“Get in here!” enjoins the neon sign in the front window. And you’d better comply, because this hip little restaurant and bar on Starr Hill gets crowded real fast. Formerly the Garden Gourmet, this spot became the Continental Divide in 1994 when Duffy Pappas opened up shop. It’s since become a favorite with older college students and young professional who want a nightspot a little farther away from campus.

The décor of this long, narrow barroom can best be described as “desert chic.” There’s a big faux-granite bar, cacti and aloe plants in the window, and lots of lizards. Wooden booths line one side of the room, and there a couple of small tables in the front. The walls are a flattering curry color and adorned with black-and-white photos of the old West. A hand-carved bar features high columns, mirrors, pepper-shaped string lights and more lizards. Overhead, an exposed HVAC pipe that runs the length of the room has been painted a soothing sage green.

It always smells really good in here, with bursts of cilantro and cayenne wafting in from the kitchen. The music — upbeat honky-tonk and blues — is usually too loud to for conversation, especially later in the evening when the crowds are thicker. So forget about intimate conversation and focus instead on the staggering tequila selection posted on a blackboard above the bar. When you leave, be sure to pick up one of their cool little bumper stickers — starring a lizard, of course. —Kim Mattingly