A stunning and elegant addition to the vibrant J Street dining corridor, G.V. Hurley’s offers patrons a Southern-influenced, solidly American menu. The restaurant features both a front and back outdoor patio—wonderful for our warm Sacramento weather—and an airy interior showcasing craggy, exposed ceiling beams juxtaposed against creamy-smooth, warm tan walls. A large, rounded bar dominates the front of the restaurant and a rustic stone fireplace services both inside and outside diners. Roomy booths line the left side of the restaurant, and Food Network fans will want to grab a seat at the restaurant’s quirky little free-standing dining counter, which directly faces the kitchen (a perfect spot to watch the cooking process up close) and only accommodates four customers. This is a fun menu, with a raft of eclectic small plates. Try the graham cracker-battered fried calamari, with it subtle sweetness and crispy exterior, or the deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with smoked beef brisket, housemade barbecue sauce and melted Sonoma Jack cheese. Also popular at G.V Hurley’s are the lobster corndogs and a creamy, buttery dish of shrimp and grits. Salads are an excellent choice—they’re enormous and fresh. We recommend the chopped salad, crammed with a plethora of ingredients, including shredded chicken, Applewood smoked bacon, hard boiled egg and crumbled blue cheese. Dinner items are substantial, ranging from the kitchen’s grilled top sirloin steak, doused in housemade steak sauce and accompanied by a thigh-thickening twice-baked potato, and the Southern-style buttermilk-battered fried chicken. There’s even a design-your-own hamburger available. Despite G.V. Hurley’s upscale ambience, kids are warmly welcomed and if they’re 12 or younger, they can order any item they’d like on the menu for half price, and receive half a portion. — Kira O'Donnell

Insider tip: The snug outdoor patio is romantic in the evenings, with its whispery, wall-length waterfall and futuristic blue-flamed fireplace.

Reservations: Recommended

Payment methods: AmEx, Discover Card, MasterCard, Visa

Alcohol: Full bar

Corkage fee: $15 (however, the fee will be waived if you order a bottle of wine from the restaurant).

Hours: Lunch daily 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Limited menu available daily 2:30–5 p.m.
Dinner Sunday–Wednesday: 5–10 p.m.
Dinner Thursday–Saturday: 5p.m.–1 a.m., 11 p.m.–1 a.m. late limited menu