Corton

I've been meaning to get to Corton ever since I heard that chef Paul Liebrandt had a new home. Tonight, I celebrated my umpteenth birthday with some relatives, and this lovely cream-and-gold restaurant was the venue. Liebrandt's dishes are thrilling landscapes that inspire the diner to explore every nook and cranny. Even a vegetable plate ("From The Garden") is full of delicious surprises! But more on that in a bit.

While we sipped glasses of 2006 Chavy-Martin Puligny-Montrachet, my relatives mentioned that they had been chatting with owner Drew Nieporent - apparently, he always wanted to be in the restaurant business, and even watched the Galloping Gourmet as a child. (He's a friendly presence at his latest restaurant.)

We munched on gougeres and fluffy green olive breads, and smeared green-flecked seaweed butter on mini-baguettes. Then, the server arrived to answer questions (what is kalamansi? an Indian fruit resembling a kumquat. what about cobia? a meaty, firm, sharklike fish). We decided to order the $75 three-course meal, opposed to the $120 tasting menu.

Our amuse-bouche was a chilled oyster nestled in gelee, anointed with nutmeg oil and sprinkled with grains of buckwheat (my relatives aren't shellfish fans, so I was the lucky recipient of three of them). I ended up paying them back in king crab tempura; my velvety kuri squash soup featured two pieces of it, as well as a non-fried chunk of sweet crabmeat sprinkled with gold leaf. Other dishes were a beautiful circle of Nantucket Bay scallops, baby greens and raw radishes with an orange sea urchin sauce at the center, and the marvelous "From The Garden." (I don't think I've ever been so excited by a vegetable plate.) Various tiny root vegetables, potatoes, caramelized onions, greens, tapenades, dried vegetable powders, and the odd fruit were arranged in such a way that the tastes changed depending on where your fork landed - here was a patch of sweetness, or a tangy zing, or a paper-thin crispness.

Then it was time for the main courses. Succulent Label Rouge chicken was accompanied by a polenta cake topped with a slice of black truffle, artichokes Barigoule, and a breaded chicken meatball with a compote of diced autumn fruits. Golden amadai, a bream-like fish, was the centerpiece for a ring of sweet onions and melt-in-your-mouth ricotta-parmesan gnudi. Razor clam chowder, added at the last minute, added even more richness. Portions were not overpowering, however.

A coconut sorbet in a blood orange foam, which hid pearls of black tapioca, announced the dessert course. The sweets were excellent, and the artisanal cheese plate was a selection of perfection! It showcased the creamy, sharp, sweet and pungent flavors of Stilton, Langa La Tur from the Piedmont region, Comte, an award-winning Pleasant Ridge Gruyere from Wisconsin, and a wonderful goat cheese. Salted focaccia and cranberry toasts came with the plate. I was momentarily distracted from my gooey-centered, warm chocolate fondant cake with its scoop of ice milk in a sea of cocoa nibs, and a caramel apple dessert with walnuts.

Fortunately, there were two more opportunities to appreciate the chocolate creations of pastry chef Robert Truitt. Milk chocolate/ginger, white chocolate/blackberry and dark chocolate/lime discs soon arrived, and then the server brought by actual drawers full of goodies. One drawer held chocolate towers filled with curried peanut butter, another contained tiny lemon, caramel and espresso macarons, and yet another held a collection of spiced fig/red wine and jasmine-grapefruit chocolates, palets d'or, and salted butter caramels. If only I'd been allowed to take home a box!

Corton: 239 West Broadway, (212) 219-2777.