Wild Sea Las Olas

Inside one of the oldest buildings on Las Olas, the Riverside Hotel, a fresh restaurant and a young chef are breathing new life into the tourist-trap-lined boulevard. The 130-seat Wild Sea Oyster Bar replaced the hotel's Grill Room in March 2013. Chef de cuisine Jon Sanchez, who previously worked for Thomas Keller, sources the best ingredients possible, uses the whole animal, and saves the trimmings for stocks and sauces. Of course, with such high aspirations and high-test seafood comes a high price, but it's worth it. Sanchez is incorporating simple, beautiful ingredients and turning out flavors that sing. A black bass on top of a creamy pea ragout is perfect. So are the beef cheek and slow-cooked Florida beets.