CUISINE: Modern Spanish
VIBE: Buzzing midtown hub
OCCASION: Business lunch; after-work tapas; group dinner
DON'T-MISS DISH: Grilled calamari, pumpkin seed-crusted lamb, suckling pig, Mexican chocolate cake
AVERAGE PRICE: Appetizers, $9; entrees, $28; desserts, $9
RESERVATIONS: Accepted

Josh DeChellis has bounced around a bunch over the past few years. He's what I call a restaurant drifter, a chef with no home.

It all started with the closing of Rocco DiSpirito's Union Pacific.

And you can taste it in his cooking.

The back room is for grownups who want to talk business in a suit and exercise their table manners. And each room gets an appropriate menu. If you want affordable tapas, go to the front room.

If you want a traditional suite of food — appetizer, entree, dessert — go to the back room. And if you want to eat really well, go to the back room. That's where you really sense DeChellis' talents.

Upfront, they sometimes get lost in the hubbub. Here are some of the wonderful dishes I discovered in the back room — maybe 50 yards from the main concourse in Grand Central.

The Cochinillo, or suckling pig: DeChellis takes the whole pig apart, seasons it, braises it, then crisps the skin on the plancha, and puts the whole pig back together on your plate. Then he adds the finishing touches: Marcona almonds, charred brussels sprouts and smoked dates.

The sea scallops tiradito: He slices the - scallops thin as a rose petal, - layers them over sweet onion, lime juice and a sea urchin puree, and waits for them to ceviche themselves. The salt cod croquetas and the calamari a la plancha: Both are traditional Spanish - dishes and both come to life in DeChellis' hands.

The front room is hit-or-miss. The oxtail in the "sopa seca" - think Spanish stew meets casserole - was leather-dry and so were the white beans.

The garlic shrimp cazuelita was nothing more than ordinary. And it wasn't the carrot essence or the seasonings or even the salsify - smart accessories - that spoiled the salmon a la plancha. It was the salmon, overcooked and uninspired.

La Fonda del Sol is an odd oasis in a midtown desert. People love it for what is: a convenient stop on your way to the train or a great escape after work.

For me, it was a great place to rediscover a talented chef.