Happy culinary wandering

Les Nomades occupies the first two floors of an elegant, century-old graystone on East Ontario. Unless you are aware that a fine restaurant is operating behind those walls, you could easily mistake it for a private residence.

This low-key approach goes back to what now seems like another era in dining. Originally, Les Nomades was opened by Jovan Trboyevic as a private club (circa 1976). Les Nomades, which is now owned by Roland and Mary Beth Liccioni (they bought the place in 1993; Roland is the chef, and Mary Beth runs the front of the house), is still serving a wealth of good food.

The arrangement is strictly prix fixe. For $70 per person you choose four courses--appetizer, soup or salad, entree and dessert--from a menu rooted in classical French, blossom quite nicely into contemporary French.

Impressions are engraved immediately with the complimentary amuse-gueule, consisting of a spoonful or two of tasty corn soup and a pencil-size Vietnamese spring roll, an olive tapenade adorned with fresh white anchovy on brioche and a lobster gelee with fresh Thai basil and sugar cane.

Quite an act to follow, but it plays out nicely. Three zucchini blossoms were stuffed with a silky cepe mousse and arranged with a tourne of vegetables that were topped with thin slices of earthy summer truffles. A sauce made with a base of sweet Vidalia onions was brash yet sweet and complemented the dish nicely.

A small soft-shell crab, perfectly sauteed, rode atop a free-form lobster ravioli package that was chock full of sweet lobster meat.

Duck consomme was as clear as a bell yet rang loudly with flavor. A confetti of vegetables sparked the consomme, while a duet of light-as-a-feather mushroom quenelles added another dimension of flavor and interest.

A chilled tomato soup, rich with flavor and garnished with ratatouille, was centered with a trio of tender, tiny calico scallops.

In a totally contemporary mode, a salad composed of pristine, tender baby greens and baby spinach was sprinkled with a dice of mango, misted lightly with a mango dressing.

Entree choices were well thought out. Daurade (a k a gilt-head bream), a fish of firm texture and delicate flavor, was paired beautifully with Moroccan couscous, woodsy fresh chanterelles and fava beans, with a splendid chanterelle mushroom broth.

Roasted breast of duck (with leg confit) was sliced and fanned out pyramid style atop a bed of savoy cabbage and flanked by a tourne of root vegetables and asparagus with a zesty green peppercorn sauce zipping things along. My one complaint with this dish is that the duck was cooked a bit beyond the temperature I had requested.< P>Liccioni paired an immaculate grilled sea bass with pea shoots. These are the tender leaves of the garden peas that have been prevented from flowering, and they normally are paired with a hint of ginger, but the chef chose lemongrass instead, which was even better.

Desserts offer nearly as many choices as entrees, so the sweet part of the menu holds great promise. The desserts, are what drew my attention . The individual Grand Marnier souffl?, which rose to the occasion was light, luscious and delicious. The same could be said for the warm flourless chocolate cake, with more than a hint of framboise.

The assortment of "miniature pastry favorites" was nice but did not quite measure up. Petite creme brulee, caramel ice cream (melting fast), and a Napoleon of dacquoise with roasted cherries and chocolate mousse was the arrangement.

CULINARY NOTEBOOK

Amuse-gueule (French): Slang for cocktail appetizer, or "taste tickler."

Gelee (French): "En gelee" implies something encased in aspic, as in the lobster gelee with fresh Thai basil.

Cepe: A genus of wild mushroom. The cepe grows in chestnut and oak woods from June to November and is eaten fresh, not dried.

Tourne (French): A vegetable that is "turned" or shaped with a knife.

Vidalia onions (American): Honey-sweet onions from Georgia. Much less harsh than, say, yellow or white onion.

Quenelles (French): Light dumplings, which in this instance, are made with mushrooms bound with eggs.

Ratatouille (French): A vegetable stew that usually contains eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, onion and garlic.

Poivrade (French): A sauce, usually paired with game, that is reduced with crushed peppercorns and herbs, with game essence added, then finished off with butter.

Lemongrass: An herb common to Southeast Asian cooking. It has lemony smelling grasslike leaves.

Dacquoise (French): A pastry made of meringue combined with finely ground nuts, baked in discs.