A golden word set against the red awning of Cafe Bonaparte beckons shoppers and snackers: "Crepes." Though the small bistro offers a variety of dishes on the brunch, lunch and dinner menus, it is best known for its wide variety of the sweet and savory favorites.

Like its imperial namesake, Cafe Bonaparte is a French bistro that has appropriated other Mediterranean locales to flavor both furnishings and food. The decor combines a French sleekness of deep reds and black with black-and-white photographs evocative of exotic places like Santorini and St. Tropez. The sounds of soft jazz and French chanteurs filter through the room, whisking diners away to another place.

In fact, much of the menu at Cafe Bonaparte reads like a travel wish list. The Florentine crepe is filled with Roma tomatoes, ricotta cheese, pine nuts, basil, and a roasted garlic-pesto sauce. The Budapest is loaded with beef, onions, tomatoes, peppers and a sour cream cilantro sauce. These savory crepe offerings, which arrive on a plate with a small salad, are far more gourmet than any purchased from a Parisian street vendor; smoked salmon, sun-dried tomatoes and fontina cheese are among the innovative additions to the list of crepe ingredients. While it is certainly more sophisticated fare, the fillings -- particularly those with sauces - tend to overwhelm the light crepes. If you have a particular hankering for more traditional crepes, two come close: the Wellington, which is filled with ham and cheddar cheese, and the Monaco, with turkey and Swiss cheese.

The sweet crepes, on the other hand, are far more familiar. The Bonaparte, smothered in Nutella, is easily the most popular crepe. Another favorite straight from the streets of Paris is the lemon, butter and powdered sugar-filled Juliette. The cafe also offers a few deviations from the basics, like the Martinique, which is filled with caramelized mangos and topped off with lemon sorbet and pistachio shavings. They even serve crepes a l'americain -- with peanut butter and jelly, of course.

In keeping with the exotic destination theme, the sandwich section features the Mallorca, sauteed eggplant, zucchini, red & green peppers and olive tapenade on foccacia bread, and the Elba, smoked turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, roasted peppers, Brie cheese and mayo on a baguette. The dinner appetizers and entree selections are generally standard French fare with a Mediterranean flair: escargots, scallops au poivre, aubergine and moules frites.

The cafe is small, but boasts a full bar where diners can sip aperitifs while waiting for their table. The bar offers a seasonal menu of stately cocktails, like Les Cents Joues, a mix of gin, apricot brandy, fresh lemon and orange juice, and the Bonaparte Lemonade -- Jack Daniel's, fresh lemon juice and lemon-lime soda -- for a taste of spring.

--Shauna Maher (April 26, 2006)