We humans have evolved just a bit from our hunter-gatherer days, when eating rich and hearty “comfort foods” in wintertime was a matter of survival.

But we can’t escape our biology altogether. The bone chilling cold of an Ohio winter triggers a craving for dishes that warm the soul, tickle the belly and stick to the ribs. And just in case we grow weary of making these comfort foods at home, the Miami Valley’s restaurants are more than happy to provide the comfort for us.

We’ve compiled a short list of a few of our favorite restaurant comfort foods, but we’d also like to hear about yours. Send an e-mail to mfisher@coxohio.com describing your favorite comfort-food dish that you order in a local restaurant and why it hits the spot. In your e-mail, please include your full name and what part of town you live in, and we’ll compile your responses into a story for the Dayton Daily News.

Then, consider trying some of these:

Coco’s Bistro

515 Wayne Ave., Dayton, (937) 228-2626 or www.228coco.com. Open for lunch Monday through Friday, open for dinner Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays.

Comfort factor: The current menu at Coco’s, that we’re told will be up through the winter months into 2011, offers an array of appetizers, salads and entrees geared to winter dining that will delight taste buds. Most notable is the Swordfish Pan Chowder ($23), a mash-up of a soup and a traditional seafood entree that you can’t stop eating. This rich, flavorful display of fruits from the sea features four large shrimp, smoked trout and the billed swordfish swimming with roasted vegetables in a creamy, savory, spicy broth.

Other dishes to try: Fettuccine Carbonara ($17), a hearty pasta tossed with peas and smoked bacon, offers the added twist of a roasted carrot cream sauce in this delectable dish. The stuffed portabella appetizer ($8) is another highlight. The roasted portabellas are stuffed with mushrooms, onions, blue cheese and rye bread and served with a butternut squash cream sauce. It’s a rich treat that’s a great start to any meal or, paired with a salad, a great small plate entree.

El Meson

903 E. Dixie Drive, West Carrollton, (937) 859-8229 or www.elmeson.net. Open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Comfort factor: The weather outside may be frightful, but inside El Meson, the warm Mexican-inspired decor can make the worst day of winter delightful. The Tapas of Spain themed menu that will be featured at the restaurant through the end of January is a series of 15 small plates ranging from $8 to $15 each that the owners discovered on a recent trip overseas. A chorizo and lentil stew ($8) with potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and spices is a perfect dish for diners to warm themselves with. The tender, steeped lentils are paired with ground spicy sausage and vegetables that have been cooked so long they melt away and hit the spot. Pair this with Arepas de Choclo — Colombian grilled sweet corn cakes stuffed with white cheese ($7) off the regular menu, and you have a comfort-food hit on your hands.

Other dishes to try: The menu has many other dishes worth trying, including tender bite-sized Lamb meatballs in a Spanish Brandy sauce ($10) that had the unmistakable zap of the Brandy they were christened with. The mouth-watering Solomillo al ajo Toastado, a beef tenderloin topped with toasted garlic and Manchego cheese served over saffron rice with toasted pine nuts ($15), was a dish we’ll be back for again before the menu changes.

The Hawthorn Grill

1222 E. Stroop Road, Kettering, (937) 298-2222 or www.thehawthorngrill.com. Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

Comfort factor: The Hawthorn Grill, which made its debut in early June 2010, had only been open a week or two when two of chef-owner Candace Rinke’s sisters-in-law stopped in for dinner and demanded to know why one of their favorite recipes of Rinke’s — White Wine Braised Pork ($18), consisting of oven-roasted pork shoulder, mashed potatoes, white wine gravy, mixed vegetables — wasn’t on the menu. “I told them I didn’t think it was fancy enough,” Rinke said. “They said, ‘Who cares? It tastes great.’ ” She followed their suggestion, customers responded very favorably — and now she can’t take it off the menu.

Other dishes to try: Hawthorn Grill’s other comfort-food masterpiece is Rinke’s Chicken and Biscuits ($17), made with Ed Hill Farms chicken stew ladled over fresh thyme-flecked biscuits that Rinke makes every day. “And we add the peas at the end, so they’re still green.” It’s as comfortable as a warm recliner on a winter Sunday afternoon.

Linh’s Restaurant

4770 Airway Road, Dayton, (937) 252-1857. Open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner; closed Mondays.

Comfort factor: If you are among the dwindling number of Americans who haven’t discovered the joys of Vietnamese soups, now is the time. Here’s what you do: Drive to Linh’s (or to Little Saigon restaurant around the corner at 1718 Woodman Drive) and order Pho Ga (Sliced Chicken Soup) with Rice Noodles ($6.50) or Hu Tieu Tom Heo Sate (spicy shrimp and pork soup) with rice noodles ($6.75), or the Bun Bo Hue ($6.95), pork and beef soup in a spicy broth with egg noodles. The server will first bring a large platter with pristine fresh bean sprouts, cilantro, Thai basil, lime wedges and jalapeno peppers. Next comes the very large, steaming bowls of soup, the noodles nestled in the bottom, a few slices of onion and scallion and thin slices of meat on top. Tear up the fresh vegetables and herbs with your fingers and drop them into the soup. Stir. Breathe in the aromas. Take turns slurping the aromatic broth from a soup spoon and fishing out the noodles and veggies with chopsticks or a fork. You’ll be comforted all right— heck, if you’re in the early stages of a cold, you might be cured.

Other dishes to try: Linh’s stir-fries also excel, and the restaurant has an extensive vegetarian menu and several weekend-only specials.

The Pub

39 Greene Blvd. at The Greene, Beavercreek, (937) 320-1199, www.tavernrestaurantgroup.com. Open for dinner Monday through Sunday and for lunch Thursday through Sunday.

Comfort factor: This can be summed up with just three words plucked from the restaurant menu: Classic pub fare. If the rich, warm glow of The Greene’s resident British pub doesn’t offer the comfort you’re looking for, the food most certainly will. The English Pot Roast ($10.95) is served in a deep bowl with a mound of whipped potatoes taking center stage. The generous portion of tender slow-cooked beef in a rich bordelaise gravy sprinkled with brightly colored carrots and peas in this dish is enough to pass for two meals. Bangers and Mash ($11.95), a traditional English dish featuring grilled sausages, mashed potatoes and gravy, is another hearty dish that is simple and satisfying. The savory Shepherd’s Pie ($11.50) is a stand-out with cooked beef, lamb, peas, carrots, bread crumbs and gravy topped with whipped potatoes and cheese and then baked. It’s served with a modest side salad tossed with balsamic dressing so you don’t feel as guilty about the calories.

Other dishes to try: A tender, flavorful lamb burger ($9.75) topped with white cheddar and cranberry pecan chutney. Specialty brews on tap this season at the Pub include some winter ales that will provide a warming addition to the food. Happy hour runs from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, $4 pints are available for purchase all day Tuesday and Wednesdays feature 50 percent off bottles of wine.

Rue Dumaine

1061 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, Washington Twp., (937) 610-1061, ruedumainerestaurant.com. Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and for lunch on Friday only.

Comfort factor: The comfort here comes from co-owner-chef Anne Kearney’s Cassoulet ($25), the classic French casserole that Kearney prepares with a tender and flavorful duck leg confit, house-made garlic sausage, smoked pork, slowly stewed navy beans, a sauteed mirepoix of aromatic vegetables, and a scattering of bread crumbs. The smoked pork adds complex flavors to the beans, and it seems the flavors just get better from the first bite to the last. Kearney says she put the dish back on the menu this fall because of its popularity last winter, and it will remain there “until it warms up next spring.”

Other dishes to try: Rue Dumaine’s Trout Amandine ($23) — pan-seared trout with toasted almonds and brown butter, served with tender, young green beans — is one of Rue Dumaine’s signature dishes. You’ll be able to taste why.

We’d like to hear from you. Describe your favorite restaurant comfort food in an email to mfisher@coxohio.com, along with your full name and what part of town you live in. Because we ALL could use a little comfort this winter.