Les Deux Salons Restaurateur settles down with French fare

Finally making a commitment can bring wonderful things...usually followed by mediocre things, then an expensive divorce, a fling with a waitress, and a failure to learn your lesson about commitment. Finally going monogamous with French grub, the man behind Les Deux Salons.

Soft opening today, Deux is the third joint from Will "Not That One" Smith, whose prior chow-houses, Arbutus & Wild Honey, have both won Michelin stars for their European belly-fillers; this latest venture's got a strictly old-school Parisian vibe, filled with mosaic flooring, oversized tarnished mirrors, and bentwood chairs -- though if it causes that much agony, why don't they just redesign the chair? Inspired by classic brasserie fare, the menu starts with small-scale tongue-pleasers like red mullet soup w/ green olive tapenade, tarte lyonnaise (bacon/onion/cheese) w/ organic salmon, and a hearty, slow-cooked pork belly "petit salé", meaning "little salt" (thank God! Angelina's doing her own version of the Young Bond series!). Moving up to the bigger grub, there's roast halibut with razor clams, ravioli of rose veal w/ goats curd & cavolo nero, and even a bacon & Herefordshire snail pie, too much of which will make you feel...sluggish.

As with the other venues, there'll be a slightly more affordable plat du jour, and all of the world-spanning vinos will be avail by the carafe -- keeping you from having to make a commitment to a whole bottle, then trying to give the waitress your tip.