THESE ARE STRANGE DAYS in the dining world—and that would be true even if one of our best new restaurants weren't in Atlantic City. Tougher times for restaurateurs means better food for people who want to eat well without the attendant pretentiousness (and expense-account prices) of the past. Consider the options on our list this year—everything from the most exuberant Spanish food in America to French haute cuisine at bistro prices to swaggering American classics. All of which is served up with genuine appreciation. The best restaurateurs have nally realized that diners don't much like being made to feel lucky to get in. Their new rallying cry? "We're really glad to see you." To which we say: The feeling is mutual.

Market - St. Helena, California
Nick Peyton has done the impossible: opened a classic American restaurant that both locals and Napa Valley's thronging tourists will love. This is a drop-in kind of place, with rugged stone walls, a stately oak bar, and a New American menu based on whatever chef Douglas Keane likes most at the local markets (hence the name). His daily shopping excursions have yielded sweet white corn (made into a chowder with chive blossoms and the crunch of popcorn), green heirloom tomatoes (fried and served with pickled watermelon rind), and Bing cherries (baked into a pie that might as well have had the Stars and Stripes ying from its buttery crust). The buttermilk-fried chicken (pictured) has skin so crisp, it begs you to pick it up with your ngers, and the fried cod is served with french fries cooked in good old American beef fat.