On our last trip, dining at Daalder was such a memorable experience that it became one of my favorite restaurants in the world. Two years later, with a new chef, Daalder is just as good as I remembered it. Though the restaurant looks like an old bistro from the outside, once you get inside, it feels cozy and contemporary, with a staff that is young, efficient and accommodating. Daalder serves tasting menus at lunch and dinner, and both times Cyn and I visited, we had the four-course dinner menu and a bottle of champagne. On each visit, we were we blown away by the food — which is of consistently high quality — but also by how reasonable the bill was each time. The grower champagnes are less expensive than what we could get in the US at retail prices. Though there is the option to add up to three more courses, four courses is more than enough for us, and the staff was lovely enough to change the dessert to another savory course for us. We started with the tuna tartare with puffed rice and olive oil foam, a delight of refreshing flavors and textures. Next was gnocchi with onion marmalade and reblochon, a French Alps cheese sauce. The third course, flounder with purple cauliflower, shiitake in a shiitake broth and coconut foam, was one of the best fish dishes I’ve ever tasted. The flounder was so flavorful, and the crunch of the finely diced cauliflower against the smooth woodsy shiitake offered wonderfully contrasting textures. For “dessert” we had the risotto with chanterelle and white mushrooms, lemon, tarragon, and spinach. This risotto was bursting with brightness in flavors. As I tasted each dish, it was my favorite, and by the end of the meal, they were all my favorites. As many wonderful meals as I’ve had in my life, it is rare for me to love all the dishes from a tasting menu. And this is why I adore Daalder – a friendly neighborhood restaurant with a menu worth traveling for.