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The Grand Café feels like a turn-of-the-century European café-cum-art gallery. Once the ballroom of the old Bellevue Hotel, it now resides next to the very happening Hotel Monaco. Colossal columns and chandeliers gloriously dominate the room and are originals from its ballroom days. Added to the mix are art deco terrazzo floors, murals in the Toulouse Lautrec mode, panels of dark wood and brown velvet booths. Witty bronze Guibara sculptures of rabbit-eared people and a most distinguished hedgehog greet you and make you smile.

The tables and booths are arranged in small groups so this large room doesn't feel cavernous. There is a lively bustle and background jazz, yet one  blessedly can   converse in a normal voice.

Denis Soriano, a native of Lyon, France is the Executive Chef. His experience includes both sides of the Atlantic and it shows in his menu. He mixes California and Modern French cuisine. Grills and roasts are featured--think light French sauces, not all-you-can-eat roast beef. The starters, salads and desserts are intriguing and delectable and the wine list is extensive.

My waitperson recommended the Polenta with Wild Mushroom Ragout and Cambozola Soufflé Fondue. This creamy soufflé topped with a wonderful rich ragout was so good, that I followed her suggestions straight through the meal. It was a stroke of luck. For dinner she recommended the Sautéed Escolar, a Hawaiian butterfish. It came with saffron pearl pasta and had a red bell pepper and cilantro sauce. In Soriano's hands, this was a very delicate, yet still flavorful dish.

For the first time in my life, I was convinced to get banana cream pie for dessert. This was not your basic lunch-counter banana cream pie. A circle of banana cream custard was sitting on a crumb crust and was topped with whipped cream and caramelized bits. All this was covered by a lace cookie and sitting on a puddle of caramel sauce surrounded by bananas. Oh my, 'twas good.

By Kate Crawford, December, 1998

LINKS WITH ATTITUDE

• The Grand Café's website.