If Caviar Be the Food of Life

PARIS - Heady and intense, expensive, delicate and robust, it is rationed by the spoonful. Caviar, the lightly salted eggs of the sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea, sparkles and tingles on the tongue, conjuring up fantasies of sensuousness, celebration, ultimate extravagance.

So what could be better than to begin the fin-de-siecle celebration at the new Petrossian Restaurant, right above the famed caviar specialty shop that has graced the Boulevard La Tour Maubourg since 1920. The restaurant, decked out in mirrors and shades of gray, with a youthful staff of varied experience, is probably one of the best spots to study - if that is a word mere mortals could use - this delicacy.

On a recent weekday evening we feasted on a caviar tasting called ''Le Prince Gourmet,'' which included nothing less than 20 grams (not much if you are thinking in terms of apples and oranges, but a lot in terms of caviar) of the three basic varieties of Iranian and Russian caviars: beluga, ossetra and sevruga. One could create a feast on one's own turf, but how much better it is when served out of glass and silver caviar carriers while someone else makes the blinis and toast and keeps them warm. (If you like to eat a lot of caviar, you won't pay much more here than you would in the shop below, so why not take advantage of the service?)

We had our caviar with a fine Veuve Clicquot Champagne. The beluga - the largest variety and the most expensive - was delightful. Nothing beats that gush of purity, that moment you hold the grains in your mouth, crush them with the tongue and explode their essence onto your palate. But I remain faithful to ossetra, with its subtle, nutty flavor. The eggs always seem firmer, with no trace of ''fishiness'' that one sometimes finds in other varieties. And I would never turn up my nose at Petrossian's sevruga, the smallest of the trio: young, fresh, almost lactic in flavor.

The caviar was served with plump and puffy blinis, toast and a touch of creme fraiche, all one needs - if anything - to accompany the precious mouthfuls. for every budget While a full tasting begins at about 1,080 francs ($170) a person, Petrossian has something for every budget. The noncaviar menu needs some attention, however, because the dishes' names can be confusing. One could end up with three courses of cured, salted fish, as I did when I ordered dishes that gave no hint of containing smoked fish and ended up being almost nothing but.

The best bet was an appetizer of six little tastes (five at lunch), ''Assiette de Tentations,'' that included smoked and marinated sturgeon topped with a sherry jelly and sevruga caviar, and an excellent fish tartare on beet chips. But many of the main courses - the steamed St. Pierre, for example - were far from memorable. And some dishes I would not even want to gamble on: Reblochon cheese and langoustines? Two of my favorite foods, but not together!

Philippe Conticini, the pastry chef, has some bright ideas here, but they don't really get a chance to shine - many need a 3-D view to be appreciated and would best be served in a glass vessel but are hidden in porcelain bowls. His creations range from audacious to delicious to wacky. The finest was his pistachio cream paired with a rich cherry coulis offset by a sprinkling of salted pistachios.

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Petrossian Restaurant
18 Boulevard La Tour Maubourg
Paris 75007
Tel: 01-44-11-32-32
Fax: 01-44-11-32-35.

Credit cards: American Express and Visa. 320-franc tasting menu. A la carte, beginning at 350 francs, not including wine or service.

Autumn Delights Savoring the Season At Two Old Haunts

PARIS - Ask most chefs and they will say autumn is their favorite season at the stove. The avalanche of wild mushrooms, abundance of game, plentitude of fall apples, quince, figs and Jerusalem artichokes, the sparkling freshness of cold-water fish and shellfish such as oysters and scallops, all make this season’s cooking a joy.

Not to mention ever-growing appetites to complement the bounty.

Recent visits to two old favorites unearthed some excellent seasonal meals. The simple thought of game and mushrooms in Paris turns into a seasonal pilgrimage to my all-time favorite city game restaurant, Le Petit Marguery, run by the always energetic Cousin brothers, Alain in the dining room and Michel and Jacques at the stove.

Take one look at the old-fashioned, handwritten menu for this popular neighborhood spot filled with classic gourmands, and three words come to mind: restorative, invigorating, fortifying. Right now, there are no fewer than seven varieties of wild mushrooms, and super-fresh game, from simply roasted wild duck on a bed of crunchy cabbage laced with bits of foie gras to young venison paired with wild rosemary. They don’t forget the sea, either, with a stunningly simple and satisfying roasted skate with mustard sauce; fresh oysters on the half shell from Isigny-sur-Mer; and a remarkably modern version of raviolis stuffed with fresh scallops in a wild mushroom sauce. It has been years since I sampled a souffle that brought me to my knees, but their airy classic with Grand Marnier did just that.

William Ledeuil remains one of my favorite Paris chefs, with a spark of creativity that always seems to match my spirit. A recent tasting menu at the modern and trendy Les Bookinistes, one of Guy Savoy’s bistros, proved that autumn is indeed one of his most inventive seasons. While fresh white beans from Brittany are still in the market, try his salad of nutty, creamy cocos de Paimpol, teamed up with wild mushrooms, strips of pungent, candy-like vieille mimolette cheese, and a few leaves of peppery arugula. Or, try the surprising minestrone of baby shrimp and periwinkles, served with toast topped with anchovy paste and watercress.

Main courses range from a hearty braised veal breast flanked by mashed sweet potatoes, salty bacon and mushrooms. For dessert, give in to his warm runny financiers of chocolate and coffee, anointed with a juice of cherry liqueur and licorice.

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Le Petit Marguery
9 Boulevard du Port Royal
Paris 750013.
tel: 01-43-31-58-59.
Closed Sunday and Monday. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Menus at 165 francs (lunch) and 215 francs (dinner).

Les Bookinistes
53 Quai des Grands-Augustin
Paris 75006
tel: 01-43-25-45-94; fax: 01-43-25-23-07.

Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday lunch. All credit cards. Menus at 140 and 160 francs at lunch, and 180 francs for Sunday dinner. A la carte, 250 francs.

Heart Warming Regional Fare

PARIS - When I moved to Paris 20 years ago, southwestern French was all the rage. You could hardly eat out three nights in a row without facing cassoulet or confit de canard on at least two of those outings. Over the years, Provencal and Mediterranean cuisine took over, leaving all that duck, goose and foie gras in the dust.

Helene Darroze, last seen at her restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan in the Landes in southwestern France, is about to change all that. In her elegant new quarters in the heart of the Left Bank, she is wooing us with a modern, updated version of those regional classics. Like most fine female cooks, she offers more than just a sheer technical rendering of ingredients. She has a point of view, her food has depth, a definite warmth.

Two recent visits to her restaurant - still under construction yet open nonetheless since Oct. 15 - proved that she has talent and, hopefully, staying power in this fickle dining world. I can't say I would have chosen the decor - a lot of heavy reds and purples - but I agree with her choice of china, the quirky white intentionally misshapen cups and plates from Tse & Tse Associees - actually two Parisian designers, Catherine Levy and Sigolene Prebois, who have taken the city by storm with their modern designs.

Darroze, 32, has transported many of the dishes that won her a single Michelin star in the now defunct restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan, including farm-raised pork prepared in three different ways and numerous foie gras preparations. Probably the most delicious dish on the menu is her heart-warming l'escaoutoun landaise, a polenta-like creation prepared with the local corn meal, laced with rich portions of Basque sheep's milk cheese, layered with both sauteed cepe and finely sliced raw cepes, all enriched with an extraordinary reduced chicken stock. I could easily sample this every night of the week, accompanied by one of her wine cellar's well-chosen and well-priced treasures, such as Alain Brumont's powerful Madiran Domaine de Bouscasse. The 1995 is priced at 150 francs. Equally delicious was one evening's appetizer, a creamy flan of foie gras topped with freshly grilled cepes.

A first-course cold white bean soup - prepared with haricots mais from the Bearn - had great depth of flavor. It was teamed up with crushed brandade and the just slightly spicy Basque red peppers, pimientos del piquillo. tasting the foie gras The results of a sampling of duck and goose foie gras - presented so one can compare the two - leaned heavily toward the duck version, much better seasoned and smoother in texture.

With the foie gras, the sommelier wisely suggested Claude Loustalot's Jurancon Sec, Domaine de Bru Bache, Cuvee des Casterrasses, the 1997 well-priced at 145 francs. Darroze continues to woo with a lovely farm-fresh roasted chicken with cepes stuffed beneath the skin, as well as a fine portion of roasted Pauillac lamb, served with its array of organ meats, including brains, sweetbreads and liver.

The pork comes in three services and includes an extraordinary layered portion of blood pudding, chestnuts and apples; a calf's foot stuffed with black truffles, and crusty grilled spare ribs seasoned with the incomparable, just ever so spicy Basque pepper, piment d'Espelette. - IWAS less excited about the desserts: Why use Granny Smith apples this time of year, when the reine de reinettes and boskoop have so much more character? Also, despite the fact that the Paris markets are full of beautiful purple figs from the famed Sollies, I find them just too bland and past their prime. Service, to date, has been exceptional, although on both visits the restaurant was sparsely populated.

Come November, Darroze will offer a main floor table d'hote - dinner served at a stated hour and at a fixed price - offering, you guessed it, cassoulet and confit. Restaurant

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Helene Darroze
4 rue d'Assas
Paris 75006
Tel: 01-42-22-00-11
Fax:01-47-22-25-40
Closed Saturday lunch and all day Sunday.
Open noon-2:30 P.M. and 7:30 P.M.-10:30 P.M. Lunch menu 240 francs, dinner menu 580 francs. A la carte about 350 francs. Credit cards: Visa, American Express.

The Vegetable Garden as Fine Art

CHAUMONT-SUR-LOIRE, France - Leave it to the French. Just as gardens in general and vegetable gardens in particular enjoy a passionate frenzy among the world's moneyed class, this quiet corner of the Loire puts on a show like we've never seen.

Until Oct. 24, garden lovers are invited to the Conservatoire International des Parcs et Jardins et du Paysage to view ''Rien que des Potagers'' (Nothing but Vegetable Gardens), a luxurious tour of 30 potagers designed by artists from all over the world.

If that's not enough, just a few kilometers away at the Château de la Bourdaisiere in Montlouis, Prince Louis-Albert de Broglie shares his passion for tomatoes by offering us a tour of 408 varieties of tomatoes from all over the world. Through Oct. 30, we can wander through the thriving 1-hectare organically tended potager, pondering the merits of such heirloom varieties as Yellow Round Chicken, Purple Calabash, Moon Glow and Salt Spring Sunrise, not to mention plots devoted to 120 varieties of lettuce, 28 varieties of melon, dozens of varieties of basil, mint, thyme, raspberries and strawberries. And if we're lucky, the outgoing gardener Marc Brizion may just be there to offer some advice (start your seeds on Feb. 15; bury the plants with lots of nettles on May 15 after les Saints de Glace; feed your tomatoes every two weeks with a good organic fertilizer) and perhaps a taste or two.

De Broglie also offers an attractive display of almost all the varieties of tomatoes in a separate outbuilding, along with a garden shop for seeds, books and garden gear. Visitors can also stay at the château, which serves as a sort of bed and breakfast, where the breakfast includes, of course, tomato jam. On Sept. 18 and 19 there will be a Festival de la Tomate, where guests can sample the season's bounty.

The Chaumont conservatoire is in its eighth year, with each June-to-October garden season devoted to a different theme. This year's potager competition brought in 300 contestants, from sculptors to landscape architects, from France, Belgium, the United States, Scotland, Japan, Algeria, Morocco and Bangladesh and is now receiving some 3,000 visitors each day.

Don't go expecting to see a model potager - that's my one regret - but rather artful fantasy gardens. Some are filled with practical ideas, but most are zany or wild, though in the end emotionally uplifting and inspiring.

a square deal My favorite garden is the most practical, L'Art du Potager en Carres, nine 30-centimeter by 30-centimeter metal squares set at waist level, filled with dirt, equipped with shade screens and trellises, a watering system, glass for a greenhouse effect and a frame for starting seedlings. Jean-Paul Collaert and Jean-Michelle Wilmotte of France are geniuses. They figure that a family of four could eat out of the garden throughout the season with just four of the clever squares.

The most thoughtful and original is the Potager Nomade, the creation of three French artists - Patrick Nandea, Nathalie Ciprian and Vincent Rougier - who designed a four-sided metal box, much like a square camping trailer. The idea is that one can take this garden anywhere. The box opens to create four platforms: one that serves as a greenhouse for tomatoes, another for neat rows of trellised eggplant and peppers, one for tidy rows of salad greens and a fourth for sitting on a lounge chair, contemplating nature.

The Chinese Garden is the most calming and contemplative, the creation of a trio of Chinese artists who offer us a contemplative yin-yang planting complete with fountain and stone walkways.

Many, like Jean-Luc Danneyrolles's Potager Bio d'un Curieux (The Inquisitive Man's Organic Vegetable Garden), are full of a sort of preachy intellectualism and symbolism for which the French are famous. They can't just let a garden be a garden. His visually fanciful garden, brightened by colorful labels in bold primary colors, represents the four elements.

Visitors can tour the gardens on their own, or take part in the hourly guided visits. There's also a lovely garden shop where you can buy everything from old-fashioned French-made fly swatters to gardening books and organic herbal teas. For dining, there is an outdoor tea salon, an all-you-can-eat pasta restaurant and a fine restaurant under a gorgeous canopy called Le Grand Velum. Under the careful eye of the inventive chef Francois-Xavier Bogard, diners are surprised, challenged, rewarded, with a reasonably priced 110-franc or 145-franc ($18 to $23) menu that includes a remarkable selection of local wines by the glass.

Bogard cooks with only organic produce supplied by the conservatoire's gardens and that of local growers, and has fashioned a bright, garden-inspired menu that makes use of newly popular herbs and spices. Purple basil, star anise, Sichuan pepper, nasturtium leaves, heirloom yellow zucchini, green cardamom and lemon verbena are just a few of the items that grace the menu.

culinary surprises Most dishes are designed to surprise, arriving in the form of one of the currently trendy architectural creations. I'm opposed to the trend when flavor takes a back seat to form, but in Bogard's case, the creations serve both purposes well.

Try the creamy tomato soup prepared with the popular beefsteak tomato, served with a delicious tomato basil sorbet, a confit of yellow tomatoes and a purple basil emulsion. Or, opt for the tempura-like garden of baby vegetables, artfully arranged in a package of Moroccan feuille de brik shaped liked an ordinary brown paper bag. As a main course, the moist and delicious oxtail is a must, carefully seasoned with pepper spices, pure Caribbean chocolate and green cardamom. And who would have thought to cook the accompanying Charlotte potatoes in a bath of carrot juice, heightened with a horseradish tang?

Desserts are designed to assuage the sweet tooth as well as chocolate fanatics, with a Valrhona chocolate duet, as well as a classic fruit salad composed of melon, red plums, yellow peaches and red currants, served in a rosette of melon with cherry sorbet and chocolate madeleines. Cheese lovers should not miss the local Sainte-Maure de Touraine, a firm, clean-flavored goat's-milk cheese with a classic, lactic tang.

To sip along with the meal, there is a mineral-rich, pale golden, grapefruity Cuvee de Fie Gris, a 1996 Touraine wine from old vines made by Jacky Preys; and a deliciously fruity and lively rose from the house of Rousseau Freres. Most wines can be had by the glass, all priced at around 80 francs a bottle.

On a down note, the bread is flavorless and service is extremely slow and unprofessional, with staffers who act as if they - not you - are on vacation.

Both gardens have special events planned for the French Semaine du Gout, from Oct. 16 to 24.

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Rien Que des Potagers

Conservatoire International des Parcs et Jardins et du Paysage
41150 Chaumont-sur-Loire
(17 kilometers from Blois)
Tel: 02-54-20-99-22
Fax: 02-54-20-99-24.

Open daily, 9 A.M. to nightfall. Entry fee: 48 francs for adults; 20 francs for children 8 to 12, free to children under 8.

Le Potager d'un Prince

Château de la Bourdaisiere
37270 Montlouis-sur-Loire
(241 kilometers from Paris, 12 kilometers from Tours)
Tel: 02-47-45-16-31
Fax: 02-47-45-09-11
e-mail:labourd@club.internet.fr.

Open daily 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. Entry to garden, 25 francs for adults, free to children under 8.

Languedoc's Full Flavors

SAINT-GUIRAUD, France - When traveling, few events are more exciting or rewarding than the discovery of a restaurant that seems to fit one's ideal: crisply beautiful and carefully thought-out surroundings, a calm, gentle welcome, a menu full of one's favorite seasonal fare, from artichokes to asparagus, those Lilliputian Mediterranean clams known as tellines and newly pressed olive oil from the meaty green verdale olive of the Languedoc.

Add to this a wine list that gathers up the greats of France's up-and-coming wine region, the Languedoc-Roussillon, and you have a thoroughly charming place well worth the detour.

But the best part of all is the attentive pair that showers all their love on their little Le Mimosa, Bridget and David Pugh. The couple - he is English and she comes from New Zealand - has been perfecting their little jewel since 1985, when she traded her dance shoes from the Norwegian National Ballet for cook's clogs and he swapped his violin for a corkscrew.

Le Mimosa is an ocher-stone, restored medieval home lovingly decorated with local antiques and selections from the couple's art collection. All is set at the top of a village surrounded by spectacular views and well-tended vines, and it is here that the Pughs offer a solid, simple, full-flavored menu.

On a visit on May, I loved the well-ordered starter of puff pastry topped with fresh green asparagus, warm, tender goat cheese and the freshest of tiny tomatoes, warmed just to a melt and drizzled with olive oil. Like Bridget herself, the dish is graceful and soft-spoken, seemingly fragile yet loaded with power. She is sure of herself, and your palate will verify that. She urges, coaxes ingredients to give of themselves, until they speak clearly and distinctly of their own intensity.

artful blends I felt the same way about her brilliant combination of artichokes, grilled almonds and zest of lemon confit, all marinated in a fragrant, thyme-scented honey. Her food is ingredient-driven, and I'd feel safe with her behind the wheel any day.

Other regular specials might include tangles of spaghetti laced with tellines; a meaty saddle of rabbit stuffed with pistachios and sage; or a farm-raised lamb from the Herault roasted with farigoule, or wild thyme, and the precious, delicate fleur de sel from the Camargue.

When it comes to wine, David will give you an equally authoritative lead. Among my favorites in his cellar are Domaine Tempier's renowned rosé from Bandol; any of the ripe and densely flavored creations from Domaine d'Aupilhac; and the well-structured reds and floral whites from Gilbert Alquier et Fils, in Faugeres. Most wines are well priced, generally 120 to 180 francs (about $20 to $30), and there is a worthy and welcoming selection available by the glass.

In 1996 the Pughs opened an equally charming hotel, Ostalaria Cardabela, in the picture postcard village of Saint-Saturnin-de-Lucian, just a few minutes' drive from the restaurant.

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Le Mimosa

34725 Saint-Guiraud
(7.5 kilometers north of Clermont l'Herault, about 50 kilometers north of Montpellier)
Tel: 04-67-96-67-96
Fax: 04-67-96-61-15

Closed November through February, and Sunday evening (except July and August) and Monday. Credit card: Visa. Menus at 190 and 290 francs, with optional wine-pairing selection for 145 francs. A la carte, 350 to 450 francs.

Hotel Ostalaria Cardabela

10 Place de la Fontaine
Saint-Saturnin-deLucian
(10 kilometers north of Clermont l'Herault)
Tel: 04-67-88-62-62
Fax: 04-67-88-62-82

Silken Blend of Summer Flavors

NEW YORK - Two years after his splash opening in the glitzy Trump Hotel at the edge of Central Park, Jean Georges Vongerichten has shown the town he has the stuff. On a recent visit on a soggy, humid, stormy, heavy evening in Manhattan, his food was able to lift spirits and lighten bodies with an ethereal, magical touch.

When I think of some New York chefs, such as Daniel Bouloud, I think of stainless steel and sturdiness, toughness, tightly wound discipline. With Vongerichten I think silk and linen, summer breeze. As one of the forerunners of fusion cuisine - a merging of Asian and Western flavors - he does it as only a modern Frenchman can: with a gentle hand and not with a message that hits you over the head.

This time I dined in the Jean Georges café, Nougatine, adjacent to the elegant, modern high-class dining room. Here, one orders from the main dining room's menu, and the summer offerings are peppered with light, warm-weather flavors and such favorite ingredients as green asparagus and morels, summer Provençal truffles, peeketoe crab, black sea bass and Maine char.

But perhaps my favorite dish of the tasting menu was a brilliant ''marjolaine'' of foie gras and almonds, a takeoff of the chocolate dessert classic, in which smooth, silken foie gras is layered with sweet, crisp layers of almond cookies, flanked by a trio of crunchy fresh white almonds right off the trees of California. A side consommé of gelatinous chicken broth flavored with the famed sweet vin de paille from the Jura served as a fine, juxtaposing, tonic. Paired with a sweet white Bonnezeaux from the Loire Valley the dish serves as a lovely, modern, welcoming palate-opener that remains faithful to French tradition but steps forward just enough to let us know we are nearing the 21st century.

The crayfish salad on a bed of mixed baby greens (tender, flavorful and not tinged with that ''just out of the plastic bag'' flavor) was seasoned with a very Asian and refreshing anise and sesame vinaigrette.

Good fresh black sea bass, sweet and white and gently flaked, is another Vongerichten signature dish, here thickly coated with a crust of hazelnuts, almonds, coriander, sesame seeds and black pepper and set on a bed of baby summer vegetables, including four varieties of tomatoes. A haunting touch of sherry vinegar whisked into a mushroom and tomato broth tied the entire dish together, providing an essential structure.

His tender, pinkish veal chop was laced with sage and bathed in Madeira-spiked pan juices, punctuated with a glazed, welcoming compote of sweet and sour kumquats. The recommended 1983 Chianti Classico Riserva from the vineyards of Monsato was a fine pairing.

Desserts here are presented as jewels, in white square and round plates, making diners feel regal indeed. I adore the idea of a cherry variation - with clafoutis, sorbet, tartare and an updated version of cherries jubilee - but on this visit the delicate, elusive essence of cherries was, alas, uncaptured. But the pastry chef's poached peach with a champagne sabayon did the trick, capturing the sweet, fresh flavor of a whole peach bathed in a lily-white sabayon that gently robed the fruit, offering a sweet-tart counterplay on the tongue. With a soothing cup of lemon verbena tea as a finish, we went out into the stormy night with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

While I staunchly believe that one should reserve everywhere, you can usually walk in unannounced and find a table most weekdays at Nougatine.

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Nougatine, café of restaurant Jean Georges

Trump International Hotel
1 Central Park West
New York.
Tel: (212) 299-3900
Fax: (212) 299-3914

Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with average prices, respectively, $15, $35 and $55, including service but not wine.

A Creative Chef, Pure and Simple

PARIS - Christian Le Squer was born in a coastal village in Brittany in 1962, and first set foot in Paris at the age of 20, when he came to cook in a popular Right Bank restaurant. Since then, the 36-year-old has passed through such august kitchens as Lucas-Carton and Taillevent, and two years ago won two Michelin stars while at the helm of the Grand Hotel Inter-Continental's Restaurant Opera. Early this year, he took over the reins of Ledoyen, one of those Champs-Elysees palaces that seem to bend in the wind: in and chic one moment, out and forgotten the next.

Ledoyen is on the upward curve (retaining its two Michelin stars this year, despite a change of chefs) and Le Squer might be considered among the ''typical'' up-and-coming Parisian chefs of the decade. His message is clear: The ingredient is king; food should be creative and surprising but easy to understand. - Living Day by Day Unlike most chefs of the previous generation - the Robuchons and Savoys, the Rostangs and the Dutourniers - he does not own his own restaurant.

Like some of the best of his peers - Frederic Anton at Le Pre Catelan, Philippe Braun at Laurent, Alain Soliveres at Les Elysees du Vernet - he sees it as an advantage. Le Squer's employer is none other than Vivendi (the French conglomerate with such properties as the Michelin three-star Alain Ducasse and the two-star L'Astor) and, as he says, ''We are not going to work in the same place from the age of 40 until retirement.

We live day by day.'' His take on grand modern French cuisine is that it's too evolved, needs too many people to do it right, and demands too much labor. (With 42 in the kitchen, doing 450 covers a day, he knows what he is talking about.) He also bemoans the fact that the generation just after him no longer tolerates restaurants' punishing hours.

Rare is the day off and, when it comes, it's spent catching up on the week's lost sleep. So his modern message is to keep it pure and keep it simple. A recent lunch in this butter-yellow mansion on the edge of the Champs-Elysees proved that his mind moves in the direction we want to go today: Gigantic and yet flavorful Provencal green asparagus was paired with huge fresh morels, a marriage of the woods and the garden, grass green and monk's robe brown, bathed in an acidulated sauce.

His take on the meaty, manly veal knuckle, a long-braised jarret de veau, also had a welcome modern translation, for the avalanche of vegetables that accompanied the meat as a garnish - of fresh fava beans, asparagus, Swiss chard and tomatoes - seemed more like the main dish than the meat. His signature dish - a tangle of giant langoustines from Brittany, two of them simply seasoned with a blend of coriander, fennel and star anise and pan-fried in olive oil, and another pair rolled in an herb-filled kadaif (the fine Greek pasta that looks like shredded wheat) and seared crisp - comes on like a fresh Atlantic breeze.

Desserts here are a delight, including paper-thin wafers filled with lemon cream and served with lemon ice cream, as well as some of the most delicious babas in town.

You have not heard the last of Le Squer. Look for more to come from this flower-filled Right Bank palace.

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Ledoyen

Carre des Champs Elysees
1 Avenue Dutuit
Paris 75008

Tel: 01-53-05-10-01.
Fax: 01-47-42-55-01.
Closed Saturday, Sunday, and August. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Menus at 320 (lunch only) and 620 francs. A la carte, 800 to 1,000 francs, not including wine.

A Taste of Provence From a Rising Star

Maturity and confidence are great traits to witness anytime, anywhere. Even better when you happen to be on the receiving end, and the talented person happens to be a chef. Flora Mikula - certainly one of the rising stars of modern French cuisine -shines with clear brilliance, with a newly decorated Left Bank restaurant and more verve and stamina than ever.

Unquestionably, she is among the most talented female chefs in Paris, and in all of France. When Mikula speaks, her broad, expressive face lights up like an unfurling flower, and you can see, feel, taste that energy and enthusiasm with every dish, every bite of her authentic, Provencal-inspired cuisine.

Wisely, she has invested time in kitchens in her native Provence, in London and New York before making her way into the kitchen of Alain Passard's Arpege. On her own for the past three years, she is now showing at Les Olivades that she, too, has what it takes.

Right now, everything from meaty clams to her signature confit of quail,
to sweet farm-raised pork to original pots de creme grace her original, tantalizing menu. If you haven't already tried Mikula's caille confite, plump quail simmered to moist tenderness in bath of extra-virgin olive oil (rather than the traditional goose or duck fat of France's southwest), by all means go for it.

On a recent night, she paired the quail with tiny cubes of green apples
for a hint of acid, a showering of freshly toasted pine nuts for crunch and an almost smoky essence, all accented by an ever so faint touch of black truffle oil.

It would be nearly impossible to improve upon her almond-infused amandes gratinees, meaty clams (known as almonds of the sea) dotted with finely ground almonds and grilled to a warm tenderness. A hint of fresh coriander expanded the impact of the shellfish-almond duo, while a mix of mushrooms, onions and spinach (a modern approach to a la grecque) softened the flavors and added a garden-fresh edge.

Spare-rib lovers should adore her approach to an American favorite, with her travers de cochon fermier roti au miel et aux epices, unfatty ribs so meaty, chewy and tender, bathed in a sweet glistening sauce of honey and spices, so shiny you want to don ice skates and go for a spin.

Horn of plenty Desserts are full of hope and promise, with an original
and welcome corne d'abondance, a horn-of-plenty pastry cone filled strawberries and rhubarb and teamed up with a fine cinnamon ice cream.

Equally delicious was the pots de creme duo, one with a bright, licorice-rich anise flavor and the other infused with the flavors of rosemary and thyme. Fresh-from-the-oven madeleines and Bordeaux-inspired vanilla muffins, or canneles, won hearts and warmed spirits.

Other specialties to look forward to here include goat's cheese from
Mikula's native Nimes - picodon - aged in olive oil and perfumed with wild herbs; tender roasted baby lamb; breast of guinea hen with olives and polenta, and a well-priced regional wine list.

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Les Olivades,
41 Avenue de Segur,
Paris 7
Telephone 01-47-83-70-09, fax: 01-42-73-04-75.
Credit cards: American Express, Mastercard, Visa. Closed Saturday lunch, all day Sunday, Monday lunch and two weeks in August. Menus at 179 and 250 francs ($30 and $38); a la carte, 250 francs; lunch menu at 130 francs.

Back to Basics: The Paris Bistro

PARIS - Paris is full of those funky old bistros, with weird names like Le Buisson Ardent (the Burning Bush) and the sort of decor your great-grandmother might have created - wagon-wheel chandeliers, dusty murals of unexplained bucolic scenes and walls that are repainted every decade or so in classic eggshell tones.

One by one, these old spots - many of which lost their appeal as well as their clientele years ago - are being renewed in spirit but not in decor.

And I am all for that. One of the more successful is Le Buisson Ardent, one of a series of 1940s neighborhood bistros along what was then the wholesale wine market and is today the horror of modern architecture, the Jussieu university.

New owners - the Duclos brothers, Francois in the dining room and Philippe at the stove - have breathed new life into the Left Bank spot, which has managed to retain a village-like charm, with high ceilings, square-tiled floors and classic Thonet chairs.

With a line-up of dishes that are modern and creative, a bargain 90-franc ($15) menu at lunch and a 160-franc menu at lunch or dinner, they are sure to win.

Starters include warm goat cheese and ham wrapped in pastry, all set on a bed of julienned vegetables, followed by such classics as onglet de veau, deliciously chewy veal flank
steak, served with a sadly undercooked potato cake wrapped in bacon, and an excellent version of braised souris d'agneau, that meaty muscle attached to the tip of the bone of the leg of lamb.

Other tempting creations include roast chicken with buttery lentils; crab ravioli floating in a lemongrass broth, and roast suckling pig with seared foie gras. The wine list could use
some attention (our Beaujolais Moulin a Vent was drinkable, but no more), and the chef gets a bravo for attempting homemade bread, but it's anemic and needs great help.

It's the sort of place you would probably not wander into on your own, one of those nondescript cafes on a quiet side street. But take another look and you'll see that Le Mauzac is bursting at the seams with a faithful clientele that will follow the owners, Christine and Jean-Michel Delhoume, anywhere.

They once ran Les Pipos wine bar nearby. In one corner, a fat golden mongrel snoozes on the floor. In another, a hat rack tumbles over, burdened with the weight of winter. Men sit alone with their ballons de rouge and a platter of sausages, while a child sits at the bar doing his homework.

It's a pure 5th arrondissement neighborhood scene, and everyone who's here knows exactly what they want that day. Most don't even bother with a menu, since they came for the fat and juicy onglet de boeuf, beef flank steak, teamed up with you-can't-stop-eating-them frites, or the Friday specials of sauteed crevettes and a mound of deep-fried salt cod.

Another good bet might be the first-course platter of museau de porc, headcheese, sliced paper thin and topped with marinated onions and a puckery vinaigrette. On my last visit, I adored the filet mignon de porc, excellent pork tenderloin bathed in a creamy mustard sauce. The wine list is ever-changing, so it is best to check out the list at the bar before you settle down. Some good bets include Rhone
offerings from Corrine Couturier at Rabasse-Charavin, or Marcel Richaud in Cairanne. In good weather, the terrace is a fine place for lunch, along the tree-lined Rue de l'Abbe de
l'Epee.

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Le Buisson Ardent, 25 Rue Jussieu, Paris 5; tel: 01-43-54-93-02; fax: 01-46-33-34-77. Closed Saturday lunch, Sunday, the month of August and one week at Christmas. Credit cards: Visa, American Express. 90-franc lunch menu, 160-franc dinner menu. A la carte, 220 to 230
francs, including service and wine. -

Le Mauzac, 7 Rue de l'Abbe de l'Epee, Paris 5; tel: 01-46-33-75-22. Closed Saturday for dinner, Sunday and three weeks in August. Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club. A la carte, 150 to 180 francs, including service but not wine.

A Disappointing Search for the Perfect Fish

PARIS - Say ''fish restaurant'' and I'll be the first to get in line at the door.

So the second my calendar was clear, I reserved a table at the city's newest restaurant devoted to the fruits of the sea,
Aristippe.

Nestled not far from the Palais Royal, this 40-seat restaurant is an all-white affair, greeting you with a welcoming entry that reminds you of a clean, white front porch in the country.

Unfortunately, the second I stepped inside I was hit not by a fresh sea breeze but a stale, stagnant, fishy odor. And the evening pretty much went downhill from there.

Gilles Le Galles, last seen cooking at La Barriere de Clichy just outside Paris, has received a warm and positive response from the French press, an enthusiasm I simply cannot share.

Service at Aristippe - named for the Greek philosopher Aristippus, who maintained that people should devote their lives to the pursuit of pleasure - was slow as slow can be. Waiters seemed to have no training (except in how to ignore diners), and the food was universally boring, uninventive, stuck in the mud.

The most disappointing dish of the evening was named for one of France's greatest and most inventive fish chefs, Gilbert Le Coze, who died in 1994. With his sister, Maguy, he lit up the Paris food world in the 1980s at the popular fish restaurant Le Bernardin, which set new standards for freshness and simplicity.

Le Galles's version of Le Coze's langoustines roties was dull and faded, a meager serving of langoustines seared in their shells and bathed in a ho-hum sauce. (I dearly wanted to march into the kitchen and say to the chef: ''I knew Gilbert Le Coze. And you are no Gilbert Le Coze.'')

Equally drab was the main-course blanquette de lotte, not much more than a dreary portion of monkfish in a creamed sauce, topped with a slice of grilled bacon and a mound of
basmati rice. Likewise, the turbot (nicely paired with salsify, a most under-utilized winter vegetable) could have been any white fish, it was so lacking in personality.

If I had made the dull tarte fine aux pommes - thin apple tart - I would have thrown it in the garbage and gone back to the pastry board. The pastry had all the flavor of a piece of cardboard and the fruit lacked that delicious winter acidity that France's best apples supply.

The only redeeming quality came from Domaine Mardon's flinty white Quincy - a Sauvignon blanc with a smoky, spicy nose - well priced here at 95 francs (about $16) a bottle -

This is not a good moment for fish. Sushi lovers will not be happy after a trip to the new and trendy Lo Sushi, one of the chic and modern restaurants in the neighborhood of the
Champs-Elysees.

Oh how I wish it were better, for the lively, beautiful spot - designed by Andree Putman with its conveyor belt of sushi at the bar, multimedia screens clicking away, pastel-colored saucers to denote the price of each dish, and cheery waitresses - could be just what the doctor ordered. Alas, the sashimi was bland, while the rounds of rice-filled
sushi just made it to the edible mark.

Best bets here were anything filled with a touch of rich mayonnaise or sweet, ripe avocado. The cold sake was insipid. But the spot is so popular that the doorman (who, I'm sorry, more resembles a bouncer) turns hordes away. For this, you have to reserve days in advance?

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Aristippe, 8 Rue
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Paris 1;
tel: 01-42-60-08-80; fax: 01-42-60-11-13. Credit cards: Visa, Amex. Closed
Saturday lunch, Sunday and two weeks in August. 170-franc lunch menu;
220-franc tasting menu. A la
carte, 175 to 245 francs, including service but not wine. Lo

Sushi, 8 Rue
de Berri, Paris 8; tel: 01 45-62-01-00; fax: 01-45-62-01-10. Credit cards:
Visa, Amex, Mastercard. 15 to 40
francs a plate. About 150 to 250 francs a person, including beverages.

A Warm Paris Bistro Offers Soothing Fare

PARIS - Lovers of those old-fashioned Parisian family bistros should rush right over to Chez Catherine, a most classic 1930s bistro, where the welcome is warm, the food is satisfying and the wine list is sure to cheer on the grayest of Parisian days.

The chef is Catherine Guerraz, a tidy young woman raised in a restaurant family in France's southwest. Along with her gentle, outgoing husband, Frederic, she runs a fine traditional restaurant, with a colorful copper bar and walls filled with Art Deco mirrors, colorful patchwork tile floors and bric-a-brac.

On my most recent visit, I feasted on what is one of the city's best and freshest versions of sole meuniere, a giant whole sole dusted with flour and browned in sweet butter. Priced at 125 francs, this is a bargain worth the detour on its own.

But don't stop there: Try the steaming platter of warming pasta, tiny ravioles bathed in cream, tossed with mushrooms and a touch of crisp bacon.

Equally excellent is her cassoulet, here prepared with soothing white beans, chunks of sausage and earthy portions of duck confit.

Lovers of the tiny fish known as eperlans, or smelt, will happily devour the gargantuan platter of deep-fried fish that arrives hot from the kitchen, needing no more than a sprinkling of fine sea salt and a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. I loved, as well, the soothing rabbit terrine, or compote de lapin, compact, full-flavored and fresh.

Situated on a drab little street lost behind the Galeries Lafayette department store, Chez Catherine caters to a well-heeled and cheery French clientele. They happily chat across tables, advising newcomers on what's best on the compact menu.

The wine list is brief, with some reds and whites worth discovering: Try the 1996 Cotes du Rhone Chateau d'Hugues, a ruby-red blend that's well priced at 145 francs a bottle.

We did not order the double-thick pan-fried steak served with its mind-boggling mountain of fries, but it is on my list for the next dinner at Chez Catherine, which will be very soon.

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Chez Catherine, 65 rue de Provence, Paris 9; tel: 01-45-26-72-88. Credit card: Visa, MasterCard. Closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evening. A la carte, 200 to 250 francs (about $33 to $42)

In the Garden of the Senses - Twin Chefs in Montpellier Blend the Modern and Traditional

MONTPELLIER, France - They are known as les Freres Pourcel, twin brothers who shook the French food world just a year ago as they captured the coveted third Michelin star for their modern, personalized restaurant on the outskirts of this southern city.

Along with their partner-maitre d'hotel-sommelier, Olivier Chateau, theylike to joke that they now have a star for each one of them.

The Pourcel story is a familiar French one. The twins Jacques and Laurent, sons of a local winemaker, grew up with a passion for the food that marries with the rich and heady local wines. As a double tour de force, they spread their wings around the country, Laurent apprenticing to such top French chefs as Michel Bras and Alain Chapel, and Jacques working under the tutelage of Michel Trama, Marc Meneau and Pierre Gagnaire. They opened their own restaurant, Le Jardin des Sens, in Montpellier in 1988 and seem never to have looked back.

Their restaurant-hotel matches their cuisine, with a look distinctly contemporary (the architect, Bruno Borrione, is known for his work at New York's Paramount and Royalton hotels) and a cuisine that intelligently blends tradition with modernity.

Be warned: The place is very hard to find, even for one with a good sense of direction and all the Michelin literature. (Internet users may visit the restaurant Web site - www.relaischateaux.fr - and print out a map.) - Vast, Tiered Dining Room Once you find it, you will enter into a garden of the senses: The vast

tiered dining room overlooks a garden in progress, with a 400-year-old olive tree, fruit trees and vines. Everywhere, from the Porthault linens to the Bernardaud china, you see that they have determined to do it right. My only complaints: prefer a more classic look and find the huge room more of a theater set than a dining room.

I also missed a female presence, one that inevitably lightens and softens what can sometimes be a sobering and off-putting grand three-star experience. The food is a model of modernity, although it is clear that the Pourcels are not about to abandon the great French traditions. Working with the regional larder of Provence and the Languedoc, they have at their disposal fresh oysters, extraordinary sea bass (loup de mer), plump farm pigeons and tender veal.

Their food is complex in ingredients, rich in flavor, but simple to understand: Who could not adore a warming first course of fresh wild cepe mushrooms paired with thin slices of country ham, a tender confit of shallots and garlic, leaves of baby spinach, all bathed in a sauce blending rich meat juices and fragrant walnut oil? Sometimes the combinations are daring, as in bonbons of crusty, deep-fried foie gras served with a sweet-and-sour salad of pears in vanilla and teamed with a salad featuring grilled-rapeseed oil.

Simpler, and so welcoming, is their salad of ''all the season's vegetables, served raw and served cooked'' tossed with a bouquet of herbs in a vinaigrette of olive oil and lemon. The drama continues, with rich filets of young pigeon served atop a sort of Moroccan pastry-wrapped pastilla filled with giblets and seasoned with a touch of curry, all served with pan-seared pears and pigeon juice with a touch of cocoa. And I defy anyone to find fault with the flawless roasted veal chop, simply deglazed with a touch of young garlic, and served with a tiny salad and stuffed Provencal vegetables.

Their food is audacious and architectural, like many of the world's chefs who are filled with that youthful exuberance. But the difference between the Pourcel brothers and those chefs in Sydney or New York is that the twins have training and tradition, a foundation that so many other young chefs lack. Add to this Chateau's extraordinary knowledge of the great wines of the Languedoc, and a good time is assured. - For longtime fans of Pile ou Face in Paris, it was a sad day indeed when they sold the thriving Michelin-starred restaurant three years ago.

Lucky for us, the three restaurateurs - Claude Udron, Alain Dumergue and Philippe Marquet - resurfaced in July on the Mediterranean coast, in Marseillan, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Montpellier. In this quiet seaside village, they opened the charming Chez Philippe, a casual and perfectly appointed bistro with a argain 100-franc ($18) menu.

Since opening day, the ''complet'' sign has been out for lunch and dinner, and reservations a week in advance are not out of order. With chef Sebastien Demeulle at the stove, Chez Philippe offers a choice menu of five starters, five main courses and five desserts, all with an accent on the anguedoc.

With such specialties as the layered vegetable omelette crespeou; eggplant with delicate goat cheese; poached oysters from the Bassin de Thau, and a gratin of mussels cooked in the local Noilly Dry, we have a veritable regional festival. – THE restaurateurs are always searching, for a new local wine, a new local cheese monger, a new local vegetable grower, a new local designer to embellish their already well-tended prize. Go with an eye toward pleasure, and hope that their exuberance, attention to detail and passion for food rubs off.

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– Le Jardin des Sens, 11 Avenue Saint-Lazare, 34000 Montpellier. Tel: 04-67-79-63-38; fax: 04-67-72-13-05. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Closed Sunday,

Monday lunch and two weeks in January. Menus from 230 to 590 francs (about

$40 to $100). A la carte, 190 to 480, including service but not wine. Chez Philippe, 20 rue de Suffren, 34340 Marseillan. Tel: 04-67-01-70-62. Credit card: Visa. Closed Sunday dinner, Monday and Tuesday. Open for dinner only every night in July and August. Closed in January. 100-franc menu. A la carte, 150 to 170 francs, including wine and service

Winter Fare From 2 Paris Chefs Northern Dishes; A Vegetarian Menu

PARIS - I have followed the career of David Van Laer since the 1980s, when he first surfaced as an eager and impressive young chef at Jean-Pierre Vigato's La Manufacture just outside of Paris.

Three years ago he went off on his own to open Le Bamboche, a pint-sized restaurant that instantly took off, as diners applauded his combination of modern and classical French fare in a cozy Left Bank setting right behind the Bon Marche department store.

A few weeks ago he moved to larger quarters on the Boulevard du Montparnasse, and if a single meal is any sign, Van Laer should continue along his successful path. Considering the time and energy constraints of getting Le axence opened, the new menu differs little from Le Bamboche.

Throughout his career, Van Laer has kept true to his own tastes and origins, all the while weaving into the menu dishes from his native northern France. So chez Van Laer you find updated versions of such classics as the traditional presskoph head cheese (here laced with lobster rather than pork) and waterzooi, a sort of chicken pot-au-feu (here prepared with scallops, or coquilles Saint-Jacques).

Best dishes at a recent dinner included a rustic gratin dish with a rich parmentier de queue de boeuf, or mashed potatoes layered with bits of slowly cooked oxtail that had been shredded, all served with a gentle truffle puree.

He has a fine way with pigeon, and samples of two versions - one on the a la carte menu was served in a pastry-cased tourte and another on the bargain 190-franc menu was simply roasted - prove that this little bird deserves greater exposure. Both preparations showed up the bird's earthy richness and wintry appeal. The tourte was the sort of dish you expect to find on a fine bourgeois table, not a sunny yellow restaurant on Boulevard du Montparnasse: The pigeon has that properly livery, gamy flavor, enhanced by a sauce becasse and a few sips of J.L. Colombo's racy 1997 Syrah La Serine Pointue, a bargain at 150 francs.

Another good bet was the first course platter of ravioles (tiny raviolis) stuffed with shellfish and a fragrant truffle cream, and the lobster presskoph, a humorous and delicious headcheese bathed in an herb-rich vinaigrette. I was less enthused about the frogs' legs fricassee unsuccessfully paired with lentils, garlic cream and snails; and the remoulade of langoustines, which I would not have ordered had I known that the langoustines were raw. (It's a sacrilege to serve them raw, for it is in gentle cooking that the langoustines are allowed to bring out their iodine-rich flavor and soft mellow texture.) As ever, Van Laer's cellar offers some bargains and discoveries, including A. Ostertag's spicy GewŸrztraminer (the 1996 Vignoble d'Epfig at 180 francs), the Perrin brothers' astonishing white Coudelet de Beaucastel (the 1996 at 200 francs); J.L. Colombo's viognier-florah white Rhone Les Figuieres (the 1997 at 170 francs), and Michel Richaud's ripe Cotes du Rhone Cairanne (the 1997 at 120 francs).

The new decor is full of lots of bright sunny golds and terra-cotta, just a hint of the Mediterranean. Go see for yourself. With a bargain 190-franc menu at lunch and dinner, and valet parking to boot, how can you miss? - VEGETARIANS have never been treated very well in this city. Oh, sure, chefs will prepare vegetable-based dishes if you ask, but most of us really don't want to be a bother or stand out from the crowd. Leave it to Mark Williamson to find a way: Each day at his continually evolving restaurant, Maceo, Williamson offers a full-fledged vegetarian menu, with a selection of four first and main course vegetarian dishes. Each dish revolves around what's in the market and in season, so right now the menu is peppered with chestnuts and fennel, beets and dried peas, onions and apples. The newly refurbished main dining room at Maceo has been open since

September, with sparkling wooden floors, gorgeous stained wood panels in rich oak framing the restaurant's original beveled glass mirrors, and clever, modern lighting.

Gone are the old banquettes, dreary and heavy draperies and oppressive, outdated lighting that once were part of the old Le Mercure Galant. Best dishes sampled at a recent lunch include Williamson's fines lamelles de chevre croustillantes aux dattes et noix: a soul-warming phyllo-encased tourte filled with leeks, goat cheese, dates and pine nuts, served with a refreshing little salad of julienned carrots and celery root. Equally appealing was the cannelloni croustillant sur caviar d'aubergines, with phyllo canneloni wrapped around a delicious mushroom stuffing, served with a too-salty eggplant caviar and a topknot of salad. The risotto - a wildly inventive dish that included a parsley puree, mushrooms, snow peas, fava beans and another signature topknot salad - was less convincing. There was plenty of it, but the dish lacked focus, salt and that essential creamy richness of an authentic risotto. Wines, of course, are the main reason to come here. Two wonders include a fresh and refreshing Swiss white, Alain Neyroud's pinot blanc (the 1996 is priced at 240 francs) and a racy young Coteaux du Languedoc from Domaine d'Aupilhac (the 1996 is priced at 130 francs.)

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Le Maxence, 9 bis Boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris 6; tel: 01-45-67-24-88; fax 01-45-67-10-22. Closed Saturday lunch and all day Sunday. Credit cards: American Express, Visa. Menus at 190 and 320 francs. A la carte, 325 to 375 francs, including service but not wine. Maceo, 15, rue des Petits-Champs, Paris 1: tel: 01-42-97-53-85; fax: 01-47-03-36-93. Closed Sunday. Credit cards: American Express, Diners, Visa. Vegetarian lunch menu at 180 francs, 220 francs at dinner. Traditional menu 195 francs at lunch, 220 francs at dinner. Prices include service but not wine.

Ducasse IV: A Mixed Bag Questioning the Classics

PARIS - Alain Ducasse, with a total of six Michelin stars to his name, cannot afford to lose. With the recent unveiling of Spoon Food & Wine - his fourth restaurant in France - it is clear that he is on a roll. The man who has attempted to redefine how a grand French chef behaves (he defies the old rule that a chef's place is behind the stove) and to prove how long his arms can stretch (regular flights between his three-star restaurants in Monaco and Paris, with weekend appearances in his retreat at Moustiers, in Provence) is now redefining the modern concept of world food.

When would one ever pronounce in the same breath the words ''luxurious, refined and audacious'' with ''iceberg lettuce, BLT and pastrami on rye''? But they all apply to his newest effort, a small and smart spot right off the increasingly upmarket Champs-Elysées.

Spoon is perhaps France's first truly international restaurant, dipping into French, British, American, Italian, Chinese and Indian cuisine, with a décor that turns heads and, again, attempts to question classic traditions.

Rather than with tablecloths, tables are dressed with cloths that slip into slots, like elegant table runners. Some 70 magazines from around the world are there for guests to read, and notepads and pencils are set at each table to jot down one's thoughts. Along with knives, forks and of course spoons, each diner receives an elegant pair of Christofle bamboo chopsticks, which I never saw anyone use. Although the restaurant advertises a ''free'' second cup of coffee and warm steamed towels at the end of each meal, we were offered neither.

The menu is not organized in a normal first course, main course, cheese and dessert progression. Each section is divided into three columns, allowing diners to mix and match according to the main dish, the sauce, and rice or vegetable accompaniment. And in this era of something for everyone, the menu is bilingual French-English, with Asian and vegetarian dishes, and everything from pastrami sandwiches to South American cebiche to Chinese steamed ravioli.

Half the wines on the list come from America, with a fine showing from Australia and New Zealand, a true ''happening'' in France. And the cheese course (rather than the classic Brie, Camembert and Roquefort) consists of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Cheddar and Stilton.

But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and on that front Ducasse has a way to go. Some of it is not his fault. Truth be told, the public is not all that ready for such a reshuffling of the status quo. On a recent evening the well-heeled international crowd appeared downright confused as to how to order and how to eat. After studying the menu, the youthful Spanish couple at my left asked the waiter to order for them. They then asked that their white wine be put into ''a real ice bucket'' instead of the plastic ice-cube-less version. The iceberg lettuce served to them in a tall, elegant glass bowl was instantly transferred to a common plate for more practical eating.

-

Up-to-Date Methods

Ducasse and his chefs use every method of cooking available - grills to roasts, rotisserie to woks, cooking over a hot stone, modern induction and even vacuum-packing - but the results at the moment are less than brilliant.

On our recent visit, everything that came from the kitchen looked and tasted very dry, and was by and large lukewarm. Even the wok-seared vegetables had that soggy, stewed airline quality about them. And though I am all for choosing what I eat and when, we are not always the best judge of what garnish goes well with each dish. The best finds on that visit included a full-flavored youm koumg soup, full of spice and laced with squid and shellfish, as well as designer macaroni gratin, rich and plump, with plenty of veal cooking juice to pour over it.

Less successful were the very dry, tasteless grilled squid served with a perky sauce of crushed preserved lemon, and a dry roasted veal steak cooked on the rotisserie.

With seating for no more than 70 and tabs that inch toward 500 francs (about $90) with a decent bottle of wine, this is not the sort of cuisine that is going to keep Ducasse at the top. The concept reminds me of a model for a worldwide chain. But I am sure Ducasse has already thought of that.

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Spoon Food & Wine, 14 Rue de Marignan, Paris 8. Tel: 01-40-76-34-44; fax: 01-40-76-34-37. Closed Saturday and Sunday. All major credit cards. A la carte, 200 to 300 francs.

From Paella to Purely Paris

International Herald Tribune

PARIS - The welcome is warm, the rice delicious, the Spanish fare a great change of pace. For the last year, the owners Pierre Ruffin and Alberto Herraiz have offered Parisians a totally authentic Spanish experience, complete with giant platters of varied paella, a medley of excellent tapas - tiny plates of starters - good desserts and excellent wines. All this comes at a very decent price, with warm and friendly service and a pleasant setting across from the charming park of Saint Julien le Pauvre Church on Paris's Left Bank.

This pocket-size restaurant is bathed in warm shades of ocher, and for the good tapas starters, the menu may include the famed Spanish pata negra ham; filling red peppers stuffed with shredded bull's tail (poivrons farcis à la queue de toro); delicious, spinach-rich tortillas, and tender baby squid bathed in their ink (chipirons à l'encre). There are some six different versions of paella, all of which bear no resemblance to the watered-down versions we are most familiar with today. The rice - all Spanish rice from the Ebro delta, where the grains are larger and more strongly flavored - is the main element in all the paella dishes, with flavorings that vary from a jet-black version made with squid ink to a Valencia version seasoned with chicken, rabbit, vegetables and snails.

The paella is served in the pan in which it is cooked, and diners eat right out of the pan, which is perched on a stand at the table.

Desserts vary from a soothing sheep's milk yogurt to irresistible hot melted chocolate in a beautiful white bowl, served with state-of-the-art churros, a kind of fritter. The wine list offers some true discoveries and bargains, including the Gran Corona Torres from the Penedes area of Catalonia, a mix of cabernet and the aromatic tempranillo grape.

On two recent visits the restaurant was embarrassingly empty, and the background music varies from cheery marching tunes to abrasive Spanish sounds.

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Old-Fashioned Bistro

French critics like to call Au Moulin a Vent-Chez Henri the L'Ami Louis of the Left Bank. Although there is no succulent roasted lamb or chicken to compare with what one finds at L'Ami Louis, Chez Henri does the job when you are looking for a busy, old-fashioned, purely Parisian bistro. This is the place to go with a crowd when you're in the mood for red meat and Beaujolais.

With a barely legible menu in purple ink, a jovial patron and sausages hanging from the ceiling, this is one rare spot to find authentic boeuf a la ficelle, top-quality fillet of beef that is tied with a string, then cooked quickly in boiling water. The boiling technique seals the outside of the meat, making for a beef that's perfectly rare and without a trace of fat. (Don't be turned off by the unappetizing gray appearance of the meat - the inside will be gloriously red and appetizing.) Another star is the entrecôte, the rib eye, with shallots, earthy pan-seared beef that is literally pasted with finely minced shallots so they cook to a fragrant, golden crispness. Almost everything here comes with cubes of sautéed potatoes, perhaps the best version of that bistro classic I have ever tasted.

Other dishes worth trying - if they're on the menu that day - include a refreshing salad of mushrooms and green beans, another of perfectly cooked, thinly sliced artichoke bottoms and a classic sole meuniere. The magret de canard, fatted duck breast, can be dry and tough. The Beaujolais Fleurie goes down very easily, and the bread is dry and dreadful.

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Fogon Saint-Julien, 10 Rue Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Paris 5; tel: 01-43-54-31-33. Closed Sunday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Credit card: Visa. 120-franc ($21.50) lunch menu (including wine and coffee), 160-franc menu. A la carte, 200 francs, including service and wine.

Au Moulin a Vent-Chez Henri, 20 Rue des Fosses Saint-Bernard, Paris 5; tel: 01-43-54-99-37. Closed Sunday, Monday, holidays and August. Credit card: Visa, MasterCard. A la carte, 280 to 320 francs ($50 to $57).

Around the Tables of Australia

The following is a list of the best restaurants visited during a monthlong tour, with notes on some favorite dishes.

PERTH

The Loose Box Restaurant, 6825 Great Eastern Highway, Mundaring. Tel: (61-8) 9295-1787.

If Michelin gave stars in Australia, Alain Fabregues's The Loose Box would have three. It is the epitome of French perfection and attention to detail. I loved the colorful goat cheese, truffle, mushroom, eggplant, tomato and capsicum terrine for its brilliant flavors and welcoming texture.

Fraser's, Fraser Avenue, King's Park, West Perth. Tel: (8) 9481-7100.

Chris Taylor of the welcoming Fraser's, in the center of a lovely park, offers honest fare. Such dishes as his char-grilled dhufish fillet with lemon, extra virgin olive oil and parsley show how the chef wisely allows perfectly chosen ingredients to speak for themselves.

ADELAIDE

Universal Wine Bar, 285 Rundle St., Adelaide. Tel: (8) 8232-5000; fax: (8) 8232-5757; e-mail: universal@ portal.net.au

A fine, casual wine bar for sampling the nation's best wines. Try anything the waiter suggests, or, if they are on the list that day, go for one of those big Rhone-style reds, such as the powerful RBJ Theologicum mourvedre grenache or Charles Melton's Nine Popes, starting with a lovely light Lenswood sauvignon blanc.

Charlick's Feed Store, Ebenezer Place, East End, Adelaide. Tel: (8) 8223-7566; fax: (8) 8223-7065.

This new, casual dining spot is owned by Maggie and Colin Beer, modern pioneers of the Australian food world. Try the smoked tommy ruffs (sardine-size fish) with green olive and pickled lemon dressing, and sample alongside it a glass of the refreshing white Chapel Hill McLaren Vale verdelho, made from the Portuguese verdelho grape with overtones of honeysuckle and tropical fruits.

The Grange, Hilton International, Victoria Square, Adelaide. Tel: (8) 8217-2000.

If you have time for only one meal in Australia, head for the Grange to sample Malaysian-born Chinese chef Cheong Liew's shark's-fin pouch in venison consommé, spiced with tarragon, a dish that is filled with bravery and brilliance, or his red roasted barramundi with green chilies, coriander, snow-pea shoots and calamari shavings, a dish with such genius you won't want to finish it, for all you'll have left is the memory.

Petaluma Bridgewater Mill, Mount Barker Road, Bridgewater. Tel: (8) 8339-3422.

This trendy spot just outside Adelaide is run by the Petaluma winery and showcases its wines. Try the Croser champagne, as well the fried salt-and-pepper quail with lime and ginger relish, or the roasted duck breast with bok choy, kumquats and cinnamon glaze.

SYDNEY

Cicada, 29 Challis Ave., Potts Point, Sydney. Tel: (61-2) 9358-1255.

Peter Doyle has reached the pinnacle of modern Australian cooking. His food is seamless, unconventional, balanced and sensible; I fell in love with his perfect jewel box of a package: avocado, crab, mint and coriander, a starter that was like a soothing bath for the palate.

Tetsuya's, 729 Darling St., Rozelle, Sydney. Tel: (2) 9555-1017.

Tetsuya Wakuda is a leader of Australia's fine fusion cuisine, merging the best of Japanese philosophy and classical French technique. In a most unassuming setting, plan on sampling his signature confit of ocean trout with ocean-trout roe, braised red capsicum, leeks, konbu seaweed, capers and parsley oil. Think texture, color, flavor, essence.

Bistro Moncur, the Woollahra Hotel, 116 Queen St., Woollahra, Sydney. Tel: (2) 9363-2782.

Damien Pignolet offers great Australian-style French bistro classics in an embracing, warm setting in one of Sydney's most chic neighborhoods. Try the vegetable couscous.

MG Garage. 490 Crown St., Surry Hills, New South Wales. Tel: (2) 9383-9383.

The new trendy spot, with the Greek-born chef Janni Kyritsis, is actually in an MG car showroom. Specialties include guinea fowl baked in clay with pancetta, mushrooms and barley pilaf, as well as many dishes with a fine, Middle Eastern touch.

BRISBANE

Two Small Rooms, 517 Milton Road, Toowong, Brisbane. Tel: (61-7) 3371-5251.

One of the best bets in Brisbane. This warm and charming spot run by Michael Conrad and the chef David Pugh offers lovely, simple fare. Try their outstanding mud-crab omelette with stir-fried vegetables and spicy prawn sauce.

This is one place where I was able to get a simple roasted rack of lamb without the trimmings that camouflage the delicate flavor. Their Mandalong lambs are slaughtered at 9 months: They are weaned at 3 months and fattened on grain for better texture and flavor.

E'cco, 100 Boundary St., Brisbane. Tel: (7) 3831-8344.

Philip Johnson offers no-nonsense food in a lovely setting. He uses all the clichés in the book, but his creations manage to taste original and appealing.

Try the Moreton Bay bugs, a type of shellfish, with pine nuts and aioli; roast chicken with couscous, yogurt, artichokes and asparagus, or sand crabs with chilies and lemon oil. Save room for the Venetian espresso cake with coconut ice cream and shavings of fresh coconut.

Pier Nine Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, Eagle Street Pier, 1 Eagle St., Brisbane. Tel: (7) 3229-2194.

This is a beautiful waterside setting for great oysters and such specials as king prawns with garlic hollandaise or Victoria black-lip mussels with ginger, chili, sweet curry leaves and lime juice.

MELBOURNE

Flower Drum, 17 Market Lane, Melbourne. Tel: (61-3) 9662-3655.

For Chinese food like you have never had before, depend on the owner Gilbert Lau to wow you with such specialties as tender baby abalone the size of an oyster, bathed in vinegar, ginger and soy. The dish was a gastronomic revelation.

Richmond Hill Café & Larder, 48-50 Bridge Road, Richmond. Tel: (3) 9421-2808; fax: (3) 9421-2818.

Stephanie Alexander, one of Australia's top restaurateurs and food personalities, has opened this casual café with an exquisite cheese room, great wines and a modern menu that includes pastas, such traditional fare as boeuf à la mode and cheese plates with fruits, nuts and breads. Sunday nights are reserved for a variety of functions, such as cabaret nights and wine dinners.

A Defining Moment in Food

SYDNEY - If I am fortunate, it happens about once a year. It is what I have come to call the Defining Moment in food. I all but stop midbite, and realize that I am in the presence of greatness. The room shakes. The most recent defining moment came in the Grange Restaurant in the Hilton International Hotel in Adelaide, Australia.

During a monthlong dining tour that included some of the best spots in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, it was the Malaysian-born Chinese chef Cheong Liew's love poem for the palate that seemed to rocket me to another planet.

During the six-course tasting menu, Liew - who has been credited with the fusion of Eastern and Western flavors during the 1970s - provided food that fed the spirit, the soul, the body, and with each dish-and-wine pairing, I felt as though I was in the privileged presence of a genius who had complete mastery and control of his ingredients.

Like a musician with perfect pitch, this chef has an uncanny talent for balance, strength, harmony, nourishment. His food, which applies Asian methods to European food, has an extraordinary density of flavor, contrast of texture and a way of illuminating each ingredient without camouflaging the others.

So, his food is immensely satisfying. (When Stephanie Alexander, a top Australian chef, tasted Liew's food for the first time she announced ''I had just better stop cooking.'')

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Shark in a Pouch

Such bold and complex dishes as shark's-fin pouch in venison consommé, spiced with tarragon, is a perfect example of his creative genius: A pasta-pouch filled with a sherry-tinged shark's-fin soup floats atop a rich venison consommé.

One is advised to consume most of the warming consommé first, then burst the pasta pouch filled with the soup, wild mushrooms, chicken and ginger. A garnish of tarragon makes this the perfect yin-yang dish, with the heat of the game and ginger, the coolness of shark's fin in a single, dramatic bite. Set off with a glass of Lustau Jarana Fino sherry, the dish creates a complete circle of flavors.

Another adventurous dish, red roasted barramundi (a firm Australian fish) teamed up with green chili, coriander, snow-pea shoots and calamari shavings, makes for a memorable meal that pleases all the senses, with its herbal aroma, dense flavor, visual appeal and burst of sensations. You could almost hear the sound of the sea in the dish. Paired with an Evans and Tate semillon, it was a dish to savor and remember.

Using Liew's romantic, almost ornate cuisine as a starting point, one can easily see that Australia - which inherited a drab Anglo-Saxon diet not at all fitting to the island's climate or ethnic diversity - is in full flourish.

With a strong foundation of adventuresome chefs, eager diners and a wildly expanding wine industry, there is nothing to hold Australia back. A visit 10 years ago covering the same territory suggested that there was promise. Today's Australian cuisine surpasses that promise.

The energy and sense of humor suggest that anything is possible here. Take the names of modern Australian restaurants - Salt, Dish, Tables, The Loose Box, MG Garage (yes, in an auto showroom) Fuel (yes, in a gas station), Café Sweethearts, France Soir, J'Febs (for the initials of the names of the owner's five children), Nudel Bar, Fishface, The Raving Prawn, The Little Snail, Medium Rare - and you see this is a nation that does not take itself too seriously.

The names of Australia's wines tell you a lot about the Australian sense of humor as well as lighthearted irreverence: RBJ Theologicum, Dead Man's Hill gewurztraminer, Diva sangiovese, Abbot's Prayer merlot cabernet, Nine Popes, Chapel Hill The Vicar, Hill of Grace. But it is no laughing matter that Australia boasts some 800 wineries, most producing very high-quality wines. By the year 2010 Australia hopes to produce 15 percent of the world market in volume (and more by value) putting it fourth behind Spain, France and Italy.

Today one finds a lot of substance in Oz. As the Australian food writer Cherry Ripe points out, Australia is a European culture in an Asian-Pacific location. With chefs whose heritage include Malaysian, Japanese, French, British, Greek, Italian and native Australian, true fusion cuisine is not only possible but perfectly natural. The chefs are also in the midst of creating their own trademark style, one that reflects the ethnic populations, the seasons, the oceans, the hills and the lifestyles of this vast nation.

As with much of the rest of the modern world, the food of Australia is ingredient-driven, and by that I mean that the chef chooses to honor the prawns from the sea, the chicken from the barnyard, the fruits and vegetables from the garden, making them taste as much like themselves as humanly possible.

There is an Australian look to food as well, large white plates serving as lovely, clean palettes for the chef's artistry. The Australians understand wine and food pairing better than most, with perfect matches almost every time.

As the Australian food authority Maggie Beer noted, ''We are learning from other countries' mistakes.'' And so this ecologically aware nation that is banning the caviar of the protected sturgeon, and pioneering fish farming as the waters' bounty is increasingly depleted, is also creating a lively exchange between growers and restaurateurs, experimenting but with an intelligent eye.

Traveling from city to city, it was clear that chefs leave no stone unturned. They are unrestrained by tradition and offer a cuisine that is at once vibrant, fresh, innovative and well crafted.

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THEY do make mistakes. All too often, I found chefs insisting on an East-meets-West cuisine when they had no technical ability to carry it out. It seemed that menus were filled with such items as Vietnamese Pho soup or Indian curry or Japanese sushi because the chef assumed diners expected this exotic blend. All too often, the dishes fell flat and were far less exciting than the real thing in an ethnic restaurant.

I hope to grab those jars of truffle oil from every Australian chef's hands: The powerful oil is used in excess, often marring otherwise excellent dishes. Likewise, such appealing ingredients as arugula (almost always served with indigestible, weed-like stems intact) are used as a crutch, and Western-style breads often appeared simply awkward in many fusion menus.

Some practices - such as opening oysters beforehand and washing them under running water - seem simply naïve and lazy. And a government that bans the creation and the import of raw-milk cheeses is surely misguided.

The high praise is fitting for perhaps only a small portion of restaurants. As Alexander remarked: ''In Australia, if you know what you are doing, you can have the best of everything every day. But you will be alone.'' The circle, it is clear, needs to be enlarged.

Will Paris Embrace This U.K. Invasion?

PARIS - A diner at my table offered her unsolicited response to the abrasive, deafening, dinner-time noise and clatter that filled the gigantic new Left Bank brasserie, Alcazar: ''If I come back, it will be just the two of us, my husband and I. We have been married for 50 years, so if we can't talk to one another for two hours, its O.K.''

The French have been invaded by the British, and only time will tell if Parisians will embrace it. Sir Terence Conran of design fame has bravely and boldly expanded his London dining empire to Paris with his bright, airy, smart and bustling 200-seat brasserie Alcazar. All red, white, black and modern, this brilliantly designed spot is just the sort of injection Conran and others think Paris needs. (Others might argue that the restaurant is little more than a continued internationalization and dumbing down of cuisine, with a Euro-Asian-fusion menu that could be served anywhere in the world.)

But Conran is not out to lose. He has chosen Guillaume Lutard (formerly of Taillevent) to man the stoves of the glassed-in kitchen that looks out into the bright, two story glass-roofed restaurant in a courtyard off Rue Mazarine. The bread comes from the baker of the moment, Eric Kayser on Rue Monge. And Conran made sure that everyone in town knew he was coming: He papered the press with lavish and colorful advertising; invited everyone in the neighborhood to half-price preopening lunches, and held a series of high-profile ''soft opening'' events before the official start on Nov. 8. Add to that the fact that the restaurant will be open seven days a week, with a brunch on Sundays, and Alcazar is hard to miss.

While the food breaks no new ground, the menu features typical brasserie platters of fresh oysters and shellfish, as well as largely Mediterranean-inspired menu peppered with saffron, arugula, goat cheese, fennel, couscous and artichokes.

Two preopening meals proved uneven, with excellent fresh Guillardeau oysters from Brittany, a fine caramelized puff pastry tart of tomatoes and fresh goat cheese, and a welcoming main course vegetarian platter of braised seasonal vegetables. Far less successful were a misguided puff pastry tart piled high with arugula and rouget and a gigantic, dry chicken breast stuffed with a bland mixture of foie gras and artichokes. The food lacks any definite focus or personality.

The reason to go to Alcazar is that it offers a change of pace from the standard choucroute-and-beer brasserie, with a stunning and modern décor, exquisite service from a well-trained and enthusiastic staff, and a place to hang your hat almost any time of day. An upstairs piano bar offers wine by the glass and a brief menu that includes tastes of sushi, oysters, caviar, smoked salmon and foie gras.

The spot, by the way, is the former Alcazar night club, which closed eight years ago. The site began its life in 1850 as a printing plant.

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Alcazar, 62 Rue Mazarine, Paris 6; tel: 01-53-10-19-99; Fax: 01-53-10-23-23. Open daily until 1 A.M. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. A la carte, 300 to 400 francs ($53 to $70)

Food for the Moment, And a Belgian Breakfast

PARIS - Sometimes it is good to be proved wrong. When Gilles Ajuelos opened La Bastide Odéon across from the Odéon Theater in 1995, I liked the bistro well enough, but wasn't sure it would have staying power. How wrong I was.

Today the bistro bustles day and night, with hordes of customers being turned away at the door. That's because Ajuelos and his staff know what we want: Food that's modern, light, of the moment and well thought out.

On my last visit I loved the bowl of tiny ravioles de Royans floating in a light broth seasoned with tomatoes, lots of parsley and Parmesan. Equally excellent was the grilled baby chicken - coquelet - served with lemon confit, fennel with saffron and a marvelous sauté of wild mushrooms.

At other times of year you will find such seasonal specialties as warm asparagus with poached egg, grilled bacon and Parmesan cookies; stuffed suckling pig with Parmesan-gratinéed polenta, or porgy in a red-wine sauce with green asparagus, baby onions and baby fava beans.

Desserts included an inventive tarte fine à la rhubarbe as well as a warm financier topped with apricots and a yogurt sorbet, and warm Valrhona chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Good wine choices here include the firm and fruity red Corbières Bastide de la Baronne, and the same wine in white.

How many ways are there to eat breakfast? Le Pain Quotidien - Daily Bread - shows you how.

This Belgian import, with its clean wooden tables, ivory bowls for coffee and chocolate, and fabulous fresh assortment of breads and rolls, offers a stunning view of the new Marché Saint Honoré, with its all-glass building reflecting the charming old structures that surround the square.

Try the substantive, wheaty baguettes à l'ancienne, great rounds of country bread, tiny rye and raisin rolls served with a huge tray filled with honeys, jams and jellies to sweeten the day.

Newspapers are there for the asking. Service is friendly if a bit distracted.

As the day wears on, the menu moves on to a selection of open-face sandwiches, such as mountain ham; beef, basil and Parmesan; country terrine; a mix of goat cheese and honey, or delicate fromage blanc, radishes and onions.

Of course Le Pain Quotidien is also a full-fledged bakery, so stop in for a loaf any time of the day.

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La Bastide Odéon, 7 Rue Corneille, Paris 6. Tel: 01 43 26 03 65. Fax: 01 44 07 28 93. Closed Sunday, Monday, the first three weeks in August and Christmas week. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Menus at 150 and 190 francs. A la carte, 250 francs.

Le Pain Quotidien, 18 Place du Marché Saint Honore, Paris 1. Tel: 01 42 96 31 70. Open Daily, 7 A.M. to 7 P.M.

In Paris, 2 Unique Restaurants

PARIS - Ever since I first sampled Marcel Baudis's authentic, honest and full-flavored food in 1987, I knew he was a chef I would want to know for a long, long time. Starting at his handkerchief-sized dining room in the Marais and moving to the ''new world'' of Bercy in 1991, he never faltered or left us with anything but food filled with character and modern sensibility.

His road has not been easy, for the Bercy neighborhood has taken a long time to develop. But today his patience and talents at L'Oulette are being rewarded by a mostly full dining room for lunch and dinner. Baudis, a native of Montauban in the southwest, draws deeply on his culinary roots with a menu that boasts tiny calamari, generous mounds of haricots blancs frais, foie gras, goat cheese and all the wonderful, little-known wines of that region.

Go, and order his now-classic escabèche de calamars, the tiniest, tenderest squid cut into fine threads, sizzled in olive oil, deglazed with white wine, then infused with a whole pantry of spices that include anise and curry. Equally memorable is his millefeuille de sardines, a warm and welcoming layered affair made up of raw, marinated sardine filets, Moroccan brick pastry, tomatoes and Parmesan.

Main courses include a variation on a Morrocan tajine of lamb with olives and lemon confit, and a lovely aioli, with poached cod and an array of steamed vegetables ready for seasoning with a golden, garlic-rich mayonnaise.

On my last visit, I added three new wines to my love-list: a dry and refreshing vin de pays de Saint-Sardos; a floral and dry Jurançon sec Domaine Bellegarde, and a sweet Sainte-Croix du Mont Chateau du Pavillion, a neighbor of Sauternes, and bargain-priced.

Dessert lovers should not miss the chef's spicy fingers of French toast, served with a cooling cinnamon ice cream. In good weather, eat on the terrace and listen to the chimes of the Notre Dame de la Nativité de Bercy. And if you can't figure out what to order, the dining room's able director, Alain Fontaine, will steer you in the right direction.

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Those looking for a unique neighborhood restaurant should try Le Petit Plat, a small spot on the lovely, tree-lined Avenue Emile Zola. The food here is creatively composed and carefully prepared, service is casual but efficient and the wine list offers pleasant surprises.

Jean and Victor Lampreia have been here since 1994, when they moved from their tiny restaurant in the 5th arrondissement. Highlights of my last visit included a refreshing summer salad of thinly sliced artichoke hearts layered with thin green beans; perfectly cooked pigeon on a bed of couscous; a whole porgy (dorade) beautifully prepared with generous portions of fresh, sweet fava beans, and warm pound cake, or quatre-quarts, sliced and layered with fresh strawberries.

Wines to sample here include the lush red Cotes-du-Rhone Domaine Saint Claude from Vaison-la-Romaine, and the superlative Gran Corona from the Torres family in Spain. This wine from the Penedes is made of 85 percent Cabernet and 15 percent Tempranillo, a grape that adds extraordinary fragrance and depth to a wine well worth seeking out.

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L'Oulette, 15 Place Lachambeaudie, Paris 12. Tel: 01-40-02-02-12. Fax: 01-40-02-04-77. Closed Saturday lunch and Sunday. Credit cards: American Express, Diners Club, Visa. Menus at 165 (not including wine) and 250 francs (including wine). A la carte, 225 to 350 francs (not including wine).

Le Petit Plat, 49 Avenue Emile Zola, Paris 15. Tel: 01-45-78-24-20. Closed Sunday and Monday. Credit card: Visa. 135-franc menu (not including wine). A la carte, 180 to 240 francs (including wine).