PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

Talk about authentically French: The owners created La Voile by shutting down La Voile au Vent in Cannes and shipping it to Boston, complete with chef and decor. Red velvet banquettes soften the tile-floored space, which is littered with model sailboats (the name means "the sail"), but don't mind the goofy theme: La Voile is a revelation. Start with a house-made terrine, or surrender to the Gallic vibe and order bone marrow to smear on bread and dot with sea salt. Now that you're in the mood, try blanquette de veau (veal in cream sauce, which doesn't even begin to do it justice), choucroute Alsacienne (the bistro standby of sausages over sauerkraut), or roasted chicken, which gets a goose-fat bath before going in the oven. It's not perfect: One night as I deconstructed a lamb shank with just the edge of my fork, I realized my companion was only picking at the bouillabaisse -- it comes in a gravy-like sauce, so watch out if you're expecting broth. The biggest drawback here is the somewhat scatterbrained service, but to be fair, I did my research within a few months of La Voile's opening in late 2007. By the time you visit, the kinks should be worked out, a new pastry chef (imported, of course) should be in the kitchen, and lunch should be available.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Boston 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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