LA PETITE AUBERGE,

Stepping into this low-ceilinged house, you feel its history and its Gallic spirit. We came to La Petite Auberge determined to try some of their classics, and stuck to that principle through all three courses. To begin: the escargots "Petite Auberge" ($8.75), sauteed in butter with cépes. The snails were as tender as the mushrooms, and the cognac in the sauce rounded out both earthy tastes. Eyeing the chicken with morels (poularde "Petite Auberge") and the frog legs Provencale, Bill chose a long-time favorite -- duck. Served with fresh raspberries garnishing the duck sections, Bill commented that he "hadn't had better." I went against our pact by ordering two of that evening's specials:-the soup du jour ($6.50), a velvety spring vegetable soup that intoned carrots and asparagus in each bite; and a lobster special that was a pound-and-three-quarters lobster, broiled, split in half, and filled with a duxelles of portobellos, spinach, shallots, and port wine over sea scallops. It was every bit as luxuriously delicious as it sounds . . .

Full review.