Nancy's Restaurant

Enter through the roomy and comfortable bar area. The dining room, with its red leather banquettes and fireplace, is hung with English hunting scenes and lithographs of cafe exteriors. Although decor may be new, the room retains the patina and warmth of a venerable neighborhood gathering spot. Here, you'll see much table-hopping and familiarity between diners and staff.

Servers, all of whom are knowledgeable and eager to be of help, will read off a list of specials longer than the menu (don't worry -- they'll leave you the list if you ask). The reason for the length of the list is that Sanders' is a market-driven chef. That's why you'll do well to order a half-dozen oysters on the half shell, if they're available. They're sweet, briny and taste as though they had just been plucked from the ocean. Garlic-tossed fried calamari with sweet peppers and parsley are crisp on the outside, tender within, herbal and spunky, paired with a bright marinara sauce.

Sanders makes a marvelous jumbo lump crab cake, which is baked, not fried, plated atop a zesty Pommery mustard sauce flecked with diced tomatoes. Pan-seared sea scallops with lobster sauce, a special one night, were just terrific. But be careful not to over-order, since you'll also get a complimentary bowl of soup. We were served a rich, velvety cream of potato on both visits, once with bacon, the next time, without (to accommodate observers of Lent).

From the list of specials, a duo comprised of sliced flank steak and a juicy fork-tender chicken breast stuffed with wild mushrooms proved a win-win combination. Crisp-skinned, slow-roasted duck came with a perky green peppercorn sauce; it was marvelous. So was a garlic and parsley-crusted rack of lamb, a certifiable bargain at $16.95. For those who crave simple satisfaction, there's slow-roasted free range chicken. I enjoyed the sauteed wild striped bass, a sweet and mild fillet served with a pink-tinged lobster sauce. Roasted rack of veal with mushroom cream sauce was a heartier but no less pleasing choice.

One of the ways Sanders keeps his costs down is by serving the same accompaniments, a potato-of-the-day (it was mashed on both occasions I visited) and whatever fresh vegetables he finds at the market.

Sanders gets his chocolate mousse cake (actually a layered torte) from a local patisserie, and it is a good one. He makes his own crème brûlée, which comes in a soup bowl, its top properly crackled, the custard beneath silky and soothing. An apple tart, also house-made, is warm and well-caramelized.

In some ways -- price and ambience, to name two -- Nancy's seems a long way from Lespinasse and Le Francais. But there is one notable similarity. Like any talented chef, Sanders brings with him, wherever he goes, a respect for simple, fresh ingredients and a love of big, bold flavors.

It would be smart to start dialing for reservations.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 3/28/03.