In Paris, passersby are taunted by the tiny patisseries lining the cobblestone streets. Glazed fruit tarts glisten in the window cases, practically screaming for you to take one home, or have a little sliver with your afternoon coffee.

If you can't afford Paris right now, Sami Didda has brought a Parisian patisserie and bistro called Chouchou to San Francisco's Forest Hill neighborhood.

Opened last fall, Didda and his partners, Eric Klein and Olivier Azancot of Plouf, B44 and Cafe Bastille, chose a location away from the business- attired downtown.

"Forest Hill is a beautiful little village," says Didda. "I've always worked where the customers live in the neighborhood, so I couldn't imagine just working with tourists."

Attentive host

Didda greets guests warmly at the door and checks in with each table throughout the meal, pouring wine as glasses empty or checking breadbaskets.

Servers, dressed head-to-toe in black, are more elusive. They take your order and bring your food, but it's the busboys that really hustle.

Be prepared to ask for your check, although a French friend who dined with me one night explained that in France you always have to ask for your check. It's not that the servers' aim is to ignore, it's just that they don't scoot you out the door in order to turn tables. If you do want a quicker meal, let the staff know as you're seated.

The menu at Chouchou ventures beyond usual bistro fare to include some lesser-seen items such as pastry-topped country stews. Each top is opened by the server tableside to reveal a hearty portion of vegetables and seasonings.

Don't expect a classic buttery puff pastry -- the tops are much breadier and sturdier. At their best, the lids are oven-charred with a scattering of anchovies, olives or rosemary. Each stew is served with a small pot of golden mashed potatoes, perfect for mushing into the sauces.

The seafood cassolette stew ($18), a thin piece of fish, shellfish and perfectly cooked calamari, all in a slightly spiced light tomato broth, tastes more of San Francisco than France, with its cioppino-like flavor. Thick red pepper rouille shouts of garlic, but mixed in with the broth, it's delicious.

Brunette stew ($16), uncloaked, reveals cubes of chewy veal in a light creamy sauce, redolent of spring onions. Little bits of bacon are especially nice with the melting strips of red and yellow bell peppers.

The first few bites of daube Provencal ($16), a traditional stew filled with lamb, bacon, carrots and olives braised in a lusty Cotes du Rhone, were nice, but the dish became cloyingly sticky from what tasted like an over- reduced sauce.

Although the country stews are the restaurant's specialty, other main courses shine as well. Pork tenderloin ($16), surrounded by a ring of creamy potatoes, is treated to a feather-weight, slightly fruity sauce with sage and coarsely ground mustard. Sweet sauteed grapes play perfectly off the thin pieces of tender pork.

Grilled ahi ($18) with brown rice is cooked to a silky medium-rare and the risotto-like rice is creamy and pleasant. Too much cream and butter dulled the carrot-y flavor in the accompanying puree, but the velvety texture mixes beautifully with the slightly sweet port sauce.

One dish, prawns and bacon ravioli with vanilla saffron sauce ($16), was perplexing. The ravioli reminded me a little too much of siu mai, the classic dim sum dumpling, and the dish seemed awkward paired with an overly sweet vanilla saffron sauce and Parmesan cheese. The flavors never quite came together.

Appetizers can also be up and down. Try the charcuterie ($9), with delicious pate, but avoid the lentil salad ($8.50), where the sweet mango clashed with the earthier lentils. Onion soup ($5), a staple in many French restaurants, lacked complexity.

Instead, sop up the garlicky butter of the mussels gratinée ($8.50), sweet plump mussels topped with a small pile of toasted breadcrumbs; or the oozing Camembert ($7.50) in a shattering pastry shell, drizzled with a tangy pomegranate reduction.

Brunch offerings

Brunch and lunch offer tartines, layered open-faced sandwiches, egg dishes and a phenomenal burger ($9), plump and rosy inside with a fried egg oozing on top, served with parsley-flecked skinny frites.

Skipping dessert would be a shame, because Chouchou is part patisserie.

While the rich chocolate tart ($5) is good, the fruit tart ($5), with its flaky crust, caramelized bottom and fresh fruit topping, caused fork fights at my table.

The tarts change daily; on one visit, the apple tart was gone before we got to dessert, so the server brought out the piece that was left just so we could taste it. It was simple -- no gooey filling, just clean apple flavor.

The wine list offers interesting choices and seems to match California varietals to the French counterparts. The Champagne section, however, is all French.

On a recent Friday night, throngs of people waited eagerly outside the bright blue restaurant to get one of the small tables. The exterior matches the bright inside, with walls painted in shades of vivid apricot, green apple, chocolate brown and blue, the colors of the ingredients Didda uses in his tarts. At night, the colors mute together softly; during the day, the bold colors are a bit cheeky, but friendly.

On weekends, sweet tables for two line a balcony overlooking the rest of the restaurant.

Chouchou, Didda explains, is a term of endearment that comes from "mon petit chou," my little cabbage, or cutie pie. Leave it to the French to mix the language of love and food, and get it right.


400 Dewey Blvd. (at Laguna Honda), San Francisco; (415) 242-0960

Lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; dinner 5:30-10:30 p.m. Monday- Saturday, 5-10:30 p.m. Sunday; brunch 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Beer and wine. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Small parking lot in rear.

Pluses: Good French country stews and well prepared seafood dishes. Wonderful fruit tarts and wine list. Servers don't rush customers out the door.

Minuses: Service can be a little elusive. Some appetizers don't hit the mark.


Atmosphere: TWO STARS


Prices: $$

Service: TWO STARS

Noise Rating: THREE BELLS

     FOUR STARS:       Extraordinary
     THREE STARS:      Excellent
     TWO STARS:        Good
     ONE STAR:         Fair
     (box):            Poor     .
     $     Inexpensive:      entrees under $10
     $$    Moderate:         $10-$17
     $$$   Expensive:        $18-$24
     $$$$  Very Expensive:   more than $25
the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings.
     ONE BELL:       Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels)
     TWO BELLS:      Can talk easily (65-70)
     THREE BELLS:    Talking normally gets difficult (70-75)
     BOMB:           Too noisy for normal conversation (80+) .
     Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous.      All meals 
three visits.      Ratings are updated continually based on a least one