Exceptional Sides at HBFC; Wood's Simplicity Wows

Amy Cavanaugh suggests you order everything on the menu except for the fried chicken at Honey Butter Fried Chicken. The fried chicken is "salty and sweet" and an "enjoyable dish, just not one [she would] rush to have again." Instead, try the "meaty and sticky and satisfying" chicken wings and the "exceptional" side dishes—pimento mac n' cheese, cold roasted sweet potatoes and kale and cabbage slaw. Cap it all off with a caramel apple dump cake, which takes Cavanaugh "straight back to being a kid." [TOC]

The simple-sounding menu at Wood "delivers more than it promises," according to Phil Vettel. The focaccia is "well worth the investment" with "good, tall and spongy" bread and "heavenly" French butter while small-plate pastas, like the spaghetti topped with peekytoe crabmeat and pickled onions, are "good bets." Seared scallops over a "lusty" ragout of Italian sausage, tomato, bell pepper, green beans and shelly beans are a "perfect late-summer arrangement" and veggie lovers will enjoy the "texturally varied" mezze. Desserts are "few but mighty" and include a "richly satisfying" chocolate fudge cake with black raspberry ice cream, puree and crème fraiche. [Trib]

In Geneva, Altiro Latin Fusion's small plates are full of "beautifully presented, boldly flavored food." For starters, the al cuaresmeno is an "ethereal" soup crafted from roasted redpeppers while the al cocktail is a ceviche-style "treat" of tilapia, avocado, onions and tomato atop crisp tortillas. A "kicked-up" queso fundido is "elevated even higher" by tomatillo salsa and the carnitas feature slow-roasted pork belly and red salsa balanced by pickled onions. A dessert of fried plantains topped with homemade strawberry jam and pieces of Mexican Key lime pie has "just the right hit of sweetness to cap the meal." [Daily Herald]