WILLIAMSBURG -- When your stomach growls hereabouts, choices range from 18th-century-style dishes to imaginative creations by the region's star chefs.

Although some still may associate restaurant dining in Williamsburg mainly with the Colonial taverns or the pancake houses that used to fill the hotel strips outside the historic city's core, the current reality is more varied.

An explosion in population and commercial development has brought with it chain restaurants of almost every description, an interesting collection of casual spots, a growing collection of stellar barbecue places, and a range of new and old fine-dining options.

The taverns of Colonial Williamsburg - Campbell's, Chownings and King's Arms - still are offering 18th-century-style dishes such as peanut soup and game pie, along with the possibility of entertainment by a costumed balladeer or two.

The 21st century starts only steps away in and around the Merchants Square shopping area that adjoins the historic area. You can find quick soups and sandwiches at places including The Cheese Shop on Duke of Gloucester Street and Aromas CoffeeHouse and Bakeshop on Prince George Street.

There also are fine destinations there for more leisurely, more expensive meals.

Two long-established restaurants, Berrett's and The Trellis, continue to please discriminating diners, and two newer restaurants, the Blue Talon Bistro and the Fat Canary, have attracted a following.

Evan Feldman, a New York native who has been director of bands at the College of William and Mary for the past two years, said Williamsburg offers many pleasures he also finds in big cities, with an important exception - "more restaurants like the Fat Canary."

The restaurant, opened two years ago by the family that operates The Cheese Shop, is enjoying a local legendary status based on its great food and sophisticated big-city-style décor.

Thomas Power, the executive chef, said he loves cooking but feels other aspects of the restaurant are even more important.

"It's rooted in food, but it's bigger than that," he said. The goal is to create "an environment that instills a genuine sense of well-being when people are here. . . . We're tying to make this the kind of place that has a spirit and a soul that is about caring."

Last-minute reservations sometimes are hard to come by in the 56-seat restaurant, but there's often room for drop-in dining at the oversized bar.

Just outside the city line in the burgeoning New Town development of Monticello Avenue near Ironbound Road, an assortment of interesting restaurants includes The Corner Pocket, an upscale pool hall with a full-service restaurant; and the Center Street Grill.

Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que, just off Interstate 64 northwest of town, continues to be a destination for pulled-pork and ribs lovers. New entrants in the barbecue arena include the tiny Smokin' Joe's Bar-B-Que, the latest addition to a regional chain, on Richmond Road in Toano.

A lunch spot in a new shopping center is Squires Everyday Gourmet, near the new Sentara Williamsburg Regional Hospital in Williamsburg Marketcenter off Mooretown Road.

Brad Squires, who grew up in Williamsburg and was a longtime record-store owner, said he decided to open the business partly as an outlet for self-expression.

His shop offers deli sandwiches garnished with names such as "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Tangled up in Bleu" that were inspired by the annals of rock'n'roll trivia.