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| - Le Rossignol is a small and intimate bistro newly opened in Leslieville (taking over Pop Bistro's space). And on a cold wintry night, there's nothing more satisfying than classic French cuisine to fuel and fortify a body against the chill.
Or if you're me, be a glutton and not be able to focus on anything else but a couch on which to play beached-whale during the entire trip home. I tried to solo this meal and perhaps that was not a good call. But I digress! Let's talk about the food.
After I settle in at my table, an amuse comes out from the kitchen - a butternut soup with coconut foam. The scent of five-spice wafts up from the hot ceramic shot-glass and it is a delicious way to warm up. Quite nice.
A hot bowl of French onion soup is up next - not too salty, really nice flavour, and islands of floating toasted crisps tangled in a mess of melted cheese. It's a hefty portion of soup, good for sharing. Of course, I ate it all by myself.
The kitchen clearly thought I didn't have enough to eat this evening (I had two - yes two - mains still yet to come), so a small quenelle of a duck terrine on a crisp gets placed in front of me. Meaty and a little vinegary, this mouthful was a nice way to perk up the taste buds again. A nice and unexpected treat.
I couldn't resist and got the house-made pasta of the night: Linguine with pulled boar, mushrooms, and laced with truffle oil. There was mention of tomatoes, but it was a fairly light note. Rich and delicious, this was a deceptively large portion of pasta due to the plate being more bowl-like than you'd think. Very filling and worth a try if they still have it on the menu.
By now I was pretty full. And what's next? Cassoulet. It landed on the table and this plate of beans, half a sausage, and two confit duck legs mocked me. The peanut gallery of lardons laughed. I tried valiantly, but I got through half a leg, a slice of sausage, and a few spoonfuls of beans before I called it quits.
The waitress enquires if I want dessert? I'm stuffed, but of course!
I opted for a pot de crème trio (it's small, right?) in mango, berry, and apple (in order of preference). The mango was light and delicious and not as mangoey as it could have been. Better that way, I think. The berry (cassis, I think), in contrast, was quite strong and worked well. The texture was a bit off though. I'd have opted to pass on the apple in the end.
A pot of loose-leaf tea (earl grey. hot.), strong and black, accompanied dessert in an effort to make more room in my stomach. It did its job, though I still felt like I was going to explode.
All in all, a promising new neighbourhood place I'd return to sometime (can't think about when right now - too full). Added bonus is the fact that real French gets bandied about between the FOH and kitchens. Adds that extra je ne sais quois to the evening.
(Check the blog for accompanying photos and menus)
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