little taste of the South of France past the 401 eastbound. For all the fun we like to poke at the French, we'll give them this: They know how to eat. The food combinations they come up with - Pain au chocolat, Coq au Vin, and that little slice of heaven: Wine and cheese.

The tariff is steep at this foodie Mecca, but the food is exceptional. Quality ingredients, execution in cooking and intelligent creation are perhaps the chief touchstones of fine cooking, taking precedence over glamorous presentation. Service is slow and indifferent, but tolerable for the delectable, expensive dishes. The menu seduces us with a clear, modern French bias. Unfortunately, both the uptown and the downtown crowd find this location a culinary Scarberia.

But, regardless of where at Auberge du Pommier, you lift a fork, it's noteworthy (as well as celebratory) to see how much culinary baggage the chef has shed in his current season. Upon arrival, Todd Clarmo’s dishes would occasionally be undone by his overtly showy intentions; then, he sometimes went out of his way to juxtapose Clarmo-slash-French dishes. Perhaps sensing that the dining crowd that congregates here for the pleasure of classic French cooking, Clarmo has focused and honed Auberge du Pommier’s menu to the point where almost every dish resonates with such love-it-in-an-instant flavours that their appeal is likely to mask their degrees of difficulty.

Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Braised Oxtail is one such plate. Clarmo’s sly pairing of this aromatic meat with a fragrant seafood and dressed with Cabernet jus comes close to airy bliss. He does it again with sweetly Seared Tuna with Spiced Tartare buttressed by brash peppered pineapple.

For starters, the torchon of Foie Gras is something special: meltingly lush, coated in a sheer veil of a Niagara cherry compote, held back from overkill by an orange, celery and pine nut salad. There's an beef tenderloin Steak Tartare, chopped raw, slightly spicy, and a too small, but feisty, Baked Artichoke Stuffed with French Chévre disk of pork terrine that would get you good even without the kicker of the sun ripened tomato salad. The too smoky sweet-pea soup needs adjusting, though, if only to highlight its pearls of luscious parmesan custard.

Back to entrées. Clarmo easily passes the Auberge stringent classic French test. The roasted Breast of pheasant is tender but bizarrely taste-free, and the mushroom stuffing, dried fruit compote and Calvados jus seems made with less heart and soul. But Clarmo’s almond crusted fillet of grouper, pan seared sea scallops with braised oxtail, bacon wrapped veal tenderloin, and the crispy seared tuna with tartare are four persuasive reasons to check Sunday's real-estate section for a classic six at Yonge and the 401.

If it seems a little odd that a great French place has settled north of the 401, it's hard to argue with the results. You will dine well at Auberge du Pommier, and leave feeling pampered, tipsy, and very, very full. - Brad Jamieson.


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