I came here for dinner on a random Wednesday, and surprisingly the place was pretty packed! I get excited when I see thriving businesses in CLE, yay! We made reservations thankfully, so we were seated right away. Although the weather was nice, we decided to sit indoors to avoid the humidity and possible bugs landing on our food (don't really want extra protein in the form of a fly~tempting, but not today Mr. Fly ;p ). The restaurant is quite nice, modern and hip with French music playing softly in the background. The staff came around right away to start us off with some bread. Mmmh, I love my carbs...almost as much as I love my protein...bzzzz!
So for starters we decided to share the mussels and frites. Even though it is an entrée, it was perfect for a group of four to share. We also decided to get the escargots (it would be a shame if we didn't at least try them). The fries were...well fries, nothing special. The mussels were cooked well, very buttery and tender. The escargot was very soft, not rubbery like I imagined. It didn't have a distinctive flavor of its own, but rather took on the flavors of the sauce it was cooked in. I actually enjoyed the escargot, but the sauce was too rich for me so I only had a couple pieces.
My friend ordered a red beet soup,which was the soupe du jour. I of course, being a good friend, also tried some of her dish...what are friends for haha. It was a cold soup, with puréed beets. Normally I'm not a big fan of cold soups, but I was a definite fan of this soup!! It was refreshing, and I love the bit of sweetness from the beets. If I go back I'd definitely order it again.
Entrees: Duck confit- meat was very tender and deliciously fatty like duck normally is, but a tad bit too salty. If they went a little lighter on the salt, the dish would've been perfect.
Roasted cod- the fish was cooked to perfection! It was still moist and not dry, and I loved the garlic spatzle (little dumplings) with creme fraiche. They went a little crazy with the cheese however, so I had to shove some of the cheese to the side of the plate. A little bit goes a long way, the dish is good without that much cheese!
Croque monsier- from the description it sounded very good. My friend said she had it in France and she loved it. This sandwich was not a petite sandwich that I had imagined though. The bread was very thick and buttered. Smeared between the breads were mustard, LOTS of cheese and pieces of ham. I only had a few bites, which were good, but the sandwich is too rich and heavy for me. If you really want a filling dish, this would probably be a good choice.
Roasted trout with almond crust- my friend devoured this before I even tried a bite. And he cleaned the plate...so I'm guessing it was good?
Dessert:
Creme caramel- I really loved the creme caramel, which was smooth and not overwhelmingly sweet. I want more just thinking about it!
Chocolate Napoleon- I liked the crispy layers with chocolate in between. It was a good dessert, but I think I would choose the creme caramel again if I had to pick between the two.
Overall it was a good meal, and I would come back to try other dishes!