Named after the apparatus that transforms raw ingredients, Range is the new Mission District restaurant firing up Valencia Street. If you're going out for a special night, Range has your back. It's a chill, comfortable place with pop elements like a sleek bar and elaborate flower arrangements, making the space sexy and classy at the same time. Plus the well-priced menu has a scope broad enough to satisfy both the meat-and-potatoes and the veggie-only diner.

It's no surprise that Range should become a destination restaurant in the short few months since its opening in Summer 2005. Partners Cameron and Phil West met at Cole Valley's Eos; later, Cameron left Delfina and Chef Phil departed Bacar to open Range, their first restaurant. While the restaurant's name refers to the range stove central to the kitchen (no wood-oven fires or grills), there's also the idea that the menu and wine list cover a wide spectrum of tastes. -- Sarah Sung