Long-time Lisbon Street fixture Colette's Place Diner reopened on April 2 with hardly a peep. One day it was closed for renovations, the next a cheerful "Open" banner hung outside the door, fluttering in the breeze.

No one - at my office, anyway - seemed to know it was under new management. Or that it had been entirely transformed inside. Or, even, that it was open at all. That is, until business reporter Carol Coultas mentioned it in a morning meeting two weeks ago, just as the weather was starting to turn really dreamy. A couple days later, itching for a nice stroll, Corey and I decided to try it out.

I can't say we were expecting much - your basic good-quality diner food is what we assumed we'd be getting: simple lunch fare. And certainly not what we got, which was simply...how shall I put it? For starters, the Tartine au Sucre surpassed divine and entered into the realm of the sublime.

Sublime. Like Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Cellos, Strings and Continuo in G Minor, or Monet's "Rouen Cathedral, The Facade in Sunlight" or, if you like, "The Office" pilot (when Jim sets all of Dwight's office supplies in Jell-O).

Would you like me to go on naming my favorite things? I thought not.

Greek rhetorician Cassius Longinus wrote that the sublime "transcends the limits of the human condition."

And I know it sounds ridiculous, but Colette's Tartine au Sucre fits that description.

Try to imagine it, if you can: a slice of white bread, crusts cut off, sits at the center of a white dessert plate, surrounded in a small sea of cream, the edges of which are beautifully and evenly dusted with confectioner's sugar. Sounds almost boring, at this stage, and a little weird. I'll give you that. By itself, more the sort of thing our grandparents used to feed us for breakfast (if you substitute whole milk for cream). But now comes the amazing Quebecois genius of it all. On top of the bread, and scattered picturesquely around the plate, bits of crystallized maple syrup - maple sugar candy.

On the surface, it's a humble dessert. One can almost imagine poor French farmers serving it to their grandkids around this time of year.

The description made my eyes water a little bit when Corey and I first read the menu, but it is an odd pairing - dry bread with maple sugar and cream - isn't it? It's the reality of the dish that changes it from a humble dessert into something truly sublime. Let it sit for a minute or two after it arrives, and the bread will turn into something approaching an unsweetened custard, with just enough tartness to offset the powerful sugary taste of the maple.

Corey and I had a few bites and then began giggling. It tasted like snow ice cream, only better. Like childhood, on a plate. Like what you'd expect to be fed if the Sugarplum Fairies (from "The Nutcracker") were real, and you could go over to their house for a snack.

But it's not as if the Tartine au Sucre is the only thing fueling my writing this afternoon. The rest of Colette's offerings surpassed our expectations, too.

First, there was the decor. Freshly painted walls and toile wallpaper, offset by French Country decorations and some artwork done by its young co-owner, CarlaRose Dubois herself. (The other co-owner: her husband, Marcel) Then the iced tea - flavored with raspberry and orange, and served in hefty glass canning jars that even came with handles. And the sandwiches - the day's sandwich special (panini with capicola and spinach) for Corey and a cheeseburger for me. Both tasted wholesome and were not at all greasy, as diner food goes.

My burger tasted more like what you'd get hot off a grill than normal restaurant fare, and Corey's sandwich was crispy herbed bread on the outside with an oozing warm filling. But aside from the dessert, the side order of hash browns was our favorite. $1.50 for a small plateful of what tasted like absolutely fresh browns, with cheese, grilled onions and gravy, that somehow managed to keep their crispy edges for the entire time they graced our table.

I have no problem saying we were pleasantly surprised by the experience. The only drawback at all, I think, was the long-ish time it took us to get our food: It was a bit longer than we'd have hoped - but with everything homemade and good, it was fine with us. The menu does, however, ask patrons to call ahead for take-out orders, which we'll probably do next time we're in a hurry.

What: Colette's Place Diner

Where: 337 Lisbon St.

When: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Why: Homemade food, right down to the ice cream and whoopie pies

Some prices: Supersize breakfast $6.25; creton and toast $2.25; paninis (with chips and pickle) $5.50; lobster rolls $6.25; specials all the time

Atmosphere: French country

Call: 786-0794