Minneapolis is my hometown. I'm currently visiting for the upcoming turkey day, and last night I dined at a very special restaurant which, year after year, wins "Best Restaurant" awards in local publications right and left.

What does "best restaurant" mean, really? There are so many variable traits a restaurant can have. Also, I have long been in love with Cafe Brenda, a gourmet vegetarian and seafood restaurant in Minneapolis' warehouse district. The mushroom pate is to die for. Or what about Ecopolitan's vegan fare, or the delightful lunch at French Meadow Bakery? What about Zelo? How could La Belle Vie be "better" than that?

Well, for one, the atmosphere is enchanting. You walk in, they sit you down, and a server approaches with menus and says "welcome to dinner." You relax. You settle in. You know you are in for a dining "experience."

The cocktails take a little while, but you are treated to three delicious slices of different, warm breads, as well as a small and perfect little French cheese bread. The servers are polite and warm, and vanish gracefully.

The French/Mediterranean menu features an intriguing array of starters, salads, and entrees, as well as two Chef's Tasting Menus, the longer one at $80 and the shorter one at $65 (for five courses). My family ordered from the A'la Carte Menu, and when each item arrived, a server came and described each item for us, making Jackson Pollock jokes about the splatters of sauce on the plates.

The food was spectacular. The Atlantic char was moist and tender, the beef with foie gras (controversial!) was gone within minutes. The scallops may have been a bit too salty for our tastes, but on the whole, our only disappointment in the whole evening was the lack of a solid chocolate dessert on the Dessert Menu. Fortunately, chocolates came with the check.

So what makes this the "best restaurant?" Is it the high price tag that makes the critics swoon? Is it the decor, the lighting, the food? No, I think it's all of it, and the ease with which it all flowed together through the meal, as though the service was barely there, conversation was paramount, and the food worth discussing. The seamlessness. The dining experience at La Belle Vie was entirely seamless.

And now you have a week's worth of dining suggestions for next time you're in Minneapolis.