A mixed dining experience, though I won't be going back.
The food was unmistakebly French, complex, butter riddled, excellent ingredients, preperation and cooking. The specials menu was almost as long as the regular! So long in fact it should be written down, "Please."

Ceasar salad for my wife and Marinated anchovy salad for me. Kudos for the Ceasar dressing, it was a real Ceaser dressing which is a rarity, though light on garlic for my tastes. The marinade for my anchovies was, best guess, some old Chablis. Accompanied with a rabid balsamic dressing, the mix was too acrid. Marks for both: Close, but no cigar.

I had the lamb/venison rack combo, while my wife had the flounder stuffed with salmon mousse. We estimated a stick of butter in her champagne sauce, but neither of us could detect champagne, any wine, or even white Martini (Ah-ha that old trick!). My "rack" was two lamb and one venison loin chop. The meat was excellent (from someone who grew up eating fresh lamb and venison) and perfect medium-rare. The sauces were typical berry and a thyme/rosmary jus. Marks for both: Very high, but no oomph, or garlic!?

My wife's chocolate mousse was perfect, using mostly Swiss milk and hint of dark chocolate to produce an equisite texture but insiped flavor. My sorbet selection was uninspired. I could tell two were Haagen Dazs, mango and raspbery; the flavor and texture are unmistakable. The pear and "green" sorbets were homemade, with ice crystals to prove it. The pear was excellent (and should have been the only sorbet on the menu) while the green sorbet was a subject of debate between my wife and me. She proposed a "failed mint," I proposed a "failed lemon balm." The decaf coffee was instant, and had the lack of body only found in airline coffee. Extremely dissapointing.

The wine list was good, and reasonably priced for the restaurant's price bracket. Again, just good, no must try or bottles to make you drool, or wish you'd been a lawyer to afford them. Just the basics, covering all the bases from the largely US and the notorius (Yes, that is meant tounge-in-cheek) French producers.

The service can make OR BREAK a dinding experience...
As we arrived we were ushered to our choice of tables as if we were being ushered by a teen in a McDonalds, an odd experience. We chose the only place resembling a romantic table, a table for two, cramped and tight to a low partition. Unfortunately there is no romantic ambience to be found here. The decor is a car-crash of 40's pastel and bistro benches and partions.

Our server couldn't have been more disinterested, with the exception of adding exasperated sighs to her lack of eye contact. Also insulting was her blatant focus on big tip large groups, and whizzing by my wife and I three times with a non-comittal, "I'll be right with you." "Let them eat cake" was her motto.

Ah, and before I forget! When grinding the black pepper we requested, she stopped and walked away when she felt like it!!

The indentured busboys were the stars of the night. Attentive, quick and efficient earning them high marks, but, undoubtledy, an un-egalitarian wage.

This restaunt has its niche, excellent, yet unchallenging. Nothing was wrong, in fact everything was very good, and "bland" is unfair... full marks for competence, but nothing excited the palette, which is a big stinger for the prices of the dishes. Perhanps I have a different perspective on this type of food, being a Euopean who cooks, but then my wife is American and her evaluation echoed mine.

I get the feeling the chef is sleep walking, cooking by mumbers, or knows his regulars well:tThe local elderly, wealthy, undemanding clientel. We were at least half the age of the average customer in the place!

The two of us walked away lighter by $110, which is not exorbitant for French food in Bethesda, but then we weren't 100% satisfied with any one aspect, except the busboys.

If you are an experinced "foodie", looking to be excited and challenged, then keep looking. If you're in the mood for unchallenging hotel-style French food then this is the place for you    [29 Jun 2003 08:37:59]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: All, and yet none.

     ­Anonymous   

We Will Be Going Back
We had a good meal for which we two people paid a good price, $125 with tip, and we felt we got value for money. We both opted for the veal chop, which was among the specials, and were given a properly done, meaty and jucy chop in an excellent sauce that I cannot further identify. The salads, Caesar for one of us, a simple mixed salad for the other, were both good, fresh ingredients and a tangy dressings, but both were a little small. The wine list is short and pricey in my opionion, but you will find an appropriate bottle though you may not like the cost. Only desserts were served in generous portions, but they were large enough to be shared and rich enough that you may have to.
The restaurant is essentially one large room and I don't believe that one table is better or worse than another, but there is a good space between tables (an important factor in the DC area) and the furnishing and decorations are quietly tasteful. There were no lapses in the service, which was attentive wihout being intrusive, but the waiter could have been more forthcoming about how the specials were prepared, their sauces, etc.    [31 Oct 2005 11:27:19]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Veal chop

     ­Upsilon6   Upsilon6 at AOL dot com