Cuisine:

• French
• Caribbean
• Ribs
• Casual
• Diner
• Lounge, club, bar
• Cheese
• Bistro

Wine Bistro Description:
White linen, candles and long-stem roses top the tables at this cozy bistro with Art Deco accents and abundant art, while traditional blackboards display daily specials. Thanks to a loyal clientele of studio execs at lunch and locals at dinner, it's frequently a place bustling with energy. The food may disappoint those looking to rekindle memories of a favorite Left Bank hangout, but you can piece together a satisfying meal by sticking to bistro standards such as escargots Bourgogne, French onion soup, a country pâté, and steak with peppercorn sauce served with respectable pommes frites. Chef Peter Roelant, formerly of Bel-Air's Four Oaks and a protégé of superchef Freddy Girardet, has expanded the menu with dishes like smoked sturgeon with red beet-crème fraîche and pommes gaufrettes; crab and shrimp fritters with pineapple-ginger chutney; and plum-barbecued swordfish with plump basil, roasted tomato, sweet corn and cilantro, and purple and golden baby potatoes. The reliable bistro cooking continues to satisfy, but we feel like the estimable Roelant is being unduly restrained, and wish he would begin to more fully flex his culinary muscles.