Glenn C.
Yelp
Short review: All the small plates were tasty. Appetizers were my least favorite but still solid. Duck was the best but the steak was also really good. Onion tartlets and steak tartare were excellent also. No real misses. Go here.
I went to this French restaurant a couple days ago with one of my usual groups. I had previously ordered a sandwich from one of their old locations in the 50s and I remember it being excellent and they still have said baguettes and stuff for breakfast and lunch. For larger groups such as ours, there is a larger table in back which can fit 12 easily though it could probably be stretched to 14. It's classic brasserie cuisine in general but they also change up some dishes seasonally. The staff was nice. They have a good wine selection with almost all of them being available by the glass along with some beers ranging from Kronenbourg to multiple versions of La Chouffe to Chimay. For our group, we ordered multiple plates of the various dishes and left quite full. They let us know that the main dishes would take a while to come out which was fine. They gave us some sliced baguettes along with butter which of course was very tasty.
The first dish that arrived were the Caramelized Onion Tartlets for $13 with gruyere cheese, bacon, and thyme. This came with five bite-sized pieces and it had a flaky dough with multiple layers baked inside The caramelized onions were sweet while the bacon added some necessary saltiness to it and overall, it was delicious. It would work well as a amuse bouche in a fancier spot.
My favorite of the appetizers was the Steak Tartare for $17 with crispy potato, classic seasoning, and horseradish. This came with two large pieces and we cut them up to share. The chopped steak had a good texture with some nice sourness (I presume there was either capers or dijon or likely both) and the crispy potato were essentially pavé style and it worked as a good richer alternative to the usual bread it's served with. Very tasty as well.
Last of the appetizers but also good were the Charred Carrots for $16 with whipped labneh, carrot top pistou, and pickled Fresno peppers. The carrots were well roasted with some char but some softness and the labneh was unique for a French spot and the Pistou is a sauce with olive oil/garlic and it was lighter than I expected. It was tasty as well though not as notable as the other two appetizers.
From the Small Plates section, we got two; the Tuna Tartare for $22 and the Foie Gras Terrine for $28. The former had caramelized fennel, orange, and lavash bread (a flatbread in this case made into a cracker) while the latter had kumquat compote, crushed pistachio, and toasted bread. For the former, The tuna was chopped into larger chunks and there was something in there that almost smelled a bit like licorice. It was unique but probably my least favorite of the dishes though it still worked. The homemade terrine was small for the price but of excellent quality and the kumquat was a fun spin on the usual fruit.
We ordered two mains. The better of the two and probably the best dish overall was the Duck A L'Orange for $39 with seared duck breast, confit leg, braised endive, and orange duck jus. The portion size could have been bigger but the seared duck was very tender and honestly cooked better than in many fancy restaurants I've been to. The confit was rich and a bit salty but the sauce and braised vegetable help to tone down the saltiness. This was outstanding and I would order it again.
Finally, there was the Steak Au Poivre for $48 with bistro filet, au poivre sauce, and pommes frites. We ordered it medium rare and it was cooked perfectly. This steak was tender with a bit of a chew and the sauce had peppercorns in it but it wasn't overpowered. The fries were pretty solid though I've had better as I find them a bit crispier and other spots. It was also very solid and the price was fine for the quality.
We didn't order desserts as they change seasonally and the current ones (citron tart/chocolate tart/creme brulee) weren't interesting enough for our group. Overall there aren't many complaints I can make here. The service was warm and the food was excellent with only minor faults. Mid 4/upper 4 for the quality. Excellent brasserie.