Checkers Downtown

Tucked into a charming downtown boutique hotel is this outstanding restaurant, a pleasantly sedate refuge from the hassles of city life. Bathed in muted tones and tastefully appointed, the dining room is filled with comfortable booths, elegantly dressed tables, abundant flowers and tasteful objets d'art. It all provides a classic environment for serious dining, serious romance or even serious business.

The food is much more inventive than you're likely to find at most hotels, with chef Tony Hodges keeping the true spirit of California cuisine alive but with nary a cliché on the menu. Under his guidance, the kitchen turns out some of downtown's most ambitious dishes, most of which work exceptionally well. Starters include a foie gras terrine with a sweet apple-cinnamon compote, an exquisite presentation of delicate rice cones topped with smoked salmon tartare, and a creamy egg frappé laced with vodka and chives, topped with sevruga caviar.

Among the entrees are a raspberry-glazed roasted duck with braised red cabbage, pine nut- and mint-crusted rack of lamb with tarragon sauce, and roasted Hawaiian ono served with artichoke hearts filled with a French bean fricassée and a south Indian yogurt mora. The wine list offers some surprising values and many opportunities to explore. Meal for two: $90.