Left Bank in Larkspur a pure French experience

In the Bay Area, French food has taken a back seat to Italian, American, Japanese, Thai and just about every other cuisine. Of course, many popular French dishes still fill menus - look at steak frites, for example - but there's something satisfying in indulging in a pure French experience.

The fate of Left Bank in Larkspur has kind of paralleled the rise and fall of this popular cuisine. When La Folie's Roland Passot and his partners started it in 1994, French cuisine was flying high. The company grew into a small chain but as it did, the once-excellent food slipped.

Recently, after closing several branches, the owners have refocused on the flagship, with chef Sean Canavan, offering better food and surprisingly lower prices.

Most appetizers are $8 to $11; only one of the 10 main courses costs more than $20; desserts are around $6. For the quality of food and surroundings, that's a bargain.

Those who long for the simple brasseries of Paris will be transported by the steak tartare ($11.75) accompanied by a cone stacked with slices of grilled bread. The thick beef patty, topped with a quail egg yolk, is spiced with herbs, shallots, a hefty dose of mustard, capers and sweet bits of cornichons. A corsage of frisee, glistening in pungent lemon dressing, adds a pleasant counter to the rich meat.

The butter lettuce salad ($7.95) is another well-made classic, served as a whole loose head, drizzled with Dijon vinaigrette and scattered with a fine mince of shallots, delicate wisps of chervil and leaves of tarragon.

I also appreciated the Lyonnaise tart ($8.25), with leeks, onions, bacon and goat cheese, arranged next to a small knob of greens.

The main courses include duck a l'orange with potato croquettes ($19.75), beef bourguignon with egg noodles ($19.25) and steak frites with grilled skirt steak ($19.75). However, I always head for the rotisserie chicken ($17.50) , where the plump, although somewhat dry, bird is enhanced with a natural juice sauce as only the French can do.

In another main course, roast trout ($19.50) is boned but served with the head still attached. It's drizzled with brown butter studded with giant capers and splayed over rich mashed potatoes, with rounds of lemon tucked in for an acidic burst. A side of asparagus (a deal at $4.25), each stalk peeled, completed the meal.

I might have tried one of the nightly specials if I had known about them. After we ordered, I heard our waiter describing one to another table. However, that was about the only misstep, partly because of the efficient busers.

Their quick and agile performance made me again realize how important this layer of service is to a restaurant. They saved the waiter by quickly clearing plates, bringing new utensils and keeping the pace of the meal brisk, but not rushed.

For dessert, we ordered the classic chocolate mousse ($5.25) topped with caramelized bananas, and the apple cake ($6.50). However, instead of the cake, we received the lemon tart ($6.25) because the waiter said the chef didn't like the look of the cake. He also took the price of the apple cake off the bill. It was a nice gesture, but the tart wasn't very good because the crust was cold, dense and had none of the nutty crispness of a well-baked tart. Yet that was one of the few disappointments in the meal.

Left Bank is a large restaurant; it has an active 37-seat bar and a 180-seat dining room anchored by a big fireplace. Front windows overlook a streetside patio partly shaded by classic burgundy awnings.

It adds up to a warm, inviting environment, enhanced by the veteran staff at the front door. Left Bank is a haven for locals, and with the improvements in the food, more regulars may be forthcoming.