Corner cafes at every turn, haricot verts atop my salad and a shared bottle of Côtes du Rhône: little aspects of everyday life in France that bring big smiles.</p><p>This summer I was lucky enough to spend a week in Paris (where I could live on pastries, bread and cheese alone).</p><p>For J.B. Bremser, being a chef is about keeping it simple and not “doing too many things to food.” That, his well-traveled father told him, is French style.</p><p>Bremser is the catalyst behind Oak 63 bistro in the Brookside area, by 63rd and Oak. His dad, Jeff Bremser, is the owner. “I’m the do-everything-else guy,” J.B. says with a chuckle.</p><p>For someone with a goal of maintaining a simple but fluctuating menu day after day with scrumptious offerings, Bremser has an anything but simple daily to-do list. With only three small refrigerators and a kitchen comparable in size to the restaurant’s bathroom, he relies on fresh ingredients. </p><p>So how many times a day does he shop for food? </p><p>“As many as it takes,” Bremser says. And that means multiple runs to Costco and Cosentino’s Market Brookside and bounty from his dad’s trips to the farmers market.</p><p>The result is a homey yet polished meal for visitors to Oak 63, which opened late last year in the former Café Maison spot. My husband, Jake, and I had been meaning for months to step inside the place; none of our excuses were excusable. We can walk there — it’s practically in our neighborhood.</p><p>While Café Maison felt eclectic — French country décor with bright yellows and blues and mix-and-match chairs — Oak 63 emits a more grown-up vibe that still evokes European charm. Next door is J’Adore, a décor shop with Parisian gifts, garden items and antiques. Houses built in the 1920s back up to the row of businesses.</p><p>Jake and I headed that way on a recent Thursday evening, and I was drawn to the pale mustard yellow walls and vintage-inspired pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. But dark wood chairs and dim lighting could keep the bistro a secret from the bustling world outside the front door on 63rd Street.</p><p>Megan, the solo waitress of the night, invited us to choose our own table. Though it’s a small dining area, the tables are spaced nicely, and we appreciated selecting our own spot, one facing the windows so we could people-watch. (Sure enough, later on we saw neighbors walking their dog as well as a runner and others out soaking up summer’s last breath.)</p><p>On the wall by our table, industrial metal artwork in low relief caught our eye. The colors — red, blue, brown, yellow and green — seemed to add warmth to the walls. </p><p>The setting was quiet, with faint classical music from sky.fm (we overheard piped-in offers to “upgrade to premium”). The TV at the bar set to ESPN seemed a little out of place, but without the volume it wasn’t a distraction. Not the case, however, with the blaring police and ambulance sirens that whizzed by beyond the glass. Kitchen noise was pronounced, but fellow diners seemed undisturbed by either.</p><p>Megan brought us the dinner menu and a wine list but warned us that not every bottle on the list was available. But with about 30 choices for both reds and whites, we weren’t going to be picky. I got a glass of Zaca Mesa Chardonnay after my first choice, the Zaca Mesa Roussanne, was unavailable.</p><p>A new menu is printed daily, and the prices are reasonable.</p><p>“I feel bad about charging people for food,” Bremser would tell me later in a phone conversation.</p><p>A house salad ($6), soup (cup, $4; bowl, $6) and macaroni and cheese (side, $5; full, $7) topped the list, followed by eight entrée choices ranging from $12 to $20.