If Citronelle's ebullient chef/owner Michel Richard is in the kitchen (and you know when he is, since the dining room views the open kitchen), diners in the know decline the menu and ask simply for whatever it is Richard wants to make. Whether you go that route, or choose from the fixed-price or tasting menus, you're in for a (very expensive) treat. Emerging from the bustling kitchen are appetizers like the fricassee of escargots, an egg shell filled with caviar, sweetbreads, porcinis, and crunchy pistachios, and entrees like the crispy lentil-coated salmon or squab leg confit with macaroni gratin and black truffles. But each presentation is a work of art, with swirls of colorful sauce surrounding the main event. If you are passionate about food, you may want to consider dining at the chef's table, which is in the kitchen, so you can watch Richard at work. This will cost you $250 per person, with a minimum of 6 people at the table.

Citronelle's decor is also breathtaking and includes a wall that changes colors, a state-of-the-art wine cellar (a glass-enclosed room that encircles the dining room, displaying its 8,000 bottles and a collection of 18th- and 19th-century corkscrews), and a Provencal color scheme of mellow yellow and raspberry red.

The dessert of choice: Michel Richard's richly layered chocolate "bar" with sauce noisette (hazelnut sauce). Citronelle's extensive wine list offers 20 premium by-the-glass selections, but with all those bottles staring out at you from the wine cellar, you may want to spring for one.