Carafe

[October 17th, 2007] 200 SW Market St., 248-0004. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner Monday-Saturday. $$-$$$ Moderate-Expensive.

Longtime Portland chef Pascal Sauton’s bistro offers an authentic Parisian dining experience—minus the cigarette smoke and language barrier—in a nondescript office tower near the Keller Auditorium. Simple, straightforward classics like frisée aux lardons , duck leg confit and crème caramel make for a hearty and satisfying pre- or post-show meal. While a few entrees are on the spendy side for a bistro outside of Paris, they’re damn well worth it. And, for those short on francs, there are plenty of deals in the “croque” section and a too-good-to-be-true $20 prix fixe menu (they have generous “happy hour” specials, too). Carafe’s comfortable, unpretentious atmosphere is a fresh change of pace from the starchiness that has come to define French restaurants of this caliber. Servers are laid back, too, and genuine to a fault when they speak from the heart about the various menu offerings, a wine list that includes noteworthy Northwest and French bottles, and a great selection of classic aperitifs and dessert libations. (SC)

Signature dish: Steak frites with hanger steak and béarnaise.

Standouts: Plump steamed mussels in a shallot, thyme and crème fraîche broth.

Regrets: Weird, corporate-tower location, with the WC in the adjacent parking garage.