Swank Supping at Mille Fleurs

The fact that the staff at Mille Fleurs has traded in its tuxedos for a new, less formal wardrobe of suits and ties illustrates how difficult it has become to find a really swanky setting for a big night on the town.

Still, should you be stricken by an irrepressible urge to put on the dog--or the fox fur or silk stole--Mille Fleurs remains the place in North County at which to pull out all the stops. Just remember to bring along plenty of cash, a notarized statement of net worth or a reliable credit card, because the experience doesn’t come cheaply and the wine list offers extraordinary opportunities to splurge, including a few fine, French bottles priced at more than $600. It is not uncommon to find a celebrity or two on the premises.

Considered by many to hold uncontested first place among the county’s restaurants, Mille Fleurs certainly ranks in the top three. Two men make it so, proprietor Bertrand Hug--his French accent erodes with each additional year he spends in Ranch Santa Fe, but his claim to never forget a face or the name that goes with it still seems as well-founded as ever--and German-born chef Martin Woesle, who cooks in a light, contemporary style quite his own.

The two are supported by a well-trained, highly professional staff of the sort that, in gentler times, was the norm at formal restaurants. Built some years ago in the style of a Moroccan villa, Mille Fleurs features intricate tile mosaics, working fireplaces and dining at spacious, graciously appointed tables in several small, flatteringly lighted rooms. A pianist entertains in the bar most evenings.

Woesle prints new menus (the restaurant serves lunch during the week) daily, and, although dishes do repeat from time to time, there is no assurance that those sampled on a recent visit will again be available. What does remain consistent from meal to meal is the Woesle style, unique in these parts; this thirtysomething chef approaches a preparation more like an architect than a decorator. Woesle chooses garnishes appropriate to each entree rather than cooking up all-purpose vats of spuds and vegetables, and then builds the plate using these and the entree like elements in a construction.

The menu reads like a prose poem to the luxury ingredients available in the markets that day. Recently, it included a beautifully colored pastiche of three bell pepper soups--red, green and yellow--each occupying a triangular third of the plate, and supporting a few cloud-like swirls of cream. The flavor, forthright and peppery, was fresh and bold, a study more in the essence of bell pepper (not a shy vegetable) than in subtlety.

Much more complicated and somewhat challenging in its main element, the appetizer of grilled smoked eel arranged over a layered bed of sliced baby beets and new potatoes showed Woesle at his best. Details included tiny, stamped-out cucumber stars, a miniature blob of sour cream dabbed with black caviar and a few red flower petals, added for color and perhaps for sheer extravagance. Smoky and peppery, the eel also had a smooth flavor, and a richness neatly toned down by the beets and potatoes. A light vinaigrette sparked with freshly grated horseradish brought a tart balance to the plate. Other recent starters have been a spinach salad tossed with bits of duck liver and duck confit , and a layered presentation of cold poached salmon with avocado, caviar and a chive-lemon dressing.

The entree list typically offers just three seafood and three meat offerings, but that selection should be more than sufficient. The fish, although not sampled, sounded excellent, especially the whole Dover sole sauteed in brown butter, with anchovies added as seasoning (they’re salty, after all), and the halibut with orange-ginger sauce.

Meats recently were a tame-sounding loin of Colorado lamb with garlic-herb sauce, an oven-roasted breast of Muscovy duck and crisp sweetbreads with fresh chanterelle mushrooms and Sherry vinegar sauce.

The duck, gamy and wild-tasting--the qualities for which Muscovy fowl are favored--benefited from the sweet-tart note of cassis in the sauce and was perfectly garnished with a mash of leeks and potatoes (rather like a dry vichyssoise) and red cabbage. The sweetbread plate also included fresh white corn, a charming and inspired addition to this most delicate of meats; a dab of turnip puree added a sweet, welcome flavor to the serving.

The desserts occupy a menu of their own, and the civilized options include a well-arranged cheese plate. But the sweets demand attention.

The Santa Rosa plums, stewed in spiced Port and placed around a supple, cinnamon-white chocolate mousse, were both novel and brilliant, and an individual, freshly baked feuillette (puff pastry) of black figs with honey and raspberry sauce seemed quite as glamorous as the setting.

Mille Fleurs

6009 Paseo Delicias,

Rancho Santa Fe

Calls: 756-3085. Reservations recommended.

Hours: Lunch weekdays, dinner nightly

Cost: Entrees $25 to $28. Dinner for two, including a moderate bottle of wine, tax and tip, about $150.