Ramping it up

North Park has been living the big life for the last little while, caught up in sort of a parallel existence to the one it knew as an anchor shopping district 80 years ago. The landmark North Park Theatre’s reopening in 2006 had the city sitting up and taking notice (if it hadn’t already) of an area whose trendiest businesses quickly found friends and mentors among the older ones. The wave of development may not have the news impact it did three years ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s stopped—inexorably, the neighborhood takes on a life of its own as a wining and dining enclave, with you (yes, you) as its central figure.

How excellent of the peeps at Mosaic wine bar, for example, to hip you to the Napa Valley’s Mon Trois Pinot Noir. This one’s a keeper for those who like a little foliage with their wine—the mushroomy taste evokes the forest and all the imagery that goes with it, yet the typical ruby-red appearance heralds the blackberry and raspberry aromas found in the best Pinots. Mosaic serves cheese plates and barbecue pizza as well, and that’s a good thing, because they pair splendidly with this entry. The wine is a darn good value whether you go by the glass ($6) or the bottle ($17). There’s a $5 corkage fee, but unlike at some places, these fine folks let you recork the bottle and take it with ya.

That’s what I mean—you’re the person of the moment in North Park, and Mosaic understands. Maybe it’s the cool ramp that leads you in and out of this place in your brush with elegance, not to mention the myriad seating arrangements, 40-foot bar and 60 wines and beers from all over the universe. Whatever it is, you’ll find it at 3422 30th St. from 4 p.m. to midnight Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to midnight Sundays and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays (the number’s 619-906-4747). North Park’s big life just got bigger—at least for you, you central figure you.