Mon chéri and moi passed by Le Boulanger Francais at one point in our Ottawa strolls and though it was worth checking out in a morning, but we didn't quite remember the location or name..
Next day, without even realizing it, urbanspoon brought us back to it. (or more like to the bistro inside the bakery)
light gold colour
The hanging sign is the hint to where the bistro is. We entered and walked around the bakery, then realized we should walk further in.
I was sold this will be worthy from the moment we walked in. Its just that a good bakery which coexists with a bistro is a killer combo. The fact that that either the baker needed there to be more place to sit or the bistro owner saw the beauty in the pastries by the bakery, makes this place an alluring intermingle.
NOSE
lively, hints of yellow fruit
(pear-pineapple)
It was early afternoon, about 2/3 of the place was full. It was warm, clean, bright - 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow wall with checkered floors. Small tables, with wooden chairs created an endearing feel, almost as if we are sitting on a patio in France.
SWIRL
a tad tangy, hint of vanilla cream
The menu arrived - just a white sheet of paper.. and if it wasn't for me to go to France and know that this is perfectly fine, I'd be critical. 8 dishes were available, with a paragraph explanation each, and of course some wines and beers.
PALATEsome bright acidity, elegant
Cheri ordered the "Savory buckwheat pancake, double smoked pork shoulder, shaved Gruyer, sunnyside egg, apple & Savoy cabbage remoulade" while I had the "Yukon Gold potato & gratin, maple cured pork loin, soft poached eggs with hollandaise sauce".. and so, the little gems arrived looking very gourmet. Unwilling to destroy their presentation, the smell got to us so we dug in. I though they were surprisingly filling but that might have been from how flavourful they were (a perfect example of quality over quantity). My dish had pouched eggs done to perfection on top of the loin, over a very unique potato gratin texture - sheets of potato perfectly pilled on top of each other. We still wanted to try out their croissant and pain au chocolate that people had recommend. To be honest, the croissant was not particularly amazing, partially due to the lack of airy volume and partially due to the fact that they were cold (but we had some blame in that.. after all, who goes to the bakery in the afternoon?)FINISH
refreshing, pleasant
The waiter was very polite, followed by the waitress who come to check on us (not particularly a happy fella but kept on filling our cups). More and more people came in, an overall classy crowd
of all ages.
overall.. a lightly-oaked chardonnay
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