There are fancier small restaurants than Chez Nous, and ones much easier to find, unless you are familiar with the back alleys of Charleston, South Carolina. You might not be dazzled by the décor, which is that of an 1835 single-family house lovingly but not extravagantly restored, with only the fireplaces and the wide-plank pine floors left essentially untouched. None of these eccentricities detracts from the excellence of Chez Nous, to me an idyllic small restaurant—welcoming, charming, modest, and serving food that is at once familiar yet somewhat exotic. The high concept (even small restaurants require those) is to offer the cuisines of Northern Italy, northern Spain, and the South of France, all commendable culinary destinations. But what I most admired was not so much the concept but the precision of the cooking, not a misstep to be found. —Alan Richman