As that nip in the air becomes more pronounced, a diner’s thoughts turn to richer, more comforting, more sinful dishes. (No, not KFC’s Double Down.) These guilty pleasures are purveyed by chef Jean-François Plante.

At his new downtown eatery, Plaisirs Coupables (where he hawks his cookbook of the same name), the vibe is more sexy than cozy. A slick, red and black interior, smouldering red lights and devil tails bedecking the chests of the waitresses give the effect of a "perpetual Halloween party." The menu, with subtitles like "gluttonous burgers and sandwiches," gives the effect of "perpetual cholesterol issues." I was as giddy as a kid with a haul of Halloween candy.

We started with a hearty bowl of "smoked popcorn clam chowder." Would this be popcorn clams, akin to fried popcorn shrimp? No, in the end it was simply a few poofs of corn sitting atop a rich, albeit unappetizingly grey, bowl of clam chowder, which attempted to make up for what it lacked in actual clams with large pieces of button mushroom masquerading as bivalves. Tricked!

The trick-versus-treat balance was slightly restored with a serving of maple-whisky pork ribs. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, and the sauce, while lacking in discernible whisky-ness, offered pleasant, spicy-sweet balance. Served atop a cutting board with bowls of creamy chipotle coleslaw and French fries, the presentation was fun, the fries good, but the coleslaw too heavily dressed (even for this weather).

A lamb burger sported goat cheese, tzatziki and a homemade Kalamata tapenade (that itself sported olive pits – tricked again!). It sounded like a promising combo, but the patty was overcooked, the kick of tzatziki and olive hardly perceptible, and the thick round of pungent, bloomy-rind goat cheese too overwhelming for the other ingredients. An unripened goat cheese (or even a mild feta) might have been a better choice. So would a juicier, rarer, burger.

Reading through the menu provides guilty comfort in itself: a panko-crusted Toulouse sausage pogo; mixed game meatloaf with foie gras; duck confit burger; grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and apple; macaroni and cheese with grilled sausages and sun-dried tomato. Perhaps we unwisely dismissed the popular meatball poutine. Perhaps not.

Desserts – from sweet potato doughnuts with cinnamon sugar and marshmallow to Caramilk brownies – are equally filled with the promise of sinful delight, but a pouding chômeur was hard and dry, and what little sauce there was leaked through the cracked cutting board on which it was served. Disaster! And the small pot of "rousse beer granite" was more like beer ice cubes, not snowy shavings. Where’s the treat in this?

The menu may suffer from overindulgence and the kitchen cannot give each dish the attention it deserves. For now, I’ll trick-or-treat elsewhere.

Plaisirs Coupables

1410 Peel St.; (514) 507-5689

Dinner for two, before tax, tip and beverage: $40-$65