Best New Restaurant

Ralph's on the Park - Imagination with a View

Avid diners eagerly anticipated the opening of a new restaurant partnership between Ralph Brennan and chef Gerard Maras two years before they (or Brennan or Maras) knew where the restaurant would be or what it would be called.

With good reason. The last time Ralph Brennan and Gerard Maras were together, they created the golden age of Mr. B's. On his own, Maras opened Gerard's Downtown and inspired raves. After that closed (logistical problems), Brennan asked Maras to come into his three-restaurant operation until they could figure out what to do next.

What came up was a surprise. Brennnan bought the Tavern on the Park – a restaurant with a staccato history going back to the 1860s and a broadside view of City Park. It looked perfect. In 2002, they started working on the place. The more work they did, though, the more work they found to be done. Termites. Water damage. Demolition went on and on.

Meanwhile, chef Gerard's fans fanned. And another solid guy joined the effort. Richard Shakespeare, who worked at the dining rooms and wine cellar at Commander's Palace for 25 years, signed on as general manager of the new place. And everybody beat their brains out trying to think of a name.

In late 2003 "Ralph's on the Park" (is that the best they could come up with?) opened quietly. For a few days, as soon as the word was out, the patient enthusiasts jammed in, testing not just the food, but the structural integrity of the balconies that wrap around the second floor (and forcing some reinforcement).

Maras picked up where he'd left off. His menu is strongly inspired by classical French cooking but not so much that one recognizes anything as a standard. The flavors are also informed by local products.

But the chef's claim to fame is his knowledge of local farms. Maras was a pioneer 20 years ago in encouraging farmers to plant more tasty vegetables and to harvest them for flavor rather than for shelf life. The excellent edibles we find now in our markets are to some extent the result of Gerard's efforts. He uses them widely at Ralph's where soups, salads and side dishes are a cut or two above the local norm.

Maras' style is understated. Reading the menu will likely not raise your pulse. The excellence of the food is subtle; get ready for seasoning levels well below what we're accustomed to. Instead, tune into the natural flavors.

Best meal: Start with the boudin noir, a not-so-Cajun blood sausage. Then the soup of the day, whatever it is. Follow that with the seared scallops with lentils and jasmine rice. And whatever tart they're baking for dessert. Also good: the salmon poached in olive oil, the duck bigarade, and the peppered filet with a port and raisin demiglace.

A big-time innovation here is the full vegetarian menu, the first locally. You don't even have to ask for it – it comes with the regular menu and has about a dozen choices.

By the way, the building came out great. Although the interior is completely new, it looks like it could have been there for 140 years. And that mural in the back depicts a true historical scenario that you should ask about.

- Tom Fitzmorris