Restaurateur Frank Bonanno's first foray into the restaurant business, now going on twelve years , doesn't come across as overtly French; this is not your standard polished-brass bistro with crocks of onion soup or cassoulet. Instead, Bonanno's inspiration is the cutting-edge cuisine of modern Paris, tempered with just enough Gallic charm to ground the menu for traditionalists, who will still find escargot, sweetbreads and côte de bœuf to warm their Francophile hearts. But the French have always prided themselves on culinary innovation, which Mizuna displays with subtle savoir faire, in an appetizer that lets you speak the words "foie gras" three times (pan-roasted and infused into ice cream and maple syrup), and in entrees that incorporate international ingredients — like hoisin broth over dry-aged duck breast — and modernist technique, as with the salsa verde espuma that accompanies a cut of white sturgeon. Also unerringly French is Mizuna's dedication to great wines to accompany great food, with a breathtaking cellar overseen by sommelier Kelly Wooldridge.
Readers' choice: Bistro Vendôme