Toast

Raise a bruschetta to the wonder of Toast, where the pasta with chicken and pesto cream sauce is awesome. The mesquite-smoked barbecued-pork sandwich rules. The skirt-steak appetizer rocks. The raspberry swirl cheesecake kicks ass. In general, Toast is gratifyingly pleasant, and everything is cooked as if you were the only one dining. Rest assured you’re not: Toast has caught on with local students and other Upper West Siders. “Where all good things are toasted” is the restaurant’s cheerful motto, so let the browning and the brew-downing begin.