Bocal Cafe (CLOSED)

This locale morphed from an eclectic Dutch-modern diner to a French-Continental bistro. Although the decor (orange banquettes, stark metal tables, Christmas lights) has basically stayed the same and some old dishes are still available, most menu items now vary with the season. Inventive appetizers confuse your senses wonderfully: Witness the baby vegetable tempura with a sweet, saffron-tinged red-pepper sauce, and a stingingly fresh curry-laced seafood salad full of plump scallops, shrimp and fish. Meat on the slow-cooked short ribs falls effortlessly from the bone, and the Dijon-crusted hanger steak with celery-root puree is nicely tangy. P.S. We hope the devastating chocolate-and-caramelized-pear tart remains on the menu.