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Moi:
A previously french-food resistant foodie, now converted!
Consider an american kid's first encounter with french food, at a small cafe in SF, where a well meaning if somewhat misguided aunt ordered me some Escargot, and french onion soup That was it! I was done with french restaurants.
Since then, I have only been to a handful of them, none really impressing me that much, until tonight's visit to Michel Bistro.
There's something about a restaurant with a heartbeat, nothing moving fast, but everything is getting to the tables exactly on time, and the wait staff came off more like a family than employees. (Thank you, Lucy!)
A longtime friend had sworn by this place, and had cajoled me into coming, viola, here I was. Strange, because french and french-themed restaurants are not usually my thing.
The high brick wall on one side, and the 70's french movie silently playing on it, were not a distraction but rather made for interesting lighting.
The smells coming from the kitchen made me swoon, as I perused the menu, which was authentic in its rustic simplicity. With four or five basic entrees to pick from, me and my gang ordered the works, and proceeded to share one an incredible meal.
I am known for being a fanatic of well prepared bone marrow, and our first course did not disappoint.
Served with an equally delicious Levant bread from Le Petit Pan in SF, (I think), the bone marrow was nearly drug-like in it's flavor, texture and fatty goodness, Finely chopped lemon, celery root chicken skin, and the natural savory sweetness of roast garlic, both spreading like butter on the bread, and simply eating it by fork, (Please serve this with spoons too so we can get every bit!) was an explosion of buttery, pure fat that moves on the palate with a life of it's own. Nothing like it. I have eaten bone marrow at a number of restaurants (mostly on the east coast) and never had it like this, and the portions were quite generous as well.
Moving on to our second opener, the avocado salad, I was moved by a deep hint of curry flavor without the noticeable presence of any curry, and had the ingredients explained, and understood where the sweet, smokey flavor came from, (Turmeric) and it came in balance with the avocado, which it never overwhelmed. They nutty taste and texture of chicory, dates and long pepper among others, woke up a huge appetite in me, just in time for my main course.
Main Course:
An Amaranth-Crusted Swordfish served in a bed of carrot, the tiniest int of espelette pepper, yogurt, and barberry, had tender deep flavor, a rich aroma, and the herbs and barely detectable hint of citrus, all playing off the initial crunch of a perfectly prepared piece of swordfish.
The flavors in this meal were lighter, more subtle, and with fresh herbs, and citrus, and a little deeper than what I considered french cuisine to be.
What was I thinking?
By the time I thanked Anthony, our young chef, our desserts were being brought. (Made by one of the servers, Amber, a CIA grad I think)
Between the brownie bowl, crumbly with a browned or toasted meringue, hazelnuts and pralines, and some kind of pepper I couldn't place, the deconstructed cheesecake, with creme fraiche foam from another planet, with strawberries, (Don't quote me on that, just trying to remember), and the astonishing Crème Brûlée, with Tahitian vanilla, (State of the art sugar technology) which was so light it almost seemed animated, I was by this time, to say the least head over heels with this restaurant and it's food and staff. If you've seen my other reviews, they usually involve more exotic foods, and blazing peppers, but happily, here at Michel Bistro, after all this time, I learned to love french food and appreciate it's subtitle value. Sorry I didn't photograph everything like I usually do, but I was WAY too busy eating.
Michel Bistro has an heart at it's center, and the food tells it story.
So, Win for Michel Bistro!
