Change does not come quickly or easily to Coral Gables, as recent electionsattest: The populace threw out the ticket in favor of development, installedone that favored taking things more slowly. It is a place of institutions, oftraditions, and that goes for much of the restaurant stock, as well.

Take Restaurant St. Michel, lobby dweller of the hotel of the same name. The setting, surely one of the most romantic in town, is a picture book from the past, with high ceilings, airy windows to the street, Queen Anne chairs,transoms and warm colors, and a piano player coaxing timeworn standards out of his grand.

There is a pat? here, a crepe there, but all in all, it's a menu from the NewWorld.

You'll be served crusty hot rolls to start, and these you munch as you select from a reasonably priced and wide-ranging wine list. We found service informative but, on a busy Saturday night, somewhat slow. Our meal lasted nearly two hours, and there were no speeches. But food quality was strong, and portions generous.

We began with a rich, lusty soup, blue crab and corn chowder ($7.95). This broad bowl supported a thick, sweet, simple broth of cream and chicken stock,and in it were many, many chunks of succulent lump crab meat and scant kernelsof corn, very simple. This one is all about textures: The cream is heavy yet smooth, the crab meat tender and wonderful. Combined with a salad, this will fill a light eater.
A TRUE HOUSE SALAD

That salad might as well be the St. Michel salad ($8.95), a shareable plate bordered by four crunchy bruschetta smeared with goat cheese. The base ismixed baby greens, with quartered tomatoes, pitted black olives and redonions, simply dressed with fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Thegoat cheese toasts add crunch and heft to a light salad.

Blue crab appears again in pan-fried crab cakes ($14.95), two fatmedallions sizzled in a beurre blanc flavored somewhat imperceptibly withchipotle. The cakes are tender and full of crab, not overdone with binders,and a fistful of cayenne-speckled fried onions is a nice, crunchy touch, as isa bright salsa of mango, papaya, red pepper and pineapple.

Entrees include a half-dozen seafood dishes, a couple of pastas, and thetraditional array of meats. Fish dishes are generally light and colorful: Wetried an excellent take on yellowtail snapper ($22.95), saut?ed in anorange-flavored beurre blanc and presented Caribbean style with friedplantains and that sparkling salsa from the crab cakes. The key here was wonderfully moist, perfectly cooked fish, in generous portion.

Another fish, black grouper ($24.95), was equally good. The fillets wereroasted in a covered pan with fresh tomato, lobster stock, garlic and braisedstrips of fennel, flavored further with ribbons of saffron, and doused withfresh lemon, basil and butter. It's a virtually fat-free, yet satisfying dish,complex yet not fussy.

A MARVELOUS MASH

Filet mignon ($32.95) is a lusty one, yet ours was a bit odd. The cut was juicy, marvelously tender and cooked to order, yet not particularly beefy or flavorful, even with the aid of a green peppercorn and brandy sauce. What did hit the jackpot, though, was a giant dollop of mashed potatoes speckled with lobster meat, a most decadent idea.

Pasta dishes, perhaps, are too simple: There's cappellini ($14.95) withtomato, garlic and basil, and our choice, penne with jumbo shrimp, mussels andcalamari in a spicy tomato ragout ($19.95), more or less the fra diavolo.Seafood was plentiful and good, and the sauce had a kick. But you can get thisat Romano's, no?

The French rise again at dessert, when the waiter touts crepes, chocolatemousse and a creme brul?e, not to mention a rather filling-sounding chocolatelava cake. The creme brul?e ($7.95) was excellent, indeed, the soft custardprotected by a crisp, oven-fired crust on top. Reliable and romantic, the St.Michel way.