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No.1: Schwarzwaldstube, in Kur & Sporthotel Traube Tonbach, Tonbachstrasse 237, Baiersbronn, tel: (7442) 49-26- 65.

No.2: Le Gourmet, Hartmannstrasse 8, Munich, tel: (89) 2-12-09-05.

No.3: Restaurant Dieter Muller, Schlosshotel Lerbach, Lerbacher Weg, Bergisch-Gladbach, tel: (2202) 20-40.

Many of the chefs who are at the top of their profession began their careers in the nouvelle cuisine days of the 1970s. French cooking is certainly their main inspiration, but from there, the chefs weave their own magic.

And magic it was at the table of Harald Wohlfahrt, deep in the Black Forest, at the small, sun-filled Restaurant Schwarzwaldstube. The restaurant was elevated to the top Michelin three-star rating in 1992, after having held on to two stars for the previous 12 years.

Wohlfahrt displays a sense of perfection, technique and maturity, as well as pure and clean style. Even from a distance, as I eyed the appetizer-quiche coming toward me, I knew I was in for a bite of perfection: flawless pastry, a feather-light, fluffy quiche flecked with the rich flavors of ham, leeks and cream.

Surprises arrive at a measured pace, and soon we're served a showstopping terrine of monkfish - alabaster-white, edged in clear gelatin, a burst of flavor, texture, mouth-filling pleasure. Quail breast is smothered in a rich quail "souffle," paired with a salad of green beans and mushrooms in a pine-nut-oil vinaigrette. Wohlfahrt encases turbot and langoustines in flaky phyllo dough, laced in a light saffron sauce, and serves basmati rice alongside.

But the finest taste of the day, and of the trip, came in a simple John Dory (Petersfisch) enveloped in paper-thin slices of exquisite German bacon, and panfried to a delicate crispness. Served in a pool of creamy horseradish sauce, in which floated rounds of lightly pickled beets, it made me feel I had all of Germany wrapped up in a few well-flavored bites.

My favorite wine on the Schwartzwaldstube's list is an Alsatian riesling, Leon Beyer's 1990 Cuvee Particuliere, an apple- like, fragrant wine that's dry and adaptable to just about anything Chef Wohlfahrt can dish out.

His elegance and attention to detail followed through to dessert, with a composition of red fruits and peaches in a delightful champagne ice cream, and a golden souffle-like pancake, sweet and crunchy, studded with fresh blackberries.

Closed Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 9 to 31, July 31 to Aug 22. Credit cards: American Express, Eurocard, Diners Club, Visa. Menus from 155 to 195 Deutsche marks ($100 to $125). A la carte, 100 to 120 DM, including service but not wine.

In my view, Munich's Otto Koch is Germany's ideal chef and merits far more than his single Michelin star. He's modest, energetic, creative and totally in tune with what's good about German ingredients. As a chef, Koch displays a rare sensitivity and a closeness to his Bavarian roots.

At the elegant, upstairs dining room of Le Gourmet, he offers a taste of both modern and updated-rustic fare. One weekday afternoon he served a veritable symphony of country-inspired dishes.

He begins with a single, decisive flavor: a fresh boned sardine panfried to a crisp, then served with a soothing yogurt herb sauce and a tangle of greens. Next a tiny terrine of pig tails, just one emphatic bite, all fatty, crunchy and dense in texture, twinned with another teeny salad dressed with a Bavarian specialty, an opulent pumpkin-seed oil.

As a nod to wurstland, Koch offers miniature seafood sausages on a bed of cabbage, the crisp vegetable bathed with butter and mustard.

All this is a mere overture to Koch's piece de resistance. Bone marrow lovers take note: He scoops out marrow bones, slices them horizontally, then fills them with a nutmeg-seasoned potato puree. On top go thin, crisp rounds of marrow, embellished with chives and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Later, a multilayered mushroom "cake," thin layers of crepes interlayered with a rich, enthusiastic wild-mushroom puree, arrives as an interlude.

Le Gourmet's wine offerings are extensive (wine lovers should request a tour of the cellars). A white well worth sampling is the small-production Grauerburgunder, produced by Karl-Heinz Johner, which goes particularly well with food, something you can't say of all German wines, even some of the best. For red, opt for the berry-rich Bavarian sp?tburgunder, made from pinot noir. From Rudolf F?rst's vineyards in B?rgstadt, the 1990 is comparable to a well- made French Burgundy, fine in fruit, light, but with a bit of body.

Take a deep breath, then order a platter of Bavarian cheeses - all quite delicate yet intense in flavor - some goat, some sheep, some cow, some a mix, sprinkled with herbs or not. As a closer, sample his superb homemade liqueur, Le Gourmetif, haunting with orange and juniper.

Closed Sunday and Monday. Menus from 150 to 200 DM; a la carte, 90 to 200 DM, including service but not wine.

Germany's embarrassment of riches continues with Dieter Muller, newly installed near Cologne at the luxurious turn- of-the-century Schlosshotel Lerbach. The dining room at Restaurant Dieter Muller is fashioned out of a bright and airy winter garden overlooking a rose garden and Italianate ruins.

Muller recently spent a year traveling around the world absorbing the cuisines of other lands. As he states, Escoffier remains his greatest inspiration, and your palate will recognize the source. Muller's food is complicated, but not so much that you don't recognize what's on your plate.

His best dish is a complex weaving of flavors, textures, colors, a pairing of sauteed goose foie gras on a bed of sliced, marinated pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. He adds to the palette a soft, herb-filled ravioli and shavings of summer truffles.

Smoked eel is fashioned into a terrine surrounded with fresh cucumber cream; smoked halibut is turned into a silken sheer mousse; sorrel soup is dotted with cubes of fresh salmon, and a riesling sauce serves as backdrop for pike perch and salmon fillets wrapped in spinach leaves.

But I confess total weakness for his champagne ice cream - a treasure that's prepared without cream, but rather with butter and an avalanche of eggs. Yet champagne's distinctive flavor shines through. German wine novices will be well taken care of here, as the sommelier, Petra Bader, shares her passion for her native wines.

A red to sample is the El Flammis Orior, made from a blend of lemberger, pinot noir and samtrot, a light and fruity red that pairs well with lamb and other delicate meats.

Closed Sunday and Monday. Credit cards: American Express, Eurocard, Diners Club, Visa. Menus from 148 to 198 DM; a la carte, 120 to 150 DM, including service but not wine.