Le Vallauris

Named after the small village in the South of France where Picasso made his ceramics, Le Vallauris is where owner Paul Bruggemans makes a home for elegant cuisine from that same region. You dine in a restored historical landmark, but it's no dusty schoolroom. You'll feel as if you've entered the home of a French relative who wants nothing better than to make you happy.

Flemish tapestries and Louis-XV furniture sets the mood that carries through on the menu. The daily offerings are handwritten on a large board brought to your table to stand like artwork on an easel while you make your selections.

For a mouth-watering appetizer start with sauteed foie gras, cured duck breast salad with raspberry dressing or crab cakes with whole-grain mustard sauce on mixed greens in balsamic vinegar.

Then select a roast rack of lamb with thyme and garlic, the tender veal chop with sweet pea ravioli or the most popular dish, the seared whitefish with mustard sauce. An array of desserts is topped by the Grand Marnier souffle`.

If you prefer to dine al fresco, the garden patio is complete romance. Here you are enveloped by the colors of gorgeous fresh flowers, lupe ficus trees and the scent of the sweet desert air. Combine that with first-class service, good food and the intoxicating hospitality of Paul Bruggemans and you are in for a real treat.