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Very Best Restaurants: Lavandou

Very Best Listing | Very Best by Cuisine | Very Best by Location

Lavandou **
Washington, $

You're lucky if you live near enough to call this your neighborhood restaurant, but if you don't, chef-owner Francis Devillier's kitchen justifies a crosstown trip. Though he grew up in Paris, Devillier's tastes were shaped by the cooking of his Provencal mother. What he serves at his tiny bistro is not a toned-down interpretation of regional specialties, but the sort of forthright cooking you'd experience at a home in the south of France.

As in Provence, desserts are not a strong suit at Lavandou, and since the traditional plate of goat and ewe cheeses is not offered here, it is best to explore Provence in three savory courses. Devillier serves an authentic, water-based soupe au pistou, but in this cold season, a more suitable choice is a soup of beans, leeks, and bacon. You might want to follow with a composed saladthe one with stuffed peppers was quite wonderful, as was another made with eggplant, green lentils, and flakes of salt codor perhaps a hot course, such as stuffed squid in a light tomato sauce.

If you're in the mood for the comforts of stew, Devilliers offers a suitably robust beef daube. For something lighter, try lamb stewed with artichokes, beans, and tomato sauce. With either, try the bargain of the wine list, the $17 red Cuvee de Pena, a lush Mediterranean beauty that is equally suitable for seafood.

Lavandou , 3321 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington; 202-966-3002. Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday and Sunday for dinner. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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