Belle Clementine

• Cuisine(s): American, New American
• Hours: If the idea of sharing a table with strangers repels you, you'll be incurably uncomfortable at this three-table communal dining salon from Corson Building alum David Sanford. But if you're willing to gamble on your conversational companions, the high-end homey food here is a beautifully evolved version of the market-centric dishes served in co-ops and hostel dining rooms.

Description

David Sanford (of Corson Building) designed Belle Clementine "in the philosophy that the shared meal is one of the best ways to bring people together," he said soon after the restaurant opened. Unlike many restaurants which clump their communal dishes on big platters, forcing guests to privately calculate how much they can take without denying their neighbors a fair share, Belle Clementine is never stingy with its servings. A plate of a dozen appetizer toasts smeared with a sweet chicken-liver mousse and grazed with pickled sunchokes was refilled three times before diners at our table caught on to the kitchen's generosity. Sanford usually prefaces the meal with a snack, such as taut potato chips or warmed green olives with curlicues of lemon zest, and the $40 flat rate for dinner (a tremendously good deal) includes a glass of beer or wine served in a stubby jelly glass.