Address: 819 W. 50th St.

Tel: 612-354-3512

After years of serving foie gras torchon and 11-course tasting menus, chef Stewart Woodman has scaled back. His new neighborhood spot feels like a master chef's home dinner party: Two narrow dining rooms—one sunny peach, the other cerulean with white wainscoting—give the space a cozy intimacy, as does the constant presence of dapper -maître d' Frank Thorpe and Woodman's wife, Heidi, who takes credit for the stellar dessert and wine lists. The seasonally changing menu is as interesting as it is accessible, the creation of a chef with the chops to take dishes farther—but the maturity to know when it's better not to. The poached pheasant is swoonworthy, as are the homemade turnip ravioli and the braised short ribs with sesame spaetzle. The butter lettuce salad, bundled like a bridesmaid's bouquet, is as pleasant a surprise as finding that nothing on the menu costs more than $20 (entrées, $11–$20).