I [heart] you, Ten Tables, please be mine

Perhaps you're surprised to learn of my affections. Probably not, though. You know you've got it going on. I mean, not in a conceited way or anything. Part of your charm is your humility. You could brag if you wanted to. For one thing, there's your looks. Forgive me for being superficial, but they don't hurt. The dark gray-brown paint on your walls is just the right mood-creating shade: It catches the candlelight and makes the space feel instantly cool. You're so cozy, a little box full of good smells. When the lights are down low, jazz is playing softly, the chefs in the open kitchen are laughing, plating, drizzling, and the aroma of creamy celeriac soup or culotte steak is wafting over our heads, it's easy to see looking around the tiny room that you make diners feel good.

It would be hard for them not to, considering what's on the table. Plump, rosy little slices of duck breast edged in spice rub make one see things through rose-colored glasses. They're chewy but tender, the juices from the bird melding with honey gastrique to create a delirious, ducky broth at the bottom of the plate. Culotte steak is all meat, no fat, striated slivers of beefy bliss. Charcuterie is made in house - there's a wonderful pork pate one night, with buttery toasts, cornichons, grainy mustard, and a golden-raisin relish; a peppery sausage is served atop simple white beans with a drizzle of truffle oil.

But though chef David Punch and crew have a way with meat, it's the other components that really make you lick your chops. What would that duck be all by itself? OK, it would be great, but it's even better served with bright green chard and slivers of opaque cooked fennel. The steak wakes up in the company of bright green chimichurri, watercress, and roasted peppers; it also comes with smashed potatoes.

Seared scallops are everything seared scallops should be. And then more, because they're served on nutty, toothsome farro, with tiny red squares of beets scattered throughout like confetti. On top is a Meyer lemon salsa with green olives. The olive taste gets lost a bit beneath the burst of sunny citrus, but everything works wonderfully together.