Foie Gras; Decadent, Delicious, and French  |
 
It used to be that putting foie gras on the menu would practically guarantee me several emails from animal rights enthusiasts accusing me of being a heartless and cruel purveyor of pain and suffering. Somewhere in my files is one from a little girl in fourth grade, I think, who's father got her worked up and had her ask me why I'm such a mean person as to have foie gras on my restaurant's menu. I wrote her back, with a true explanation of how foie gras is produced in the 21st century. Did she get it? Who knows.Â
Â
Roman farmers noticed that ducks and geese naturally tend to gorge themselves before migrating, in order to store energy (in their livers) for the long trip. They took advantage of that and harvested during the spring and fall, when the livers were at their tastiest. Gavage (tube) feeding is still practiced, mostly in some European countries like France and Hungary, but there are also producers who prefer to simply provide the food and allow the geese or ducks to gorge themselves naturally. Â
The foie gras we serve here is from either Hudson Valley Foie Gras or D'Artagnan, who go to great lengths to provide a healthy and comfortable cage-free environment with no growth hormones or antibiotics. They are criticized by animal welfare activists for force-feeding their birds, but if we really look at how these birds are treated and compare that to, say, an average chicken producer, most people would probably feel the ducks live a far better life. Â As for me, I believe that foie gras is an important part of the traditional cuisine of France, and as such merits a place on the menu of a traditional French restaurant. I'm not really in the habit of forcing my views on guests, I'm just here to cook them good food and do my best to make sure they leave happy. Â
So love it or loathe it, we've got foie gras. This week, it comes in the form of a foie gras brulee, which is to say a moderately sweetened custard flavored with French four-spice and of course, foie gras. Served with fresh berries and crostini, it's one of our most popular appetizer features. We also sometimes sear the slices and serve them with a Door County cherry compote, fig jam, or bacon jam. There are lots of ways to enjoy foie gras, so give it a try and make up your own mind if you want to eat it or not!
  |
  |
|
   Simple, elegant, French classics. Hand-selected, affordable wines, refreshing cocktails, and gracious service |
|
|
ALWAYS FIVE STARS. AS PROMISED. |
    Seeing friends again- welcome back! |
   Every year, when the warm weather finally arrives, our friends begin returning from points south and west. After settling in to their summer residences, they come and visit us. We're always delighted to renew our friendships, and it's fun to see them walking around the dining room, greeting other friends and doing a quick bit of catching up.
Sadly, every once in a while someone doesn't come back, which means they either stayed put in Naples or Scottsdale or all those calamari appetizers they enjoyed finally caught up with them... we raise a toast to their good memory and order a brass plaque to put on their favorite table. For everyone who returned this year, welcome back!
it's great to see you and we hope you had a terrific winter wherever you were. The patio's beautiful and Frank's got your favorite cocktail on the bar. Bon Appetit!  |
   
Every season, Angela and Karen spend inordinate amounts of time fussing over the flowers, weeding out the weeds, planting, picking, and tending to all the different things that grow around the restaurant. They really don't get enough credit for making this one of the most beautiful places in the city for patio dining. It's so peaceful out there you can really just chill out and lose track of time for a little while. This year, everything's been growing like crazy, so they've been out there almost every day from about ten in the morning until mid afternoon, with a little lunch break in between.
We typically have nasturtiums and pansies for salads and desserts, roses for petals, snapdragons, and marigolds because, apparently, rabbits don't like them and are deterred from eating whatever's planted with them, like the strawberries and tomatoes in the back plots. Herbs like mint, basil, chives, oregano, and thyme flourish as well.
I've never been in possession of a green thumb, so I admire them for doing such a wonderful job and making us look so good. My proudest agronomical accomplishment to date has been to coax a tiny basil plant through the winter and transplant it outside to thrive in Angela's patio garden. Somebody let their kid climb up on the rocks and he sat on it last night; I had to fix it without seeming too upset. It's grown big enough to be useful for Caprese salads, though I feel bad picking the leaves off of it after watching it struggle all winter...Â
Anyway, to give credit where it's due, if you see Angela or Karen when you come here, and you like the garden and what it produces, please give them a little thanks- I know it goes a long way!  |
  Do you like twice the wine for your money? |
 Tuesdays and Wednesdays on bottles up to and including $60. If that's not enough great news for you, we're extending Happy Hour service to the patio as long as the weather's nice! |
Last week, I wrote that there were two new items we had as features, one of which was those delicious Hokkaido scallops. I didn't mention the other, but it was Colorado lamb chops. When I was young, we used to get lamb saddles and I'd have to butcher them to make racks and chops. It was tough work, wielding a three pound cleaver, working down the backbone and chine bones, the handle getting slippery from the fat and turning in my hand, and always the danger of it slipping and either a) cutting into the good part of the meat and/or b) going the other direction into the hand that was holding on to the saddle. We didn't have a band saw like most butchers, so we made do with what we had.Â
Â
Every Sunday night, there was a big buffet, with 6' tables groaning under the weight of silver bowls filled with cocktail shrimp and oysters on ice, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, and many other delicious things too numerous to mention. Every week, a carving station with prime rib and lamb racks. My job on Sundays was to stand behind the buffet hot table and spoon out vegetables and potatoes next to the Sous Chef, Fritz, who did the carving. Every once in a while, on a slow night, he'd let me carve a little bit. Every Sunday, at the end of the night, I'd look forward to one or two of those lamb chops and maybe a little slice of prime rib. Of course, the lamb was Colorado, because the market for imported lamb didn't really exist here back then. I really liked the sweet, delicious taste of that lamb and couldn't believe that the members slathered it with mint jelly.
Â
As time went by, domestic lamb was largely replaced with product from New Zealand and Australia, which became the standard of the industry. It was less expensive, tasty, and leaner than ours, which went well in the '90's and continues on today. It's not that Colorado lamb disappeared, it just became kind of a niche item found mostly in steakhouses and really high-end restaurants and private clubs.  What's the difference? Well, for one thing, the NZ and Australian lamb is grass-fed and leaner. They are also smaller and have little or no marbling. Domestic lamb is often fed grain to give it a sweeter flavor and marbling. While imported lamb is tender and flavorful, American lamb is even more so.  Why did we get it? A lady we sometimes cater for asked for some last week, so I ordered four racks. She took one and we sold the rest as a feature. They were really expensive, but we sold them out in an hour and got rave reviews. Should I get some more? I didn't even get a chance to try one!  |
  |
|
|
Here's a few quick tips for grilling fish; build the fire on half of the grill and use the other half and cover to cook the fish with indirect heat, don't make the fire too big or too hot. You can toss a few rosemary or thyme branches on if you like the flavor, or use a sprig to baste the fish as it cooks with EVOO or clarified butter. Fish kebabs are excellent and you can use different kinds of fish and shellfish together. There are contraptions to make grilling a little easier- hinged wire baskets that you can flip and maneuver to keep the fish from sticking to the grill (it might stick to the basket, so spray it first with Pam or something similar. Grill some thick lemon slices, too, because the char adds a nice flavor to the finished dish.Â
|
|
|
|
You can make some people happy some of the time, but you can't make everyone happy all the time, and that's very true. We accept this in our business- even the finest restaurants have their critics, why would we be the exception? Sometimes, though, it can be both puzzling and funny. This weekend, we had an unusual complaint about the soup. A gentleman complained that the "chilled English pea soup with curried cream" was cold so he sent it back. That was a head-shaker, for sure. Vichyssoise, anyone?
|
|
|
|
Spain or France? Both are terrific, of course, but there are differences. Cava is built for everyday enjoyment, while Champagne is a little more celebratory. If given a blind taste test between a $50 Cava and a Champagne of the same price, I'd bet most people would say they prefer the Cava. I do. Of course, once you arrive at a certain price, probably around $125, you're talking about a very special Cava and an average Champagne. Go beyond that, and then the Champagne gets the nod. Basically, different grapes, different terroir, similar method. Either way, you're going to be drinking something very delicious!
|
|
|
|
Salade Niçoise is traditionally made with preserved Mediterranean tuna, which we buy imported from Spain. A few weeks ago, Andrew and I decided to try an experiment and switch to rare grilled tuna, call it a "Summer Salade Niçoise" to differentiate it from the traditional version, and see if it sold better. The jury's still out, but it's selling at least as well so far. Have you tried it yet? Let us know what you think!  |
|
|
 
We've been getting inquiries and even a couple bookings for special dinners, so if you're interested, give us a call or send us an email and we can answer your questions and maybe even get you in the book! Whether it's a one-off menu created with wine selections especially for you or a group of friends and family to order off our regular menu, or even a luncheon, we'd love to talk about it! |
|
|
  | Got a Rehearsal Dinner, Birthday, Promotion, or Special Occasion? |
Let us know what we can do for you. We can accomodate medium (40-80) or smaller (10-40) groups, larger groups at certain times, create special menus, pair wines, pretty much anything within reason- just no glitter on Angela's carpet, please! Talk to Frank and he'll get you all set up. |
|   |
|
   Tues - Sat: 5:00 to 9:00pm  Sun - Mon: closed  Happy Hour Tuesday-Friday
Patio is Open (Weather permitting)
|
| |
|
|
