Cubanelle Restaurant, Nutley

Winedown Wednesdays, salsa dancing on Fridays, and unlimited sangrias during Sunday brunch. It would be easy to attribute Cubanelle's popularity to its weekly specials, but that would overlook one important thing: the food.

A winner of OpenTable's Diners' Choice award in 2017, Cubanelle showcases the creative, Latin-infused cooking of Alex García, a chef, restaurateur, and former cohost of Food Network's Melting Pot. Its signature dishes include:

• Chef García's tapas, such as garlic shrimp and Spanish peppers stuffed with sausage and served with a four-cheese sauce
• Sharable appetizers like braised short-rib croquettes and empanadas stuffed with spinach and cheese, beef, or chipotle chicken
• Chef specialties, including the paella featuring mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops; and whole red snapper stuffed with lump crab meat