Heidi’s Picks

Heidi's Picks is a weekly selection of restaurant suggestions from Review-Journal critic Heidi Knapp Rinella. Price symbols are based on the cost of an average entree: $ = entrees less than $10; $$ = entrees between $10 and $20; $$$ = entrees between $20 and $30; and $$$$ = entrees more than $30.

GINA'S BISTRO

4226 Durango Drive; 341-1800

Gina's Bistro evoked lots of memories of restaurants in Italy. It's much more shiny-new than most of those we remember, but the smell of garlic and the charming Italian-accented staff and proprietress brought it all back. So did skillfully prepared dishes like carpaccio Toscano, mozzarella caprese, garlic bread, chicken parmigiana and Brava Gina Bis Pasta, which twinned farfalle (and mushrooms) in a creamy sauce and raggedy-edged strozzapreti (plus bits of sausage and shards of black truffle) in a light tomato sauce. (11/21/08)

Overall: A- $$

ORIGIN INDIA

4480 Paradise Road; 734-6342

We stopped in at Origin India for happy hour, the period from 4 to 7 p.m. daily when appetizers and specialty cocktails are half-price. We indulged accordingly and truly enjoyed the lot, which included chicken chili fry, lamb sheek kabob, vegetable samosas, portabella mushroom caps, paneer tikka, a ginger-pomegranate martini and a strawberry and black raspberry mojito. (11/20/09)

Overall: A $ (at happy hour)

RHYTHM KITCHEN

6435 S. Decatur Blvd.; 767-8438

We chose from the "Cajun Classics" section of the menu and the dishes served met the standards for both words, with a crawfish etouffee possessed of the deep flavor of a dark roux, a nice kick and lots and lots of crawfish, and the blackened chicken served atop a pasta dish carrying plenty of fire, to be tempered by the creamy sauce. There were a few service snags, but we'd still go back for those dishes and the chargrilled oysters, which were way zippier than the norm, and the rich bread pudding. (6/4/10)

Overall: A- $$