Home and Away

Disappointed at the banality of evoo, we ordered the white beans. They were a little dry, and we coveted our neighbor's mashed potatoes. Another letdown was the vegetable medley, which combined underseasoned, undercooked green beans and summer squash. The rice was very good; it appeared to be one of those fancy, healthy Lundberg (or imitation-Lundberg) blends, lightly herbed but with its most interesting flavors deriving from its mixture of chewy grains.

As you'd guess from the name "cuvee," the wine list is interesting -- an ample selection of minor bottlings, mainly from France, all under $30. Unfortunately, only four wines per night are available by the glass. The evening's whites were a sour Venetian pinot grigio and a gawky Central Coast sauvignon-semillion blend; more enjoyable was a gently tannic French merlot from Ardéche. The suds choices are scanty, mainly ales, including a new product from Berkeley called "Q." The label explains the name: "a proud, pale ale from the Queer Brewing Company."

For dessert, a warm peach dumpling ($4.50) was the loveliest sort of comfort food, a muffin-shaped pastry enclosing a syrupy fresh-peach filling, surrounded by a pool of light-textured cinnamon creme anglaise. Little puffs of whipped cream topped with fresh peaches decorated the edge of the plate. A warm plum upside-down cake ($5.50) was as dense as the house bread. Set in a pool of a thin, golden caramel sauce, it was topped with cooked plums, thinly sliced raw plums, and a generous blob of whipped cream.

For the gotta-have-chocolate crowd, a chocolate hazelnut phyllo tower ($5.50) featured crisp top and bottom layers of the miraculous, micron-thin phyllo, garnished with a mint leaf. In the center was a freshet of warm semisweet chocolate with minced nuts, resembling unset fudge batter. A cluster of perfect raspberries came along for the ride.

The letter-writers were right. Cafe Cuvee would be delightful in any neighborhood (I wish it'd move to mine) but it's especially valuable right where it is. Eating there is almost as relaxing as eating at home, but Ms. O'Driscoll doesn't cook Mom Food -- thank goodness.