BISTRO LA PETITE FRANCE

Tonight we went out to celebrate my birthday.. it's about 5 months late, but we finally got it together. I've been wanting to try this Bistro since I saw the review in the paper by Mike Dunne. Now, usually my taste is the exact opposite of Dunne's. If he loves a place, I don't. Well... this time he was right on. This Bistro was wonderful, from the ambiance to the food to the adorable waiter Dider. The restaurant is located in a strip mall on Foothills Blvd. in Roseville. It is a rather small cozy establishment which in the evening is bathed in a soft warm glow and can be a very romantic place. I think the only complaint is the table is too small for 4 people. Of course we aren't ordinary diners we have several appetizers etc so it all fills up the table. Actually Didier took away the flowers, extra wine glasses and we moved the lamp to the other table.

Sue and Chris had the Cosmo while I had a glass of red wine.. I don't remember what it was other than it was French. It was very good.. smooth and a little fruity. Mike had the Black Russian. They don't serve hard alcohol but this vodka for the Cosmo and Black Russian was lower proof than regular vodka. What did Dideir call it.. religious alcohol, something like that.

Didier brought us some bread, a rustic Puglese style bread with a balsamic and olive oil dip. This wasn't your typical olive oil dip. Besides the balsamic and olive oil there was also Parmesan cheese and herbs. and that "something". We couldn't get more of the recipe than that. It was definitely different and delicious.

We started with Mushroom caps stuffed with Escargot and Garlic butter, Pork and Wild Mushroom Terrine with Zinfandel Jelly, and the Crab cakes. All the appetizers were very good. The Mushrooms and Escargot were buttery and garlicky with a slight "twang" and the garlic butter was good to dip the bread in also. The Pork Terrine was a country style "pate" accompanied by a fruity Zinfandel Jelly that went very well with the pork. They were accompanied by those little cornishones and olives.

The crab cakes were good.. actually made with crab not just a lot of bread crumbs. And yes we ate all of the appetizers. Then we had the salad special which was Mache with chopped egg, bacon and croutons with a light slightly sweet vinaigrette. It was somewhat like a spinach salad but the Mache is a bit more peppery. There was lots of bacon and I think the croutons had been fried in the bacon fat, and you know you can't go wrong with that. How ever the croutons were made, it was some of the best croutons I've had. Usually you get big chunks of dried bread cubes that are so hard you can break a tooth. These croutons were small and light and crisp. Chris who doesn't usually eat croutons ate every bit of her salad without picking out one crouton.. now that says a lot. Guess we got engrossed in the salad and forgot to take a picture of it.. It was good.

Entrees were the Grilled Ribeye with Cilantro Garlic Butter and Steak Frites (fries), the Surf and Turf- a Fillet topped with shrimp (Scampi, I think) It came with asparagus and mashed potatoes. I had the Veal Sweetbreads with a creamy Madeira sauce with mushrooms and olives. I don't know about olives but lots of mushrooms.. good good good.

The Rib Eye was huge and cooked exactly as ordered (medium rare) the steak frites were thin and crispy.

Mike said his fillet and shrimp was really good but he thought he'd like the Rib Eye the next time. My Sweetbreads were creamy and covered with that creamy Madeira sauce with tons of mushrooms. Pretty rich. I also got a side of garlicky carrots. Those were the best cooked carrots I've ever had. Cooked firm but not crunchy then sauteed in garlic butter and dusted with Parmesean cheese.

OK after all that, Yes we had desert-how can you not have desert? We had the Chocolate Souffle, which was more like a Lava cake than a souffle. The crispy edges were the best maybe.. the soft center was so chocolaty and rich... It was all good. A dollop of whip cream kind of cut the chocolatyness.. can anything really be too chocolaty? There were also 3 of the prettiest raspberries and a quenelle of vanilla ice cream. That was an intense cake.In case you all think that we actually eat everything up.. no we do bring home doggie bags.

I am happy to say it was a great success.. everyone was happy with their meal and whether it's fair or not, we all agreed it out did the dinner we had at Ella. I don't know if Dider is the only waiter (he was this evening) but he is the best. It is a ways out there but well worth the drive. It's not too far from Denio's Farmers Market.

Merci.. for the wonderful dinner.

p.s. Dider, if you found this blog site, also check out the Food Forum.

Return Home

Bistro La Petite France
Christope Ehrhart -Chef/Owner

5131 Foothills Blvd #1

Roseville CA 95747

916 786-9502