Larry and I celebrated our first anniversary at L’Auberge Chez Francois. As I mentioned in my previous post, it was voted “Most Romantic” and “Best Special Occasion” restaurant by the Washingtonian, so we thought it would be a good choice for our own special dinner.
Well, I think the caveat to those awards should have been “…if you’re over 50.” The first words Larry said as we sat down were “we’re too young for this place.”
The décor is Alsatian Kitsch. Definitely authentic old-school French. Excessive use of Christmas lights and garland. But you’re not here for my critique of the decorations, are you?
The company, of course, was delightful. We reminisced about our first year of marriage. I quizzed Larry on his favorite parts:
Best Part about Being Married: Seeing you everyday (good answer.)
Favorite Part of the Past Year: All the vacations we took. Honeymoon is #1, followed by our Canada/New York trip in July and our Outer Banks trip in October tied for second.
Most Memorable Moment from our Wedding: The look on Amy’s face when she took a shot of Wild Turkey 101. (Me: WHAT? What about seeing me walk down the aisle? Larry: but I had already seen you that day! Me: Ok, so then what about the first time you saw me at the State House? What about our vows? Larry: Yeah, yeah, yeah, all those are givens.)
Our meal started off scrumptiously. We enjoyed four kinds of bread, served with butter and a crème fraiche spread with chives and garlic. Then, we were served the amuse bouche–a cheese tart– “compliments of the chef,” which was also very tasty.
For my appetizer, I had the braised veal cheeks with mushrooms and vegetables, served in a tiny cocotte. The meat was tender and succulent, so tender that it practically melted in my mouth. Larry had the bouillabaisse, which had a thick broth and a hint of saffron. I had a spoonful of the broth, and I have to say, it was an authentic Marseille bouillabaisse. Incredible. So far, so good.
Our Roquefort house salads were garlicy (not a bad thing). I do love blue cheese, and Roquefort is one of my favorite blue cheeses. The salads had slices of baked cinnamon apples, raspberries, endive and sprouts. Still doing well.
We cleansed our palettes with an orange sorbet, then we received our main courses. Larry ordered the “choucroute royale”—an alsatian feast with sausages, confit, pheasant, foie gras, pork on sauerkraut cooked with Crémant d’Alsace. It was disappointing—most of the meat was overdone and dry. A boring dish overall, as Larry said. I ordered a seafood dish with lobster, shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and fish in a creamy white sauce. It was ok. The lobster was overdone. Basically, nothing to write home about.
For dessert, I ordered the chocolate soufflé, and Larry ordered the Kougelhopf of soft caramelized meringue and kirsch vanilla ice cream. Now here is where the disappointment really set in. I love dessert, especially French desserts, and soufflé is something I almost never get to enjoy. However, this soufflé had the distinct taste of anise, which I cannot stand. What’s more, the Kougelhopf also tasted like anise! And the tuile cookies and homemade chocolate truffles also tasted like anise! Ack! Ick! Yuck! They like to dump anise in everything here! So disappointing. But by this point, I was so full, I couldn’t have eaten much dessert even if it was anise-free. Larry, on the other hand, likes anise, and he enjoyed all of the desserts. He thought that they were delicious, well executed and in the classic French style. It’s a matter of personal taste.
The wine selection was impressive. We ordered two half-bottles: one red, a 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape, and one white, a 2004 Pouilly-Fuisse, to compliment both of our meat and seafood dishes.
Overall, I’d give the restaurant a B. Okay food, exceptional service. Our waiter was very attentive. For example, he didn’t clear Larry’s plate before I had finished eating, which is a pet peeve of mine and a detail of fine service often forgotten in other restaurants. The plates should not be cleared until everyone is finished. They get bonus points for that. It was a special night, but I also don’t think that we’ll be going back anytime in the next, say, 30 years or so.