Indulge now, exercise later

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Sunday brunch at Au Bouchon, the new French bistro in Wallingford Center, attracts all sorts: a prim dame d'un certain age who barely shifts her eyes from The New York Times while delicately taking a bite of omelet; a young couple enjoying a bottle of champagne undaunted by the high jinks of their rambunctious little boy; a well-scrubbed young man who requests a glass of soy milk; and four moms trading diet tips and traps.

"Taco Bell is my downfall. Those nachos!" moans one, dipping her spoon into a full-bodied French onion soup ($6) in which bob two thick baguette slices under a veil of melted Gruyère.

"I drink a GoLean shake for breakfast every morning," says another, sipping a kir royale ($6.50).

"We just bought a treadmill," announces the third, forking a golden puff pastry sandwiching nubbins of tender sweetbreads, peas and mushrooms in an herby cream sauce ($11).

"We've been doing Weight Watchers," confides the fourth, as the waitress delivers their entrees: eggs Benedict, quiche, a ham-and-cheese omelet, and croque madame, a béchamel-sauced ham-and-cheese sandwich topped with a fried egg ($8).

Au Bouchon has the kind of menu that helps keep Jenny Craig in business.

If you're going to cheat on your diet, it ought to be on something sinfully good, like the hollandaise draped divinely over crabmeat-and-spinach-stuffed eggs Benedict ($12). But the eggs themselves have been poached too long, yielding firm yolks, and the entire assemblage is cool. An omelet ($8) and a slice of quiche ($9) both turn up well-browned, more of a faux pas for the crispy-edged eggs than the quiche, a trés petite portion densely packed with smoked salmon, artichoke and portobello mushrooms.

Likable as Au Bouchon is, a meal there can have as many ups and downs as a Stairmaster. The almost fork-tender venison flank steak, a frequent dinner special ($19), is served thinly sliced over creamy mashed potatoes, the meat well matched to its red wine and mushroom demi-glace. A thin veal cutlet folded like an envelope around ham and Gruyère in a delicate gravy-like sauce ($15), is equally satisfying. But chef Christian Potvin deserves a "thyme out" for his heavy hand with that herb in the seasonal vegetables that accompany almost every entree.

Tomato basil soup is in need of salt; potato leek soup lacks potato. But house-made pork and mushroom paté, classically presented with cornichons, grainy mustard and mixed greens ($7), possesses exquisite texture and flavor.

Salads are a delight. A mix of arugula and other greens supports slivers of spiced pear and thin, rosy slices of smoked duck, each edged with a luxurious ruffle of white fat ($8). Belgian endive beds scallops whose pink color and piquant flavor result from bathing in a seviche-like marinade of citrus and red onion ($12 special).

Prices for daily specials are not mentioned, either on the chalkboard or by the server, and they may be considerably higher than the menu's price range.

A charge of $23 for ahi tuna and (overcooked) prawns in a pernod cream sauce seems pricey in a restaurant where king salmon filet is $17 and a New York steak is $16. Well worth its $20 tariff is bouillabaisse, a beautifully assembled array of fresh seafood (shrimp, red snapper, mussels and scallops) in a saffron-scented broth laced with pernod and the taste of the sea. But why add a flavorless grated Gruyère to toasted croutons already spread with pungent rouille?

The wine list is brief and modestly priced. Order by the glass and they'll pour your measure at the table, a nice touch.

By day, the L-shaped room, decorated with gilt mirrors and French posters, is cheery and bright. After dark, the deep orange-red walls smolder like the lit end of a Galoise. Owner Philippe Bollache, who was until last summer a partner in Figaro Bistro, brings considerable savoir faire to the job of host. Service is seamless in his presence, less assured in his absence.

Bollache knows how to accommodate. When we inquire about the possibility of a cheese plate after dinner, voila, out comes an attractive arrangement of brie, Gruyère, goat cheese and bleu garnished with walnuts and apple chevrons ($10).

Au Bouchon, which replaced the short-lived tapas restaurant La Bodega in December, shows promise, but the transformation is not quite complete. The menu suggests you ask about pastries at brunch, but the waitress explains, "We haven't quite got that going yet."

What they do have going for dessert is a magical crème brûlée ($7) and an elegant pear tart ($6), either one worth an extra hour on the treadmill.

Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com.