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2010-12-09
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First off, I have to give special mention to Joseph, who handled my ever-changing booking requests (due to a large party) with efficiency and a smile. It left a very favorable impression even before stepping into the restaurant, where we were greeted warmly and shown into their large private room which comfortably seats 12 people. To start, we ordered a bottle of pinot noir (lovely, for a very well-priced $480) and zinfandel (I didn't try it, but the table liked it). Someone noted that for a
To start, we ordered a bottle of pinot noir (lovely, for a very well-priced $480) and zinfandel (I didn't try it, but the table liked it). Someone noted that for a French restaurant, there was only 1 bottle of French wine on the wine list, to which I pointed out that most people would probably take advantage of the no corkage fee to BYOB.
Bread basket wasn't great - very ordinary dinner rolls and lacklustre slices of baguette - and didn't really do justice to the lovely pate and herb butter that was served.
The food menu is similar enough to Le Marron (my go-to casual French private kitchen), which left room for comparison. The menu is divided into appetizers, soups, mains, and desserts...lots of choice, so between 7 of us, we had a decent sampling of everything. Here's a summary of what we thought:
- A real shame we had to return the order of mussels steamed in white wine...I'm sure they would've been yummy. The mussels smelled like they'd gone off...not so fresh shellfish = very dangerous...c'mon people!
- My French friend really enjoyed his starter of a generous round of Camembert in a fondue pot for 1, with a lovely little selection of fruit. Simple and delicious.
- My starter of Escargot de Baroque (snails w/ garlic butter & potato puree) was good, but not spectacular.
- The Crab Bisque had really good crab flavor...a bit thinner for a bisque than I'd like, but it's a personal preference. I did like the fact that it wasn't weighed down by too much cream, and the others who ordered it agreed.
- As a palate refresher before the mains arrived, we were served homemade berry sorbet, but it was more like a berry granito than a sorbet because of its grainy texture. Also, it wasn't quite the right flavor to "refresh"...something a bit tangier would've worked better.
- I love Confit de Canard- my favorite is the one served at Chez Patrick - and rarely pass on a chance to order it in restaurants. La Maison's version is a decent one...not the best I've ever had, but certainly not the worst by far. Despite being slightly dry at the edges, which is my #1 dread when ordering this dish, I didn't mind it so much as 95% of the duck leg was cooked perfectly...moist juicy flesh with a crispy skin. The cabbage salad was a nice complement as well. I do wish they'd drizzled a bit more sauce on the plate as whatever it was (berries again maybe?) worked well with the duck and cabbage.
- Undercooked whole baby potatoes that were served as a side to a few main dishes.
- Banana Creme Brulee is a nice idea, but while sufficiently banana-y, it was a bit too sweet. Could've used a hint of vanilla as well to balance it out.
- French Fudge Chocolate Cake is basically a molten chocolate cake...way too sweet, and the cake had already collapsed - with chocolate insides spilling all over - in the short walk from oven to table. Poor execution.
To cap it all off, while I'm generally a big fan of simplicity and wasn't really expecting anything overly imaginative from La Maison's menu, it is ever so important to make sure that food is seasoned and cooked properly. Sounds simple enough, but unfortunately these were probably two of La Maison's biggest failings last night food-wise. I'd return if only to give them a second shot at redeeming themselves...perhaps it was an off night?
张贴