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Dining in Miami just keeps getting better. Just this morning, on the way back from an appointment, we were looking for a place to have a quick, simple lunch, and settled on a French café that opened not too long ago on Miracle Mile, in the heart of chichi Coral Gables (one of the few parts of South Florida that feels like a real city and not a suburb). We knew the Rendez Vous French Café and Wine Shop would be good as we stepped in the door and the aroma of fresh-baked quiches and café au lait welcomed us to a warm, intimate space that wouldn't look out of place in Mandelieu, the little town on the Riviera where owners Loïc and Dorothée hail from.

Choosing wasn't hard: it's a simple café menu, but oh, what delights. We shared two generous portions of quiche (Lorraine and tuna), which were accompanied by a very Mediterranean-tasting salad of greens, tomatoes, and black olives with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The great surprise was that, even with the gen-mod, hybridized, hormone-injected raw ingredients the American food industry foists upon those of us who can't afford to eat 100% organic, this young French couple is able to whip up delicious fare that truly transported us to France. For wine lovers, there is an ample selection, and I swore to myself that next time, I would try the rum baba, which looked scrumptious.

French Cooking, For a Song

So just how is this outpost of French culinary pleasures "better than France?" Look closely at the menu on the left: prices are more reasonable than anything you'll find in the real France, not to mention most of South Florida. Breakfast starts at $3.19 (don't ask how they arrived at that figure!), lunch at $3.75, and dessert at a stunning $1.50. There's even a "frequent eater" card, where after ten lunches, you get one free. Obviously, the Rendez Vous Café is a labor of love for Loïc and Dorothée, and they want to share that love at a price everyone can afford. I just don't know how they do it, in the middle of one of Miami's fancier 'hoods.