Although this restaurant is a bit hard to see on Forest Avenue, in a small mini-mall with only one entry, food lovers seek out Taste Cafe. You’ll be hard-pressed to find higher-quality food for the same price anywhere else on the coast. The menu combines rustic French, Italian, and California cuisines made from the best and freshest local produce, seafood, and meats. Lunch could be a grilled eggplant sandwich with smoked Gouda cheese and caramelized onion on toasted focaccia, or chicken-apple sausages with au gratin potatoes. At dinner, start your meal with house-cured salmon carpaccio with a mustard-dill dressing or butternut squash agnolotti. Move on to entrées such as marinated rabbit with braised red cabbage or lean pork medallions with sautéed napa cabbage, onions, celery, and apples. Be sure to save room for one of the wonderful desserts: warm brioche pudding with apricot coulis and crème fraîche, or a bittersweet chocolate torte. The interior is simple—airy, high-ceilinged, and graced with beautiful flower arrangements. The word is out on this terrific restaurant, so call well ahead for reservations, especially for weekend dinners. AE, MC, V; checks OK; dinner every day; beer and wine; reservations recommended; at Prescott Ave.