Florent Restaurant

Jimmy Love’s served as an institution for swank dining and live music for years before being shuttered and replaced by this combination restaurant and lounge making its own bid for Downtown longevity behind the culinary creations of celebrity chef Richard Sweeney. Better known for his stint on Bravo’s Top Chef than his work at local eateries like Confidential and R-Gang Eatery, Sweeney comes from Southpaw Social Club, a few blocks over in the East Village. His bill of fare contains what must be the most extensive assortment of salads with ubiquities like Kale and Caesar plus tamarind-glazed portobello with cider vinaigrette and crispy pork belly with vanilla-bourbon dressing. Small plates display myriad cooking cultures from Creole (jambalaya-style risotto) and Hispanic (shrimp ceviche made with habanero-infused ale) to re-imagined French (duck confit with bacon peas and blood orange beurre blanc, duck a l’orange meatballs). A bone-in pork tomahawk, steak and fresh seafood, plus burgers galore (CAB natural beef, duck, veggie) make for filling mains. (619.595.0123, www.florentsd.com)   Brandon Hernández