At first Jessy’s clientele was mostly Latino, but soon the restaurant drew a diverse cult following for its lamb barbacoa, savory tacos, and menudo, a tomato-based soup made with beef tripe and feet served with onions, cilantro, and lime.

Visit Hotrodders Cafe, a 13-year old eatery way out yonder in Chesapeake, a place where the home cooking is genuine, the portions generous, and the off-menu offerings a bit quirky at times.

Yorkie’s hews to a philosophy of utilizing quality, local ingredients. They also offer vegan and gluten-free options, although the kitchen isn’t certified gluten-free.

To help those of you who share that nagging resolution, here are four great restaurant salads to keep you on course, sated, and not too deprived. 

Sirena Serious EATalian debuted in 2004 and is located at the end of a strip of shops in Great Neck. The ever-gracious Fabio Rinaldi serves as proprietor and enforcer of the restaurant’s motto: Italy without the airfare.

At The Pink Dinghy at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, I bypassed the pink picnic tables out front and sat at a small table amid tropical plants, a shelf of cookbooks, and a wall of splashy artwork and scanned the 15-item dinner menu.

Forget the cheese and beans and glop that oozes out of Tex-Mex tacos. At Bro’s, they specialize in the Baja style, a fresher, lighter version with roots in the Baja peninsula of California and Mexico.