Bites Nearby: Noosa Bistro

Count them: 60 different martinis are on the menu at .

Those concoctions — Hedonism, Citrus Valicious and X-rated Vacation being some of the more interesting — each contain one of the 40 different vodkas listed. Connoisseurs of the drink will lament only one gin-based listing: the 007.

Bistros are all the rage, it seems. Their Parisian origins are known mostly for simple meals. Noosa is a fine dining experience that tops its menu with a Mediterranean-American cuisine — but it also has that intimate feeling, a “muted décor interior with friendly staff.” Simple is just not part of the experience.

The menu is large and serves lunch and dinner. Lunch includes roughly $8 salads, sandwiches and pizzas; and $13 entrees, like grilled sashimi-grade tuna, petite filet of beef and soy ginger glazed salmon.

Dinner features lots of seafood. Shellfish — $9.50 scallops, $10 Maryland crab cakes, $11 steamed mussels and oysters, priced daily; fish — $22 halibut, $21 salmon and $24 Chilean sea bass; poultry — $19 chicken marsala, $21 stuffed chicken; and other meat — $25 grilled rack of lamb, $24 strip steak.

Desserts, including crème brulee and tiramisu, are made fresh daily.

And in its vastness, the menu ensures you will find something, more than one thing, to enjoy. (I did not mention the pasta selections.) Full menus are available at www.noosabistro.com.

It is said that William “Willy” Espinoza, the El Salvador-born chef at Noosa, has not missed a day of work in more than 15 years. Espinoza must be somewhat dedicated to his craft, posting a personal e-mail address on the bistro's website and asking for feedback or personal requests.

The 76 patrons who have reviewed Noosa online give the restaurant four of five stars. I'd add that the Marchtini, the Slurring Leprechaun — Irish crème, whipped chocolate vodka, Jameson, crème de menthe — gets five for creativity.