Where to eat lunch downtown:

        Go ahead, have lunch at the Maisonette. There is a new prix fixe approach to lunch that may put it more in your price range than you thought.

        Yes, it's still more expensive than lunch at Jersey Mike's, but it's considerably less expensive than a Maisonette dinner (especially if you're not paying for wine or valet parking).

        I think the Maisonette's warmly colored dining room with its crystal sparkle and fine art is the perfect one-hour antidote (actually, they'll do it in 45 minutes if you want) to any downtown office, cubicle or retail employment site.

        Lunch won't give you the full Maisonette experience because the menu is limited and less elaborate than dinner, but the atmosphere and service are the same.

        Lunch is either $20 for two courses (appetizer and entree or entree and dessert) or $30 for all three. It's a limited, seasonal menu, and includes classic French dishes available by the day of the week, and a select list of wines by the glass.

        Last month, I had a lunch that began with a simple salad of yellow and red heirloom tomatoes, served in a neat cylinder shape with frisee and a simple vinaigrette. The Wednesday dish was a homey navarin of lamb with mashed potatoes.

        My boss (who else am I going to take to Maisonette for lunch?) had light, garlicy shrimp Provencal, followed by a gorgeous swordfish salad, a grilled but meltingly soft piece of swordfish done a la nicoise, with olives, potatoes and green beans.

        The dessert cart comes around, but we declined. We were served a small selection of tiny petit fours that was almost enough dessert, though I continued to eye the Maisonette's array of fresh berries and cream, mousse and several cakes going by on the cart.

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Maisonette experience less pricey at lunch
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