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The back story at this petite takeout spot involves an American culinary student and a French butcher who met in Paris. After marrying and moving to New York, the couple opened this quaint café, stamping it with their last name. The fare is French-influenced, divided between daily soups, specialty sandwiches, salads, and sweeter treats. Sandwiches, available grilled, feature creative combinations like spice-rubbed roast pork, topped with provolone and sweet and sour cabbage on a grainy semolina, raisin, and fennel roll. Almonds and chunks of green apple enliven the golden chicken curry salad. Quiches are airy, made with local ingredients that shift daily. A savory strudel mixes goat cheese with the hearty flavor of mushrooms. Fair-trade coffees, cappuccinos, and chai accompany decadent chocolate-chip cookies and s’mores—oatmeal cookies laced with marshmallow. The space is tiny, with just eleven wicker chairs arranged around small tables beneath wire-rimmed mirrors and pale green walls. Retro maps of the New York subway and France reference the owners’ story near the front counter, and a familial atmosphere pervades – like staff dropping off hot chocolate offering, “Just let us know if that’s not chocolaty enough.” — Ethan Wolff

Egg sandwich, $3.50; roast pork sandwich, $7.50

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• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)