Extraordinary | 
Excellent
Good | 
Fair | (No stars) Poor
BANQ 
1375 Washington St., Boston. 617-451-0077. Menu descriptions of Banq's Asian-influenced French food make the mouth water, full of intriguing ingredients and combinations: Tea-smoked quail and date cigar with a pea tendril Caesar, almond tamarind shot. Fire-charred sirloin with smoked cha choy, cilantro and taro pave, caramelized lotus seed, creamy chanterelle sauce. Is this not food poetry? Don't you want to read the menu aloud with plummy Dylan Thomas inflection? But as vivid as the dishes sound, in practice they are often muted. France does the talking while India, Japan, and Thailand whisper in its ear. Much of Banq's food is delicious, in a surprisingly classic vein. The decor, meanwhile, is anything but classic: an undulating landscape of blond wood ribs affixed to walls and ceilings. It's very cool.
LOBBY BAR & KITCHEN 131 Broad St., Boston. 617-261-5353. Lobby continues the storied tradition of the after-work drink. Located in the Financial District, the tiny, stylish spot is a nice place to have one. But the order in which the descriptors "bar" and "kitchen" surround Lobby's ampersand is no accident. It is one first, secondarily the next. Still, its ambitions extend beyond finger food, and the results can be ham-handed. The dinner menu offers the likes of roasted Cornish hen and pretzel-crusted tuna, but simpler dishes - beet salad, barbecue beef skewers - are the way to go.
PERSEPHONE 283 Summer St., Boston. 617-695-2257. Somewhere along the line, evil retail geniuses created the concept of the restaurant/store. But do fine fabrics and sauteed garlic really belong in the same space? You don't want your fashion to smell like food. And you don't want your food to smell like fashion: Restaurant/stores sometimes become more about being there than eating there. Not Persephone, a restaurant that in a strange conflation of Greek lore shares its footprint with a boutique called Achilles. Helmed by chef Michael Leviton of Lumiere, it puts the food first; it's at its best when it comes to addictive little plates of red curry chicken wings; duck egg en cocotte; grilled squid with parsley, chickpeas, and preserved lemon; and more.
