City Hall Restaurant

You like meat loaf? Of course you do. Then you'll surely love a whole lot of it, as in a miniloaf sweetly glazed with tomato marmalade, flagged with frizzy fried onions, and paired with skinny green beans, a side of old-school gravy, and a dish of mac 'n' cheese -- a sweet-and-salty rendition with chorizo and maple. This is the point of City Hall Restaurant: fairly priced fare with mass appeal served in a two-level, 6,000-square-foot, snazzy, and comfortable art deco space. More gastronomía americana comes via fried chicken with a dish of local honey on the side, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and bacon-flecked corn; these are big plates of food. So is the signature "timpano": pasta, cheeses, meats, and sauce baked in a wheaty pasta crust -- a cross between mac 'n' cheese and an Italian Sunday supper, with bread included. Lighter fare features dishes such as miso-sauced, sesame-seared North Atlantic salmon sided by steamy baby bok choy bulbs and pecan-and-shiitake-studded rice. Desserts include chocolate banana cream "pie" served in a parfait glass. Appetizers and pizzas run $10 to $14.75. More than a dozen entrées are in the $17 to $24 range; a few go for less, while a New York strip steak and filet mignon are respectively $30 and $33. Shareable desserts are $10 to $12. This is one City Hall that serves its constituents well.