I especially like the Big Kalowsky (layers of warm roast beef and melted Swiss cheese with A.1. steak sauce on a sesame-seeded, garlic wedge).
Lunch is, to be sure, served buffet fashion, but each day brings something warm (roast beef or grilled tuna or, on one occasion, a pyramid of roast quail), three salads, something exotic (note to self: try Roquefort and raspberries or beets and strawberries at home) and a hot-out-of-the-oven quiche, or tourte or tarte, with seconds available.
Spoon over the yoghurt, scatter over the pomegranate seeds and trickle over the warm roasting juices.
Rum and fresh coconut cocktails are mixed and we buy wraps of warm roasted chickpeas from a ginger Rasta.
My favourite is to make them twice and serve warm roasted figs over the frozen figgy ice-cream.
The rollatini di peperoni appetizer was another good choice and a pretty plate: warm, roasted red and yellow bell peppers were stuffed with creamy Gorgonzola and glazed with a thick, sweet balsamic vinegar reduction.
Warm roasted pork loin with red cabbage, jalapeños and mustard on a soft ciabatta roll ($9) is a similarly vivid combination, the components melding together yet each punctuating the whole with an individual signature.
Dishes that fall into this lukewarm category include the sautéed frog legs, the duck terrine, the warm roasted tomato tart, the salmon steak and several desserts, including a cheesecake and a mixed fruit tart.
Witness the cold beet terrine mated with warm roasted bok choy, slices of blood orange, bits of Roquefort cheese and walnuts, or the baby spinach salad with its avalanche of thinly sliced radishes, caramelized scallops, lemon juice and pistachios.
Among the small portion plates that scored were a warm, roasted seckel pear ($8) with a cool clump of arugula, Gorgonzola and hazelnuts covered by extra virgin olive oil-Banyuls vinegar dressing, and a thin, rare carpaccio of smoked ostrich ($10) next to a sprightly sun-dried tomato-cherry-pine-nut relish.
The s'mores fondue is not the expected marshmallow, Graham cracker, chocolate-bar sandwich in which the warm roasted-at-the-table marshmallow and chocolate are squeezed between two graham crackers; it is merely chocolate and melted Fluff, a marshmallow concoction out of a jar that serves as a dip for the graham crackers.
