Rist Stop
Salumi and Wine on Chestnut

Nothing against dining rooms, but more often than not, the bar is better.

After all, it's the heart of the restaurant, where everything's going on, drinks are within easy reach and the bartender doubles as your sounding board.

So what if we told you there's a new spot that blurs the lines between bar and restaurant? You might ask, "Where will such madness take place?"

Well, where else but at a place called Ristobar,coming to you tomorrow in the old Emporio Rulli spot on Chestnut, and bringing together the best of Italian drinking and Italian dining under one roof.

The large space looks like a classic Italian ristorante, complete with ornate frescoes of drunken revelry, stacks of wine bottles and ample seating at the wood tables and marble bar—all prime for a real Euro bar scene.

And that's what the owners say they want—the tables to be treated like bars, and waiters like bartenders. While we're not sure exactly how that'll play out, we suspect it'll go something like this: sitting and drinking wherever, a general carousing atmosphere where there are islands of bar scenes in the dining room and everyone is sticking around until the last drop—and maybe a piece of Old World wisdom or two dished out by your waiter along with your coasters.

Since all this merrymaking can work up an appetite, you can also order anything from their Italian small plates menu, like guanciale, meatballs and thin-crust pizzas.

In other words, they also provide what a ristorante does best: food.