Let's Get High: Gambling once again on Lumière Place, Ian looks up Cielo

Salmon (labeled as "organic" on the menu, though, to my understanding, the USDA doesn't classify salmon as such) is served atop polenta and sautéed mushrooms and topped with pickled tomatoes and small pieces of the cured Italian ham speck. Any of those accompanying ingredients could have overwhelmed the fish, yet each provided exactly the right contrast to highlight the salmon's natural flavor. Our server didn't ask a temperature preference for the salmon, but the kitchen nailed it: the flesh barely opaque. Likewise, the striped bass was balanced between the sweetness of figs and saba (or sapa), a syrup derived from grape must, and the bitterness of grilled escarole.

Oddly, for an ostensibly Italian restaurant, veal saltimbocca was a clumsy misfire. The dish is served as a vertical stack of sautéed veal cutlets and fingerling potatoes topped by a single piece of pancetta and a couple of sage leaves. I liked the sauce, a tart, nutty blend of brown butter, lemon and capers. But with so much veal and, especially, potato, the dish hardly — as its name suggests — jumped into my mouth.

There is a selection of side dishes, including excellent house-made potato chips dusted with truffle oil and Parmesan cheese. Desserts, from pastry chef Christopher Jordan, are very good and reasonably priced. The cranberry-pistachio semifreddo offers a lighter take on the sort of unexpected flavor combinations you'd expect from a gourmet ice cream shop, while an apple tart with cinnamon gelato and a web of spun sugar is a delicious, visually appealing twist on plain old apple pie.

Service on our first visit was a mixed bag: Our head server had a knack for standing around the floor looking confused, and then disappearing when we needed something. On our second visit, our server was polished and professional. Overall, Cielo benefits from being part of an established corporation that knows how to run a high-end restaurant.

That corporate identity has a downside, of course. As good as the food at Cielo is, there is nothing extraordinarily compelling about it. The menu takes few chances — and in most cities, veal cheek and oxtail wouldn't be chances. And if you keep yourself from looking out the window, you could be a tourist in a restaurant in any other town but your own.