A10 (1462 E. 53rd St., 773-288-1010) has something of a split personality, perhaps along right brain–left brain lines. The dining room side has a lively anything-goes vibe, while the bar is low-lit and feels downright genteel.

From the universal menu: The eggplant pizza (pictured) has a high coziness factor (more like eggplant toast than pizza). Wood-fired snails, topped with a rosemary biscuit, resemble a mini-cassoulet in which the carrots and pearl onions steal the limelight from the snails. Cold-smoked trout tasted fabulously smoky, but why was the fish so very soft? And cannoli soft-serve ended this first outing on a very sweet note indeed.