By Alex IlyashovPLAY Columnist

Every neighborhood has that mainstay, comfortably polished, tasty restaurant or two. You know, the one that manages to have enough variation so as to keep your taste buds titillated, yet not so much that you’re inundated by a cacophonous mishmash of choices.

Tilli’s of Lincoln Park is that place.

Its exposed brick walls, lofty ceilings, open kitchen and roaring fireplace lend a pleasantly yuppie ambiance, without much of the attitude or snoot factor. An expansive bar takes up a hulking corner of the restaurant, which befits the local haunt’s buzzing singles scene.

The menu is based around homey dishes with global pizzazz, reflecting a successful and approachable melding of classic American, tangy Thai and herby Mediterranean flavors. This fusion ensures that a finicky 5-year-old will chow down on the slightly peppery, pleasantly gooey mac ‘n cheese with the same gusto as a gaggle of Sex and the City aspirants gossiping over gorgonzola pork chops, Nicoise salad and martinis.

Tilli’s appetizer repertoire consists of familiar dips, seafoods and meats, kicked up a notch. Crispy calamari is a fixture on most American fusion menus nowadays, and Tilli’s is no exception – although the frittered loops are offset by a robust Asian dipping sauce. The tamarind marinated beef satay skewers are complemented with a soy ginger dipping concoction.

Asian-inflected choices abound, from the nice array of salads to the handful of noodle dishes.

The St. John skirt steak harkens back to my childhood; its Caribbean spice rub recalls the zesty carne asada seasoning my mom coats the flavorful flanks of beef with.

A wide selection of side dishes adds to the sharing-friendly vibe of the place. Whether your meal needs some balsamic-roasted wild mushrooms, cheese fries or spicy stir-fried green beans, the generously portioned accompaniments will run you less than five bucks.

Brunch at Tilli’s offers up a slew of welcomingly lunch items alongside hearty a.m. mainstays, to the delight of breakfast skeptics like myself. I’ll take a “Big @#!!! Burger” or Pad Thai at 11:30 in the morning in lieu of a heap of saccharine pancakes anyday.

After an exhaustive prowl for new denim at Barney’s Co-Op and hidden cashmere gems at the White Elephant thrift shop, Tilli’s casual swank is the perfect setting for their delicious smorgasbord of a menu.

Medill freshman Alex Ilyashov is the PLAY food columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].