This is the most exciting restaurant to open in the city since 2000. Chef Gerald Hirigoyen, chef/partner at longtime favorite Fringale, goes it alone in this Basque adventure, which opened in 2002 to the raves of foodie friends and critics. Surrounded by a low wood-beam-lined ceiling, oak floors, and soft sconce lighting, it's a casual affair where diners huddle around white tablecloth-topped tables and indulge in small and large plates of Hirigoyen's superbly flavorful West Coast Basque cuisine. Your edible odyssey starts with small plates -- or plates to be shared -- like my personal favorites: moist crab meat coddled in a paper-thin crepe accompanied by a sweet and sassy mango and red-pepper salsa; and a bright and simple salad of giant white beans, egg, chives, and marinated anchovies. Share entrees, too. Meat lovers should indulge in Angus steak with braised shallots and french fries. No one can resist sopping up every drop of the sweet and savory red-pepper sauce of the braised seafood and shellfish stew. Do yourself a favor: Save room for orange blossom beignets. Light and airy with a delicate and moist web of dough within and a kiss of orange essence, the beignet is dessert at its finest. FYI: the wine list has a lovely and appropriately paired by-the-glass and bottle selection. There's a community table for drop-in diners.