Daring to go where few (Warsaw restaurants) have gone before

I've finally stepped over the edge, to the other side. Or, as they used to say in ancient Rome, I've crossed the Rubicon - Rubicon being the name of the Italian river that Julius Caesar dared to cross, thus sparking a civil war with his Roman counterpart Pompey. Caesar went on to lay the foundation of the Roman Empire and become a god. I went on to become a satisfied diner in Warsaw. It's taken me a while. When people ask me where I really enjoy eating in Warsaw, I always hesitate. I don't have a favorite restaurant because too often I'm disappointed: The food's either OK, indifferent or a variation thereof. I've always got some complaint: It's too greasy, too rich, too fussy, too bland or just too expensive. But now, I can honestly recommend a Warsaw restaurant with no small print as an escape clause - Rubikon. Our starters, mains and desserts were (almost) without fault. I'd been keeping my eye on Rubikon for the past few weeks. Whenever I passed by, the owners - a lawyer and designer couple - had been in there putting the finishing touches on their chocolate-and-vanilla-colored bistro and restaurant. With the paint still drying, and the liquor license still caught up in this city's crazy bureaucracy, we finally made it to Rubikon for dinner last week. We were the only diners there, save for the owners, Konrad and Małgorzata Januszkiewicz.

This place is clearly their pride and joy: Małgorzata was moving candles strategically for optimum effect, while Konrad gave the waiter a few tips and pointers. From the groovy background music to the walnut furniture and rose-red bathroom, Rubikon is super cool but supremely comfortable at the same time. And the menu is simple and delicious, with some classic Polish flavors and modern interpretations. For my starter, I chose boczniak mushrooms with balsamic vinegar and garlic. It was sublime: The mushrooms were fried in butter until they were ever so crispy with a cautious dash of balsamic vinegar and garlic that let the flavor of the mushrooms stand up and speak for itself. David was hovering over choosing the mushroom ravioli. But at the owner's suggestion, he chose a lamb ravioli that wasn't on the menu.

Lamb is unpopular in Italy, and in Poland the lamb I've had in restaurants usually has that dreadful pungent sweetness reminiscent of hogget or its older brother, mutton. But this ravioli tasted like it was really filled with finely ground lamb and dressed with shavings of Parmesan cheese and a rich gravy with a light sprinkling of truffle oil - just enough so that even I, a truffle-phobe, could handle it. My main, venison in sauce flavored with the blackcurrant liquour cassis, was served with home-made noodles flavored with blackberries and dressed with dried figs. It was practically faultless. The sliced meat was tender and dripping rare. The cassis sauce was sweet and the noodles - which were as fine as vermicelli - were indeed laced with blackberries.

David was impressed with his veal fillets served with gorgonzola sauce and homemade noodles. The sauce managed to temper the strong tang of gorgonzola, which has the bad habit of overpowering everything on a plate - but even the delicate spinach noodles registered on David's tastebuds. The desserts were marvelous: David's tiramisu was a whimsical concoction with miniature ladyfingers, topped with piped mascarpone and a dusting of cocoa - certainly it was a novel interpretation of this Italian dessert. While my semifreddo, which is essentially frozen patisserie cream, was just as delightful. Two slices of typically icy ice cream with slivers of burnt toffee and almonds mixed through it. It sat in a gigantic puddle of chocolate sauce that had me scraping at my plate so I could eat as much of it as possible. Hopefully, I'll be crossing over to the other side again at Rubikon rather soon. A three-course dinner for two (not including drinks) came to zł. 177 ($44.25).

From the menu: Boczniak mushrooms with balsamic vinegar and garlic zł. 22 Lamb ravioli zł. 32 Cannelloni with salmon and spinach zł. 26 Lamb with cassis sauce, blackberry noodles and figs zł. 48 Veal fillet with gorgonzola sauce and noodles zł. 38 Tiramisu zł. 18 Semifreddo zł. 16