I had the pleasure of dining at Petit-Pois twice last week. Located on the Downtown Mall next to ZO.CA.LO, it is a terrific place to enjoy the last months of outdoor dining in this beautiful summer weather we are having.
Bringing “Bistro” Back
I consider myself to be really snooty when it comes to French bistro fare. For those of you not familiar with what a French bistro should be, I will try to summarize it as quickly as possible. The bistro/cafe in France is akin to the neighborhood pub/bar in any other country. In Paris, you can go to the bistro in the morning for a cafe-au-lait and croissant, or in the afternoon for a glass of wine and the much-sought-after cigarette (pronounced in a thick French accent of course). The informal nature of the bistro is contrasted by its tasty food and drink offerings. Simple dishes adorn what is usually a one-sided menu with selections like:
- onion soup
- mussels in a white-wine broth
- pate du campagne
- pomme frites (French fries…and yes the French do actually make the best fries, with Five Guys following a VERY close second!)
- hanger steak
- roast chicken
- etc…
None of these recipes/dishes will earn a bistro a Michelin star, but they are a terrific way to begin a social evening with friends or even your lover(s). Petit-Pois manages to capture this casual atmosphere very well. Do not let the nuclear-size pea pod on the front door intimidate you!
Best Bang for the Lunchtime Buck-but get your fries from Five Guys instead
My first experience was at lunch time. My rule of thumb for bistro or bistro-like restaurants is that if their steak-frites (steak and fries) is good, the rest will most likely be just as good or better. The steak-frites on the lunch-time menu is $11.50 . I thought I was going to receive a tiny morsel of beef, and was quite surprised to see many slices of perfectly cooked (medium-rare) steak nestled next to XXXXX and topped with french fries.
I think every chef has their own interpretation of what a rare/medium-rare/medium steak should look like. It was my fortunate luck that Petit-Pois knew exactly what I meant. The steak was perfectly crispy/slightly charred on the outside, and perfectly moist and juice on the inside. The steak was definitely marinated in something delicious but not too overpowering as the taste of this excellent cut of beef definitely melted in my mouth. The steak was topped with caramelized shallots (an oh-so-delicious topping on steak) and herb butter.
The fries were another story. The beef set a very high expectation of the fries, too high it seems. While the fries themselves were cut properly, they were fried in what tasted to me like a synthetic oil. I will firmly stand by the rule that french fries must be cooked in peanut oil. Five Guys down the street is based entirely on that notion, and they execute flawlessly for a fast food restaurant. There is something to be said about a perfect steak with the perfect fry. While Petit-Pois didn’t deliver on this fantasy, the steak made up for it. If you go, I recommend either changing the fries for a salad or bringing your own small take-out cup of Five Guys.
Bottom line: $11.50 for a great steak at lunch time!?!?!?! Why would you not go?
Dinner Special: To Die For
Steak tartare is one of those dishes you might have avoided on numerous occasions…it is basically chopped steak/filet mignon mixed with egg yolk and a number of other ingredients. And you it it raw. Japanese people have eaten raw food for a long time, and many of you seem to like TEN, so why balk at this? After many years of cringing from eating completely raw steak, I decided to jump on the French wagon and see what all the hype was for Steak Tartare. It was delicious. When a proper, quality cut of beef is used and the accompanying ingredients bring out, not play down, the flavor and texture of the beef, you have a dish that is potentially better than a perfect steak.
From what I can remember, Petit-Pois’s Steak Tartare had the following:
- egg yolk
- chopped steak
- fresh cracked salt and pepper
- fresh chopped oregano
- capers
- SOME KIND OF LIQUOR (cVillains help…I was distracted by a beautiful woman during dinner and missed this part of the description)
Served with crostini on the side, this was the start of a magical meal.
Fruits de mer: Find out why the French call it fruit of the sea as opposed to plain “food”
At the suggestion of our waiter, we chose the Bourride. I recall previously at lunchtime, there were many cVillains enjoying this. The dinner portion was a little bit larger and is essetially a classic French bouillabaisse-like stew of the following seafood delicacies in a garlic, fennel and saffron broth:
- giant scallops
- mussels
- clams
- calamari
- shrimp
The combination of the above seafood ingredients and the sharp cream sauce were quite a treat. The dinner prices were much more than the lunch menu, but after the first bite you really do forget about the price and you remember that first dinner in Marseilles many years ago. The cool summer evenings and fresh seafood dinners…exceptional.
Verdict
Petit-Pois is definitely a cville winner. To be able to offer such a reasonably priced menu with terrific selections and excellent portions is a difficult task. I don’t know who or where the chef is from, and I frankly don’t care. Whether he/she is from Mexico or El Salvador, they were taught well, and execute even better. I recommend Petit-Pois change their french fry recipe to something like the above from the world-famous Michel Richard. That is the only change I can think of, everything else was spot-on. This spot should definitely be the beginning of a social evening in cville. Casual dining turns a new page, and I can’t wait to read the next story.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Another of our famous Mallstars, Tony is owner of the hippest coffee joint on the downtown mall, Cafe Cubano. I don’t know anyone else in town that takes more pride in drawing a shot of espresso than Tony…be sure to ask for a cortadito (typical Cuban coffee: lots of sugar, espresso and a drop of milk…it will knock you on your caffeinated feet), and you will see the attention he gives to the tiny succulent shot. So I thought it would be great to find out more about the man behind the coffee…so here goes!