Still, the 74-seat dining room has a celebratory feeling, with crisp white linens, generous, well-spaced tables and large windows that overlook the town square. In warm weather, there's nothing more inviting than having a luxurious meal on the patio, sipping a bottle of local wine and watching others stroll around the plaza.
Dustin Valette is the current day-to-day chef. You can see the talent in the kitchen on every plate, but things can get derailed. The garlic cavatelli with shrimp ($13) consisted of excellent seafood arranged pinwheel fashion on top of fat, doughy pasta. I enjoyed the chewiness, but the cavatelli lacked salt and the arugula pesto underneath had little flavor.
The pasta was also clumsy on the featured appetizer ($19) prepared to match a wine, this time a 2006 Talisman Sonoma Pinot Noir. The pairing was excellent, as were the slightly crispy sweetbreads, but the agnolotti plumped with chicken confit was dense and undercooked. The best of the three appetizers was wild mushroom veloute ($12), poured tableside around a coriander and thyme flan.
Three main courses delivered three different disappointments. Olive oil-poached halibut ($33) was stone cold, the accompanying artichoke slices were nearly raw, and the fiddlehead ferns tasted of dirt. A waiter poured on a translucent artichoke sauce that matched nicely with the garnish of olives, proving that the flavor profile was strong even if the execution was weak.
The duck breast ($35) was overcooked and tough, and the accompanying truffle sauce unseasoned; the best element was the accompanying caramelized onions. On the other hand, the slow-cooked guinea hen ($28) tasted underdone and was bright pink in the center, and the sauce was oversalted.
