Village Cafe, Bronxville

This small place has a split personality: it's a relaxed neighborhood hang and a rather sophisticated dinner house.

At the bar area right inside the front door, everyone knows one another and the bartender knows what each of them drinks. There's a ballgame on the TV and lots of lively chatter. Seems as if it could be a likely place to meet tomorrow's breakfast companion.

The full bar offers a nice variety of beers on tap. With about a dozen wines available by the glass, in addition to the usual chardonnays and sauvignon blancs the Village Cafe has rieslings and gewurtztraminers and a few sparkling wines. The reds are equally varied.

Dinner is served at the bar or at the comfortably upholstered booths and tables. The dining area has soft lighting, mirrors, and a rose and burgundy color scheme, right down to the table linens. The dinner menu offers a few salads, sandwiches and burgers, but most of the preparations are on the fancy side, with reduced sauces artfully pooled and painted on the oversize square plates.

I came across the Village Cafe when jazz pianist Leslie Pintchik was gigging there around Christmas. I caught her first set from the bar, she and her trio sounded great. All the food looked really good too, so I decided to come back to give the place a try for dinner. I even knew where I'd sit -- a deuce in the back of the house close to the tiny bandstand. An ideal spot for listening, and one of the few seats from which you can't see the TV.

Leslie was back there last night, and so was I, ready for an evening of good music and good food. I was satisfied on both counts.

Dinner started with a calamari appetizer, which arrived piping hot, with two dipping sauces: a quite good version of the usual marinara, and a rich, somewhat Asian sauce with a tangy tahini taste. Very good -- nice contrast between the light crispy coating and the juicy tender calamari. My entree was a daily special, horseradish crusted cod, served with mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach and grilled asparagus. Another winner, cooked to perfection, topped with a buttery reduced wine sauce. I was in the clean plate club. I also sampled the grilled skirt steak: Excellent.

Service was good. When we were shown to our booth, our waiter was there to take our coats. Overall, the staff was efficient and friendly, they took good care of us without hovering.

The trio sounded great, playing a nice mix of material including a surprising arrangement of "Blowing in the Wind" that featured some stellar improvisation. I wouldn't have guessed that was possible on that particular tune, which is done badly most of the time. They also played standards and a beautiful version of Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance."

The Village Cafe has different kinds of music every Friday, and though it's not really a listening crowd, I'm likely to go back next time they have jazz.

But I'll only sit in the back if I plan to eat -- TV is not part of a fine dining experience.

Isle Thai

Isle has a lot going for it: The excellent food, low prices, good location, sleek decor and great people watching have drawn me back on at least three occasions. The so-so service doesn't bother me in particular, but the loud dance music may be the deal breaker. I find myself eating to the beat, and holding a conversation is out of the question. There's something kind of depressing about sitting in a practically empty restaurant with blaring dance music. It feels as if the host threw a gala party and less than a handful of guests showed up. The "ambient" music destroys the ambience. The last time I was there is likely to be literally the last time.

Sirtaj, 36 W. 26th St., NYC

I worked around the corner from this budget-wise Indo-Pak restaurant for years, and takeout from Sirtaj was a daily event. We continued to place regular orders after we moved up by Grand Central; the delivery arrived by cab. Whenever I eat Indian food elsewhere, I find myself making mental comparisons: This isn't as spicy as at Sirtaj. Sirtaj makes a richer sauce for this dish. The naan is chewier at Sirtaj. Etc.

The Sirtaj menu boasts of the "inspiring atmosphere" and "ample space for parties," but it's not the alleged ambience that has regularly brought me back to this bare-bones storefront for almost two decades.

I've ordered everything on the menu several times over and can't recall a time when I've been disappointed. Faves include tikka saag, chicken makhni and keema peas, served with basmati rice and raita. The food is typically quite fiery, but if you want to really stoke the flames ask for chili-onion relish; there's also a green cilantro sauce that soothes the burn.

A few days before the election, Miz Style said, "In these days when everything seems to be going wrong, it's so great we can still count on Sirtaj." Amen.