Jason Seibert, chef and owner of Café Cherise, with ‘Charcuterie Plate of Country Paté, House Cured Ham and Chicken Liver Mousse.’ (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

Off the beaten path, far from the usual Downtown dining suspects, lies Café Cerise. It opened early last month in a space formerly occupied by Lilo’s, a restaurant that remained open for barely more than a year before calling it quits.

Jason Seibert, chef and owner, took over the space in late 2003, and after a complete gut and remodel has really stepped up to the plate with his Café Cerise. He did a wonderful job on the remodel, especially considering he was on a tight budget and did most of the carpentry himself. The room has a big city feel — hardwood floors, dark wood tables with lovely olive green booths and banquettes. A mezzanine bar allows diners to sit at tables that give a bird’s-eye view of the dining room and watch all the comings and goings while fashionably sipping a martini.

The food is aggressive, especially for such a small place with what is almost certainly a small kitchen staff. This makes me believe that the chef himself is putting in quite a few hours in order to pull together his menu. Items like the “Grilled Shrimp with Housemade Seafood Sausage, Spinach Risotto and Sun Dried Tomato Oil” must be a killer to prepare and, at only $11, is hardly a big moneymaker.

I ordered the seafood sausage on one lunch visit. Did you notice I said lunch? That’s a great time to go. I was delighted. Mild, moist and perched on creamy spinach risotto with just the right amount of Parmesan, it felt like the chef’s soul was being served.

The “Charcuterie Plate of Country Paté, House Cured Ham and Chicken Liver Mousse” ($9) is a wonderful starter. The paté is pork based with pistachios, cognac, garlic and salt and pepper. The cured ham accomplishes that perfect little teetering thing going between sweet and salty, and the chicken liver mousse is rich, earthy, creamy and light. The plate is garnished with lightly dressed shaved fennel, spoon leaf spinach and housemade crackers that have a nice little snap when broken.

On two visits, the “Sautéed Chicken Livers with Spinach and Apple Smoked Bacon” ($8.50) were so good I nearly inhaled them. They were perfectly cooked, nice and heady in flavor and served with just enough garlic wine sauce. On my third visit, I was not so lucky. It was Cerise’s formal “grand opening night.” The place was packed. People were practically hanging from the mezzanine, it was so busy. My anticipation for the livers turned to disappointment when they arrived almost raw. Now I can eat almost anything raw, but not chicken livers, not unless there is a 50K prize at the end of the competition, and even then, I’d ask for some crackers to spread them on.

Cerise got buried, that’s all it was. Nothing more than a good old-fashioned opening night spanking. It is not uncommon, and I was not bothered by it in the slightest. It’s just one of those things. At the end of a night like that (one that seems to last forever), you sit down, learn your lessons and move on. Besides, there are worse problems than being packed on opening night.

The wine list is downright inexpensive and offers a nice boutiquey selection of interesting bottles.

It is hard to believe Seibert ever rests because this perfectionist chef also makes all of the desserts. Save room if you can, because they, like his other dishes, are splendid.

— Terryl Gavre