Half-Naked Lunch

That was nice, and in the meantime, I sat back, sipped my Cosmo, and listened to the girl sing "Desafinado" so very sweetly, not a note out of tune. As it turned out, our food came in good time. The coxinhas, potato croquettes stuffed with minced, spiced chicken, rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried, were a warming comfort food just spicy enough, with a sweet, red-pepper dipping sauce, to tickle our appetites. My caesar salad wasn't necessarily extraordinary; it was the usual version served in most restaurants — romaine tossed in a creamy dressing with croutons and sprinkled with shredded parmesan. But I was in the mood for what I think of as supper-club food — steak, potatoes, salad. The salad was cold and the lettuce crisp, and that was the best I'd hoped for.

Main courses were delicious. Filet mignon was well-crusted with cracked pepper, a good, dense reduced sauce with hints of brandy pooling around it. Our waiter thoughtfully stopped by to ask if it was cooked to my liking — it was; the steak was cooked an exact medium rare. More bottled water ($3). A glass of red wine ($6.95). The kitchen doesn't waste a lot of energy on presentation: a sprinkle of parsley and that's it. A mountain of whipped potatoes — full of butter — and a stack of grilled asparagus, zucchini, red peppers, grilled onions, and yellow summer squash provided no-frills accompaniment, and I couldn't stop eating it until there wasn't a bite left. My partner's lightly breaded and fried tilapia was topped with chunky tomatoes and fresh thyme and served with coconut rice. Something like your mama might cook you for a special occasion.

Also on the menu: shrimp ceviche, beef empanadas, masitas de puerco appetizers. And Argentine skirt steak, roasted garlic shrimp, seared ahi tuna, Chilean sea bass, and fettuccini Alfredo, for entrées, all fairly priced, from $9.95 to $23.95.

Our dessert, a chocolate ecstasy ($6.95), was suitably ecstatic — dark-chocolate cake, molten in the center, topped with vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with cocoa powder.

Manager David Holland told me Spice has a special menu for New Year's Eve. A four-course meal, beginning with cream of asparagus soup, progressing to salmon rolls or caesar salad, and a choice of filet mignon, grilled sea bass, or coconut-crusted chicken breasts, plus dessert, a bottle of Moët et Chandon, all kinds of party favors, and entertainment, will run you $99 per person. What a way to ring in 2006 — if the new year is going to be half as much fun as a night out at Spice, I can't wait to get started.