What kind of ugly American doesn't like a beautiful Provencal meal? Not me. When I found this little gem in Ross, I put on my marché shoes.

Service:
Everyone was trés friendly and efficient.

Atmosphere:
It's a French inspired restaurant populated by mostly locals. People are dressed in business casual and casual. The patio is a popular attraction in the summer months and it's size is similar to that of the dining room. There is a motion sensitive light on the neighbor's walkway that kicks on whenever someone walks by like an ultra slow motion strobe light throughout dinner.

Shellfish escargot ($12.50):
Escar-faux. A hot escargot plate has divets filled with mussels, scallops and shrimp (all masquerading as snails under a blanket of garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs and butter.) The thin crisp top conceals perfectly cooked morsels of seafood in this is fun and tasty signature dish.

Gnocchi ($11/$17 depending on course, pictured is the $11 version):
The little kernels of white corn were sweet, fresh and burst like delicious little water balloons between your teeth. The housemade, light pillows of gnocchi were a teensy bit overcooked but were very good nonetheless while the chantrelles and truffle essence upped the umami factor.

Alaskan Haibut ($25.00):
The fish is top quality - fresh and beautiful, they don't mess it up by overcooking it or putting a crazy sauce on it. The grilled figs needed a shot of balsamic or something to oomph up their flavor, but their texture was just right. The wax beans were cooked just right and retained their crisp freshness. I'm a big farro fan and these little wheat grains were cooked to a perfect al dente.

Duck confit ($22.00):
Crispy bits of salty (good salty, not bad salty) duck skin encased this leg of meltingly succulent quacker meat. Thin slices of cucumber were dressed with rice vinegar. These palate cleansing ribbons cleared the way for more of the rich meat. The perfectly cooked heirloom runner beans concealed slices of beet which brought an earthiness to this.

Housemade Ice cream and sorbets ($6.00):
You get to choose among 5 ice creams and 2 sorbets. I got the lavender ice cream and the peach and strawberry sorbets. The molasses, ginger cookie was jabbed into the middle of my triconfecta. I'm guessing that the ice creams are not made daily. The texture of minute ice spicules is a hint. But to be fair, it's a little neighborhood place that serves a selection of 7 varieties, so making them every day would be a tall order. The sorbets were refreshing and I enjoyed them but wanted a more intense fruit flavor from both the peach and the strawberry which were very subtle after the garlic of dinner.

Espresso:
Good but I should have asked for a ristretto for a more intense coffee experience. Also I was bummed that there was no crema - the tan colored harbinger of good coffee below.