LAFAYETTE SQUARE. Eleven Eleven has gotten a lot of buzz since opening ­ and expectations are skillfully met. Set in a former factory, the restaurant is a cozy mix of brick, wood, leather, and copper. It features two levels, fireplaces, and an exhibition kitchen, and it's become a regular destination for city diners. The menu treads the ground between Californian and Italian fare, offering dishes like roasted venison loin, seared halibut, and braised rabbit with goat cheese polenta (a signature). They're a great prelude to dessert treats like a crème custard napoleon with bananas and chocolate and to the locally-favored gooey butter cake, whose richness is tempered with a glass of cold milk.

The menu is never the same at this extremely popular California-styled restaurant, where the creative cuisine combines flavors and textures with superb flair. Sample whole roasted black bass on a bed of Israeli couscous mixed with sautéed bok choy and chanterelle mushrooms, or fettuccine with scallops, portobello mushrooms, asparagus, and sherry mushroom sauce. Reservations are an absolute necessity.

This refreshing eatery features a purplish-gray exterior and window boxes overflowing with geraniums. The contemporary, California-style restaurant offers an imaginative menu with interesting appetizers like duck tacos, nuggets of Chinese glazed duck folded in wonton skins with a rice vinegar dipping sauce, or mussels in a honey-dill sauce. Entrees include boned lamb shanks with a tomato-wine sauce accompanied by mashed potatoes.