Profile

As the name suggests, this cozy neighborhood spot combines East Asian flavors with Parisian café style. Contemporary art for sale, twinkling votives and fresh-cut orchids lend the place a mellow air that balances the menu's intensely sweet and spicy twists on traditional Thai food. All dishes are elegantly and rather miraculously plated in a tiny, cutaway kitchen that both lights the small room and fills it with aromas of basil, chili, and coconut. The shrimp starter, creatively grilled on a rosemary skewer until its garlic marinade becomes caramelized, pops and crackles with sweet mesquite flavor, while the crispy duck salad contrasts the crumbly, candied-bacon texture of the deep fried duck against the cool crunch of salad veggies and glass noodles. Among entrées, a whole red snapper is served swimming in a sea of red coconut curry sauce so thick with basil, red pepper, and tomatoes, it begs to be licked off the square, neo-Asian plates. Jumbo shrimp sautéed with mushrooms and Asian long beans is a slightly more subtle option, and less likely to overpower a glass of wine from the extensive list. — Keach Hagey

Get beyond the eggs Benedict grind with Q's exotic brunch menu of mango pancakes, basil burgers and salmon salad, served weekends from noon to 3 p.m.

Rosemary shrimp, $13.95; crispy whole red snapper, $23.95