Your date says: “I must see you again. But I can’t... be seen with you. Not yet.”

You say: “I know. The public isn’t quite ready for us yet. I’ll think of something.”

That something: escaping to Alexandria. More specifically, Bastille, the bigger, beautiful-er incarnation of the well-regarded brasserie, opening Monday right in the thick of Old Town.

You’ll come here after the first part of your date—i.e., the walking around King Street, bumping into a George Washington impersonator, isn’t this fun because no one recognizes us... part.

Here’s what the second part looks like: soft green walls, wood floors, a couple decorative chickens on the granite bar. Start there with drinks like the Southern Rye (rye, peach liqueur, local honey).

Or just request a table along one of the big windows, and skip ahead to a bottle of red, as you decide between some perfectly wintery things on the menu. Lobster in curry broth. Or frog “wings.” Or—yes—white-bean stew with duck confit, lamb shank and sausage.

As for their old location, as of next week it’ll be called Bistrot Royal, a café turning out mussels and coq au vin.

Because what’s a coq without vin.