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CHANGE IS one of those words in the English language than tends to, depending on the context, make people feel slightly nauseated. Palms sweating, we chant our positive new-age mantras — but unless the change we're talking about includes a pair of Prada sunglasses looking in the rear-view mirror of a new convertible on its way to a plusher zip code, we hardly embrace it.

And an established restaurant would seem to embody "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" as an adage more than "change is good." But restaurateurs Chris and Michele Sedgwick didn't build their dynasty of popular places outside the perimeter — Aspens, Vinny's, Theo's Brother's Bakery, Pure Taqueria and Van Gogh's — without taking a few risks. In October 2006, they closed Van Gogh's (the popularity of which, admittedly, was beginning to wane), redesigned it, then reopened in November with a new name, Bistro VG, a new look and a new menu that touts a fresh take on modern French food (and woodfired pizzas and pasta, of course).

Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
The country pâté is a medley of rabbit and chicken liver.
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
The charcuterie goes nicely with the cheeses and one of the French reds
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Van Gogh's closed October 2006, and after major renovations, restaurateurs Chris and Michele Sedgwick reopened it in November as Bistro VG.
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Bistro VG serves up its cheese plate in fine French fashion.
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Also worth digging into is spinach and proscuitto pizza.
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The look is country French, though the space is much larger than any bistro — expansive brick walls have been splashed bright with off-white, one adorned with a painting of clouds and blue sky. The ecru-painted floors give way to tables adorned with farmhouse linens, each thread as different as a snow flake. The bar sports a communal table that flanks a pebble-studded fireplace. The effect is beautifully cool and calming, and after a while it can seem as if you've been spirited into an Impressionist painting.

Chef Eddie Garcia-Guzman, who was the executive chef at Van Gogh's for seven years and helped create the authentic Mexico City menu for hip Pure Taqueria, has added to the change, too — in the middle of my visits to the restaurant, Guzman took a leave of absence from Bistro VG to attend to personal matters in Mexico City. In his stead, Brian Kibbler (executive chef at Aspens in East Cobb) took over. On March 15, the kitchen was officially helmed by new chef de cuisine Steve Hewins, who bopped around restaurants in Italy, Puerto Rico and Belgium before landing in Roswell.

The core of the menu is solid and rarely has additions, making all this transition (that's a fancy word for change) a little easier to swallow. Guzman's recipe for country pâté is good no matter who's making it — a choppy mix of rabbit and chicken liver with a hit of pepper, served with toast, two mustards and cornichon. It had me at hello.

It is the small plates area of the menu that I would spend all my time if it were not my job to do otherwise: Small offerings of cheese like the heady morbier mobuy, along with well-sourced charcuterie such as soppressata and coppa salami, make a scrumptious meal, particularly when paired with one of the reasonably priced French reds.

Not every interpretation from Mexico City to the French countryside makes the trip so effortlessly — brandade, served in a ramekin, is more like a broiled fishy cheese dip than the beloved mix of salt cod, garlic and cream. The onion soup strays far from its brothy origins and manifests itself as a conglomeration of onion and cream that provokes memories of that onion soup dip we used to make for college parties, only thinner. I like the dip better.

The greatest injury this kitchen gives to classic French cooking is with the "cassoulet" (the quotations on the printed menu imply a Thomas Keller-esque interpretation, which basically means that nothing about the dish will seem like cassoulet except possibly the ingredients). Here, duck confit (brooding and tender) sits atop a mixture of cannellini and navy beans. That's it. Not that I mind the loose interpretation — cassoulet is to the French what spaghetti sauce is to Italians, i.e., each pot is different and begs for argument as to which is best. No, it's that it was too pretty and dainty — where was the bubbling, boisterous, crusty Castelnaudary casserole for which I longed?

But for all this yin, there is just as much yang — brown-buttered skate wing is lightly sauteed, with a hint of citrus, though I prefer it with bones (without bones it feels as if I'm eating a crispy ladies' fan). And there is delightful spinach and roasted butternut squash. Pizzas are tons of fun, and with a s-t-r-e-t-c-h of the imagination could halfway be considered pissaladière — pancetta and onion, or spinach and fontina cheese with prosciutto and caramelized onions have thin, crisp crusts and are perfect to share.

Michele Sedgwick has always valued a well-balanced dessert menu, and pastry chef Jessica Haight makes good use of this advantage. There are many here — particularly the buttery pastry crust of plum tatin coupled with a quenelle of creamy clementine ice cream — that would make my list for reasons to come back. Don't be tempted by bittersweet chocolate panini — it's nothing more than two large slabs of French bread smeared with dark chocolate (though the espresso vanilla ice cream float is fun).

So change is good. Strap in and push the pedal down, babe.