September 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

RESTAURANT REVIEW
By Charles Marcanetti
French restaurants, it is said, are notable for their sauces. It stems from
a time when all of Europe was dramatically poor and food was scarce.
Meat was an especially rare luxury which only the very rich could
afford. Places like England seem to have developed a penchant for
stews which allowed for the inclusion of whatever was available.
Scotland and Wales developed the fine art of utilizing organ foods so
none of the slaughtered animal was wasted. Spain created fish stews
and casserole-like dishes, again to use all of what was available. France
developed the fine art of taking little used food items or commonly
used but barely available items, use them sparingly and flavor them
with creative and rich sauces. Each country thus allowed families to
have the feeling of a satisfying meal when all too frequently the meals
themselves were quite small and contained not too many desirable
ingredients.Time passed and the economies improved enough to allow
for better ingredients, but the creative period left some wonderful
recipes. Necessity is surely the mother of invention and today we are
privileged to have some incredible dishes that have been perfected from
the countless years of trial and error.
My recent visit to Le French Bistro located in the Parkland Town
Center at 6676 Parkside Drive in Parkland (561-755-0708 -
www.lefrenchbistro.com) brought me back many years to my autumns in
Paris and my summers in a quaint little city called Les Sables D’Olonne.
One might assume that, having spent so many years in France, I am an
expert in French cooking. But it is untrue. I am, however, an expert in
French eating. I mean it. The French do not eat as ravenously as we do.
They eat far smaller portions (again, a carry-over from a time when food
was scarce) and they “dine” much more frequently (meaning they don’t
rush their meals). Also, unpreserved bread and light wines are served with
virtually all meals (well, maybe not for breakfast). So, because of the fresher
bread, smaller portions, less rushed atmosphere and light wines, the French
are generally thinner then we are, even in the face of their rich sauces.
Well, if the French ate at Le French Bistro the “thinner” part might
disappear. Because, like me, they’d eat and eat and eat, especially the preentrees
(soups and appetizers) and the post entrees (desserts), which also
became a specialty because of the lack of main course foods.
The atmosphere at Le French Bistro is that of a small French restaurant,
so common throughout the country, but more apparent in the small cities
and country towns.The tables are small enough to be intimate but clearly
large enough to avoid a crowded feeling. The linen tablecloths and
napkins were crisp and soft hued. The silverware was gleaming-clean;
sitting perfectly placed on tables nestled in among French bric-a-brac and
all was permeated by authentic French music. The food could have been
lousy and still the evening would have been great. But, the food was far
from lousy. It was fresh and correctly prepared, sized and appointed. It was
served by Joel (pronounced with two clearly distinguishable syllables, like
the planet Krypton names [Jor-el, Kal-el, etc.]).
At the outset, a very smoothly pureed Tapenade was served, and this
blend of eggplant, olive oil and garlic and spices turned out to be a fine
introduction to the remainder of the evening.
We started with a 2006 Beaujolais by Henry Fessy. Like the food, it was
light and crisp, with a soft bouquet and no aftertaste.
When you go, and I think you ought to, you absolutely must have either
the best Traditional French Onion Soup ($8.95) I’ve ever had, served in
the onion, or a truly delicious Lobster Bisque Le Bistro Style ($8.50),
served under puffed-pastry. Each was marvelous and a perfect
introduction to our first appetizer, Escargots a la Persillade ($8.95). The
snails in this dish, as in all similar dishes, are actually a garlic delivery
system, adding to the garlic a soft and smooth way to travel down our
throats to our waiting stomachs. At Le French Bistro they have
discovered a way to keep the garlic from overpowering you while
maintaining the fullness of the dish.
We next sampled the Norwegian Smoked Salmon (alone $10.95), but
we added “a la Imperial Caviar” (total $17.50). It is served with chopped
salad and garnished with diced onions, capers, egg whites and tartar
sauce. The caviar was not as salty as I usually experience and with the
Smoked Salmon ended up balancing very well.
Our main courses started with the Rack of Lamb “Chef Style” Dijonaise
($38.95) which is breaded and laced with mustard and tarragon, then
84 SEPTEMBER 2008