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| - Finding the restaurant was a bit of a challenge as the streets are pretty confusing in the 'burbs. Between the one-way streets, division of streets by South or North... I didn't successfully navigate and find the restaurant on the first try. So to save all of you some time, look for Wimpy's Diner, Nice Bistro is right next to it.
As it was a Tuesday night, there was ample street parking (free after 6PM).
If one had not actually known about Nice Bistro it is one of those restaurants that could easily be overlooked - after my dining experience, I'd like to call it more a "Diamond in the rough." Nice Bistro is truly a hidden gem.If you overlook the scenery that consists of local traffic through the window, you would believe that you were in the south of France. The restaurant is run by a husband-wife duo. Hubby (Bernard) slaves away in the back of the kitchen cooking up authentic French fare, while Wifey (Manon) mans the front.
Once we had settled down and started perusing the menu, I overheard chatter from another 2 tables... and they were Francophones! This was a good indication that the food was probably going to be as authentic as it gets. Yay!
We ordered the Assiette de charcuterie, Salade César and the Pâté Cognac Maison to start. Shortly after ordering we were brought a bread basket. I am a bread lover, and so that bread basket didn't last very long, and a second was brought out for us to accompany the charcuterie.The Assiette de charcuterie came with: Hungarian and Italian Salami, Portuguese and Polish sausage, German ham and head cheese. Head Cheese is a terrine, or meat jelly that is made of meat from the head of a pic and is often set in aspic (e.g. a gelatinous mixture of meat formed with a consommé of sorts). The Pâté Cognac Maison was served with an apple jelly and a mini-salad and a balsamic reduction. Their pâté is not the traditional smooth, spreadable kind. It is actually quite "chunky." It was simply prepared but you could taste the cognac and subtle hints of peppercorn.
The Salade César was punching a lot of garlic. It was creamy, but the texture of the dressing was less viscous due to the generous use of anchovies in the salad dressing.
We ordered the following mains: Salmon Fillet, Steak Frites and Moules Frites. It should be noted that on Tuesdays, you can get a bottomless pit of mussels and fries as it is all-you-can-eat.
The Salmon Fillet was one of the night's specials and is cooked in its own natural oils and seasoned with Chef Bernard's spice mix. It was served with seasonable vegetables which consisted of eggplant, red pepper and zucchini. The vegetables themselves had a hint of sweetness to it. The salmon was cooked to perfection; it was perfectly moist and tender and flaked off the fork with ease.
Doctor-to-be ordered the Steak Frites rare. When the steak came, unfortunately it was cooked a little more than rare. Manon recognized this immediately and offered to cook up a new one, but Doctor-to-be decided to just stick with it. We were quite pleased with the initiative that was taken to ensure that we would get exactly what we ordered. Ms. B ordered the Moules Frites which came in a giant mini-cauldron and a bowl of fries. I thought that they were quite flavourful, but she did comment that she could not taste the wine. When I tasted their fries I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I was trying to figure out what the secret was. Apparently, fresh potatoes was it. These are hands down, the best French Fries I have ever tasted.To finish we ordered the Gâteau Crêpes et Chocolat and the Nougatine Glacé. I personally preferred the nougatine as I love almonds, and it was bursting in almond goodness. The chocolate crêpe cake was very moist and yummy as well.
It was Doctor-to-be's belated birthday as well, and it was nice of them to put a candle on his dessert and sang a little birthday song in French. Even nicer, was when they comped his dessert. They are such sweethearts!
We had coffee, cappuccino and an espresso to accompany dessert.
Verdict:
Nice Bistro has become one of my favourite dining experiences. Both the food and service was provided with tender loving care.
For a 3-course meal, with a half-litre of white wine, 3 glasses of red wine, and dessert beverages, our bill came to about $60 per person. I challenge anyone to find food of such high quality, and service that comes from the heart that would rival that found at Nice Bistro.
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