Christiano's Ristorante

Before opening Christiano's kitchen, owner and chef Chris Chirum worked as a chef for three decades, and his expertise shows in the menu's bounty of simple yet elegant meals. Several steps above workaday plates of pasta and meatballs, the dishes at Christiano's exude a handmade, pastoral aesthetic, with plates decorated with locally caught, whole-baked fish, racks of lamb in rosemary sauce, and four-cheese tortellini dumplings simmering in garlic butter sauce. A live pianist occasionally serenades diners as they feast on flaky Emerald Coast grouper or tomato-basil-topped linguine, making nights only slightly less sophisticated than an emperor penguin in a top hat.