romaine salad with strawberries and bacon and the gulf prawns. All were flavorful, but the salmon special was a standout. On our past visits to Hearthside, we enjoyed the pastas. On this visit we split one: English pea agnolotti. The small pasta plate was tender and rich. For our final course, we split a porterhouse steak with mushrooms, potatoes and salsa verde. All components of the dish were perfect. I wish the restaurant would bottle the salsa verde! The entrée was far too large to finish, so we brought leftovers home.

Between the stellar service, excellent cuisine and ambiance, we enjoyed another incredible meal at Hearthside.

— Katie Skrzek, vice president/digital director