MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View

A bold and bright glass door in an otherwise nondescript building along Palo Alto’s main thoroughfare marks the entrance to the mystical Baumé. Inside, find a dining room with a modernist sensibility that carries through with orange-hued walls and fabric room dividers. Chef Bruno Chemel offers a select number of seatings. Tables are spaced widely for privacy and never rushed. Mrs. Chemel oversees this luxurious enclave, adding warmth, detailed knowledge and clear enthusiasm for her husband's progressive (albeit pricey) cuisine. It's a family affair indeed, as the couple's young son, decked out in whites, assists in the kitchen as well. Each contemporary dish is refined, balanced and demonstrates an enormous attention to detail. The kitchen focuses on seasonal ingredients and coaxing flavor to profound levels. Roasted California squab with its caramelized, ever-so-perfect crispy skin and light dusting of fennel is an absolute showstopper in all of its velvety, well-seasoned glory. Desserts include a pear bavarois artfully crested with delicious cassis jam and a frozen flower composed with grape sorbet. A plate of perfectly ripe stone fruit is a wonderfully seasonal send-off.