La Petite Auberge, Nov. 15, 2005
Tonight we celebrated Gigi's birthday with Gigi, Leo and Carin, Conway, Leo IV and Amy at a former haunt of Gigi and Popsie's. Conway, as we would find out during our dinner, used to be taken to lunch by clients back in the day.
Here's what I had:
Bread and Butter
The bread, of which there was no shortage of, was very good. The salty, creamy, room-temp. butter was very good and also, was in no short supply. An older gentleman is assigned with the task of carrying a large bowl of the butter pats and forking them onto your side plates on a regular schedule (no less than three visits from the butter man).
Escargots de Bourgogne
These were as garlicky as had been mentioned. The snails themselves seemed slightly overcooked. They were still boiling when they arrived at the table and continued to do so (even after gentle prodding) for a good two minutes afterwards. The garlic butter itself wasn't as tasty as I'd hoped after dipping the bread in it. These were simply ok. Have had better at Park Bistro and elsewhere.
French Onion Soup
My wife ordered this. We both agreed that this paled in comparison to the version I make at home. I've also had better at my former local pub in NJ though it did look perfect upon arrival at the table. Dissappointing.
Side Salad
This comes with the meal. Basic salad with creamy vinaigrette. Nice and simple enough.
Le Carre' D'Agneau (Rack of Lamb for two)
My wife and I shared this. It was served with frites and string beans. The lamb was presented to us pre-cut as is tradition. We each then got three hefty chops to go along with our side vegetables. The lamb chops were excellent...cooked perfectly medium rare. This was very, very good. The string beans were limp and boring and the fries were a true disappointment. Awful. My wife, who loves fries more than anything, couldn't eat them.
Creme Caramel
I've had this here before and liked it enough to order it again. Consistently good. It's not sweet caramel, more on the bitter side of that track, but I enjoy it. Continues to be solid.
Service
The young girl who sounds more Italian than French was our waitress. Her accent was difficult to get through which resulted in having to repeat certain specials and such. This was the same girl that sneezed as she was taking out my food the last time I ate here. Another waitress helped bring out food and coffee but had no idea who got what which resulted in what looked like a game of duck-duck-goose around the table.
Others ordered the following entrees: venison, frog's legs, sirloin steak, duck l'orange and sole meuniere - all of which were enjoyed without incident.
Overall impression...the same as ever. This local spot serves adequate, country french bistro cuisine that has the occasional big hit and the slightly more common, misses. Not something to go out of your way to visit, but certainly something to consider in your quiver of local, informal dining out options. It's longevity in a city of constant change is also worth noting.
Here's what I had:
Bread and Butter
The bread, of which there was no shortage of, was very good. The salty, creamy, room-temp. butter was very good and also, was in no short supply. An older gentleman is assigned with the task of carrying a large bowl of the butter pats and forking them onto your side plates on a regular schedule (no less than three visits from the butter man).
Escargots de Bourgogne
These were as garlicky as had been mentioned. The snails themselves seemed slightly overcooked. They were still boiling when they arrived at the table and continued to do so (even after gentle prodding) for a good two minutes afterwards. The garlic butter itself wasn't as tasty as I'd hoped after dipping the bread in it. These were simply ok. Have had better at Park Bistro and elsewhere.
French Onion Soup
My wife ordered this. We both agreed that this paled in comparison to the version I make at home. I've also had better at my former local pub in NJ though it did look perfect upon arrival at the table. Dissappointing.
Side Salad
This comes with the meal. Basic salad with creamy vinaigrette. Nice and simple enough.
Le Carre' D'Agneau (Rack of Lamb for two)
My wife and I shared this. It was served with frites and string beans. The lamb was presented to us pre-cut as is tradition. We each then got three hefty chops to go along with our side vegetables. The lamb chops were excellent...cooked perfectly medium rare. This was very, very good. The string beans were limp and boring and the fries were a true disappointment. Awful. My wife, who loves fries more than anything, couldn't eat them.
Creme Caramel
I've had this here before and liked it enough to order it again. Consistently good. It's not sweet caramel, more on the bitter side of that track, but I enjoy it. Continues to be solid.
Service
The young girl who sounds more Italian than French was our waitress. Her accent was difficult to get through which resulted in having to repeat certain specials and such. This was the same girl that sneezed as she was taking out my food the last time I ate here. Another waitress helped bring out food and coffee but had no idea who got what which resulted in what looked like a game of duck-duck-goose around the table.
Others ordered the following entrees: venison, frog's legs, sirloin steak, duck l'orange and sole meuniere - all of which were enjoyed without incident.
Overall impression...the same as ever. This local spot serves adequate, country french bistro cuisine that has the occasional big hit and the slightly more common, misses. Not something to go out of your way to visit, but certainly something to consider in your quiver of local, informal dining out options. It's longevity in a city of constant change is also worth noting.
posted by Michael Mahle at 1:12 AM
2 Comments:
Well, I say better hot escargot than cold. Ha my dad had cold escargot at a restaurant lately and I asked if that was the new thing snail sushi-ewwwww!
Bummer about the French onion. Would you be willing to share your recipe with a huge Francophile/F'onion soup freak? I try it at pretty much every French restaurant I go to. Had a great version recently in CT, tis the season for it!
I love La Petite Auberge. Their Le Sirloin Steak Grillé au Poivre is excellent. I don't think I've ever had a bad dish there. Is it an outstanding, knock your dick in the dirt good restaurant? No. But it's not outrageously expensive, it's comfortable and consistent. It's a homey place where you can relax, take your time, enjoy your food, enjoy your friends and rest assured that you'll have a good to great meal.
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