In short, owner/chef Diane Rose believes a good deal is hard to resist, especially when it is served with enthusiasm and love—two hallmarks of her style.

Her restaurant is called upscale, intimate and fun. It features home-style cooking like braised pork chops, pastas, foie gras and steak ($20 average range). It's alive with crimson-colored accessories—from the fresh roses and candles at each table to the beaded napkin holders and huge bell peppers ready for use in the open kitchen. She has created a warm haven in what had been considered a difficult location. It has become a weekly destination for the regulars who have followed her from previous executive chef positions and for those who have become enthralled by her eclectic style and the pure joy she gets from cooking. "It's so nice to be cooking and look over the counter to see people I know and some I don't."

Crimson is Rose's first endeavor into restaurant ownership. After three years, she has forged past the time when many first-timers fail. Her success in keeping her restaurant in the public eye can be attributed in part to constant promotion and her community participation in charitable, school and social events.

"If you don't take care of your community, what's the point [in being a part of it]?" she asks.

The intimacy Rose has with her food is reflected in her thumbnail descriptions of it—like the Friday fish selections, for example. There's onaga, a snapper with a ruby color and a high fat content that makes it very moist, or the pilani that feeds on kelp and is caught by divers. The mero from Japan—called the Japanese "Chilean sea bass"—is iridescent and smells like scallops. Maki—or "moo" to Hawaiians—doesn't move a lot, so it's very tender and is caught easily by divers. The opakapaka was at one time eaten only by Hawaiian royalty, and the humahumanukanukaapuaa, which can weigh up to a pound and a half, causes some people who know it to be a little skittish, because it's so pretty. She warns diners who eat the Tasmanian salmon not to run around like the Devil afterwards.

Born in Massachusetts, Rose traveled to California as a child when her father, a master chief petty officer in the Navy, was transferred here. Her passion for cooking became a profession after she attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco 12 years ago. There she met classmate Eric Tosh, now executive chef at Valeriano's in Los Gatos. The two married three years ago, and since then often cook together at special events.

They'll be pairing up for Thanksgiving dinner at Crimson's next month, preparing his-and-her versions of turkey and the trimmings. His turkey will be covered in a compound of butter made with cranberries and citrus. "It looks like a giant raspberry!" Rose laughs. Her turkey will have truffles slipped under the skin to completely cover it and flavor the gravy. Four courses, including his butternut squash gratin and her Cinderella pumpkin soup, will run $45 for adults and half price for children.

Crimson is located at 15466 Los Gatos Blvd. in Los Gatos. It is open Tuesday through Friday for lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. until closing for dinner. Call 408.378.0175.