GOOD TASTES.

GARY DANKO RESTAURANT

If you're headed to San Francisco and enjoy fabulous food, get a reservation at the wonderful Gary Danko restaurant. A recent dining experience there was dazzling - and the service was impeccable but not stuffy or intimidating.

The menu offers a prix fixe choice of three, four or five courses ($59, $69 or $79) or a five-course tasting menu for $79 ($45 for wine pairing). If you opt for other than the tasting menu, you can select from generous lists of choices under appetizers, fish and seafood, meat and game birds, cheese, and desserts.

There were so many tempting-sounding creations in each category that making a decision was difficult. Among the appetizers were lobster salad with citrus, avocado, sumac and yogurt dressing; seared foie gras with caramelized red onions, blood oranges and grapefruit; glazed oysters with osetra caviar, salsify and lettuce cream; and carrot ginger soup with lobster, mint espuma and curry oil. Fish and seafood choices ranged from mushroom-dusted sea scallops with cauliflower puree and pan-roasted shiitake; to pancetta-wrapped frog legs with sunchoke garlic puree, potato and lentils; to roast Maine lobster with morel mushrooms, asparagus and tarragon. We selected foie gras and lobster creations - and they were great.

In the meat and game-bird category, we opted to sample the lemon herb duck breast with duck hash and preserved cherries and the pan-seared beef filet with wild nettle risotto, asparagus and morel mushrooms, but other offerings included roasted quail, loin of lamb, guinea hen breast and spiced squab - all sounding delicious. For dessert, our choice was chocolate - and we shared the baked chocolate souffle with two sauces and a chocolate peanut butter Napoleon. Both were rich, sinful and divine.

Portions are generous - and next time, we'd consider ordering three courses instead or four. The entire meal was elegant (it changes seasonally) - and orchestrated to perfection by chef Gary Danko, who worked in various restaurants in the city prior to opening his own establishment. We can't wait to return on our next visit to the City by the Bay.

If you plan to dine there, call and reserve up to two months in advance. The 65-seat restaurant (at 800 North Point at Hyde) is open daily for dinner only. For reservations, call [phone]. For menus and other info, go online to www.garydanko.com.

- Natalie Haughton

NEW LIGHT DRESSINGS

Newman's Own has introduced two more new light dressings to its Lighten Up line - Light Honey Mustard and Low Fat Sesame Ginger - with 50 to 60 percent less fat and 40 to 45 percent fewer calories than similar regular dressing counterparts on supermarket shelves.

You'll never miss the fat or calories in the mustard version - it tastes delicious with a strong mustard flavor (it uses creole mustard, which has a little heat) that some might find overpowering (but not if you're a mustard fan). A little goes a long way on a salad. We tried it as a steak and chicken satay dipping sauce - and it was terrific. Also drizzle some on grilled vegetables or put in a dip for added zing. A 2-tablespoon serving has 70 calories and 4 grams total fat (0.5 grams saturated fat).

Use the ginger version (on the sweeter side) - a blend of sesame oil and soy sauce with a hint of ginger - on Chinese chicken salads or other Asian-inspired creations, as a marinade, or as a dipping sauce for fish, chicken or beef. You might even toss a dash in a stove-top stir-fry vegetable dish. A 2-tablespoon serving has 35 calories and 1.5 grams total fat (0 saturated fat).

With these and other Newman's Own light dressings (I'm a fan of the Light Balsamic Vinaigrette) loaded with flavor, there's no reason to buy full-fat dressings these days. Look for the new flavors in 16-ounce bottles with a suggested retail price of $3.39 each.

- N.H.

CHARITY WINE EVENT

The 17th annual Vintage Bouquet, a charity wine auction hosted by the Barristers of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, will feature food from Los Angeles restaurants and wine from more than a dozen wineries. Among the restaurants offering samplings will be Crustacean restaurant, Il Fornaio, Lawry's the Prime Rib, Piccolo Paradiso and more. Wineries will include Blackstone Winery, Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery and Carina Cellars. The event will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday ($75) at Greystone Mansion, 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills. Proceeds will benefit law-related education and community service projects of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. For tickets and info, call [phone].

- N.H.

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(1 -- color) GARY DANKO RESTAURANT

(2 -- 3 -- color) no caption (Newman's Own Light Dressings)

(4 -- color) no caption (2005 Vintage Bouquet)