By FRANK COHEN

Break your dining route in 2015 with 15 places to eat at the bar

Bar dining — and by that we mean dining at the bar counter of a nice restaurant, not dining in a bar — is surging in popularity. For so many years, restaurant goers nursed drinks at the bar while they waited for their tables to become available. Nowadays, diners are tending to stay put. Bar dining has become an important option not just for solo diners but for those who enjoy the greater energy and sociability of the bar counter.

Bin 100 Restaurant

100 Lansdale Ave., Milford, CT

(203) 701-8970

bin100.com

Bin 100 Restaurant, which opened in 2007 and is owned by gracious Elena Fusco, is one of our favorite restaurants in Greater New Haven. If you weren't a Milford resident, you'd never know the space was once a pharmacy with few, if any, distinguishing design elements. Fusco has an inimitable sense of style, so the different dining spaces and lounge now reveal not just captivating color schemes but shapes and textures as well. The lounge includes an L-shaped bar with a rust-colored top edged with maple. Reservations may actually be taken for the bar counter, which can accommodate a dozen patrons, and there's additional lounge seating at both high and low top tables. Aptly named, Bin 100 Restaurant has one of the area's best wine lists, and there are terrific signature cocktails as well. The food draws inspiration from two great Mediterranean cuisines: Italian and Spanish. Typical fare at the bar top is drinks and appetizers, but the full menu is available. There are even tempting pizzas named after Little Rascals characters.

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