Aug 6, 2005
Small local corner authentic French Cafe that is a bit
dated and antiquated. Effort is made to achieve an authentic French feeling
with the dark decor, authentic posters on the walls and the stylish European
music. The comfort setting is betrayed a bit by it being so dark, a bit
cramped, and too much intimacy between the dining area and the restroom. Set
in the trendy residential West Lincoln Park neighborhood, the outside dining
is a bit overwhelmed by the urbanity of the traffic and street since the
seating area is so limited.
Atmosphere - 3/5
Food - The classic French cuisine is authentic and
of high quality. A nice selection of starters provided a fabulous pan seared
Foie Gras, Duck Pate, mussels, and an interesting but uninspiring lobster
ravioli. Although limited the range of entrees should meet anyone's desire.
The filet of beef was very good, the duck tasty, the scallops, trout and
salmon all very enjoyable, all accented by garlic mashed, steamed veggies,
tasty cabbage, and a rich and succulent sauce. Many of the sauces were a bit
too sweet, almost overpowering or taking away from the salmon, and competing
with the peppercorn steak au poivre. Portions are appropriate and suitable
and presentations are fundamentally stylish and nicely done. Small but
adequate selection of deserts were very good.
Food - 4.00/5
Wine - Winelist is a basic and offers a fundamental selection of
French wines from several regions with a modest selection of Californian
wines. Their modest
originality is forgiven by their welcome and liberal corkage policy and
fee. Selections are
predominantly French from the major regions. Wines are moderately
priced. They offer a BYOB policy with a reasonable corkage fee (worthy of .5 rating point in of
itself!* which allowed us to bring a magnificent
bottle as a perfect compliment to the outstanding food. See
tasting notes Journal.).
Wine - 3.5/5
Service was personable and adequate despite the
server being busy with numerous tables.
- 4/5
Overall - 14.5/20 |