Products

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might recall two reviews over the past year (1,2) of La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar. Both Pere and I really wanted to like the place but just couldn't do it. The issues and negative experiences with the restaurant seemed to grow over time.

Well, it looks like all of their problems finally caught up with them as the restaurant has finally closed. While I hate to see locally owned and operated restaurants go I don't feel that way about La Vigne. We're better off without them.

Given the limited selection of French restaurants in the area, a follow-up visit to La Vigne seemed a fitting choice for lunch with friends on Bastille Day. Unfortunately, my impression of La Vigne has not changed much since our initial visit last summer. In fact, the experience was so similar – flubs with service, disappointing food, and lots of empty tables – that to detail my experience at lunch would sound like plagiarism of Rob's review.

Instead I'd like to point out my own pet peeve with La Vigne, which Rob touched on briefly in his review, which is the lack of authentic ambience and culture. As a once-fluent French speaker and an interior designer, these facets of a dining experience for me weigh equally with the quality of food and service. In addition, the French are fiercely protective of their language and culture, so it's particularly disappointing that this French restaurant fails to capture either.

The decor of southern France does sometimes include heavy stone walls and iron gates, but these adornments to La Vigne's generic strip-mall location could be improved upon with some truly French touches. May I suggest some traditional Provençal fabrics? Or some rustic turned-wood chairs, instead of that corporate lobby-looking furniture? Maybe a couple of live lavender plants?

Perhaps the staff could have a brief training on the French language, or at least on the few words which are relevant in this case. One of the hostesses consistently mispronounces the name of the restaurant. I know the "gne" combo can be difficult to pronounce, so I'd love to suggest that using the last name of a certain pop star, Avril, might be closer, or maybe the name of the town on the southwestern outskirts of Phoenix. When asked what the vin du jour (wine of the day) would be, as advertised in French on the specials leaflet, our server corrected me, "You mean the vin?," which he pronounced like "bin." Sure. Whatever gets me a glass of fermented grape juice.

La Vigne is celebrating their one-year anniversary. I had hoped after our visit last year that it would improved over time, but unfortunately it's more like plus de la même chose – more of the same thing.

Last night, Pere and I met friends for dinner at relatively new French "Bistro" in Ahwatukee called La Vigne French Bistro & Wine Bar. La Vigne opened in May and I had been dying to try them out. I always have high hopes for new independent restaurants in my area, and the addition of a new French restaurant was irresistible.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it was practically empty. The place was huge, with a very large patio to boot. For a small intimate space, that might have felt ok, but for a 5000 square foot restaurant, it had an off-putting feeling. In such a busy shopping center, with Ra Sushi right next door packing people in, why was La Vigne so empty? I put aside my initial impression and decided to just let the experience speak for itself. On the La Vigne website, the restaurant owners state that the restaurant was conceived after a trip to the French countryside and that they wanted to bring a slice of France back to Ahwatukee. Having been to France several times, I can't say that the interior had the desired effect. Although it was nicely appointed and tastefully done, Pere remarked that the interior was much more Tuscan than French, and it certainly didn't look like any bistro we had ever been to.

We took our seats and started to look over the wine list. There were several French varietals on the menu, but none that I particularly recognized. Our server wasn't at all knowledgeable about the wine list, so I decided to play it safe and only go with wines I recognized. It's a shame, because I really like French wine. But without the advice of someone who can offer an informed opinion, I wasn't going to spend $50 on a random wine I may not like.

When our server came back to take our drink order, Pere ordered a gin and tonic. I was in the mood for gin as well, so I went with a gin martini, up, with a twist. Our friends Bill and Leorna ordered splits of Mumm "Napa Cuvée M sparkling wine. When our server arrived with the drink order, she was a little flustered. Apparently, she had bumped into the bartender on the way out and spilled the drinks all over herself (which she told us). That explains the high-water mark on my martini, which subsequently wasn't topped off. Leorna took one look at her champagne and immediately remarked to the server that it was completely flat, and to please bring her a new glass. At about the same time, she also realized that the waitress had brought out the champagne in a glass, but the split bottle was nowhere to be seen. When the waitress returned with new glasses of champagne, she apologized for the first round and remarked that the bartender had poured off the last of an open bottle, and that's why it was flat. That's when Leorna informed her that she had ordered splits, not by the glass champagne. After some looking over the wine list, the server acknowledged the mistake and headed off back to the bar. A few minutes later, she returned with two splits and once again apologized. She popped the corks (loudly) on the splits and told Bill and Leorna to go ahead and keep the other drinks on the house (too bad they were all flat).

As we settled in with our drinks and began to look over the menu, our server returned and asked if we were ready to order. We politely told her we had just started to look at the menu, and would need a few minutes. She took that literally, and returned about three minutes later. We let her know a few more minutes would be necessary to make our selections. I hate feeling rushed, and usually do a good job at setting the pace I want by slowing down the ordering, or ordering appetizers and waiting for them to come before making entree selections, but none of that really seemed to be effective here.

The entree selection was pretty sparse. One thing that I found a bit irritating was the steak selection. It took up almost an entire page on the menu, but made no sense to me at all. The menu listed three different steak options, all for $29.99: Steak au Poivre w/ cognac and red wine sauce, Peppercorn Steak (isn't what Steak au Poivre means?) w/ peppercorn cream sauce, and Steak Grillé with no sauce, although you could add either of the two previously mentioned sauces, or a béarnaise sauce for an extra $1.49. All three came in either a 9oz fillet or a 4oz New Your Strip for that same price. So essentially, the could have just listed it as a pepper crusted steak with your choice of sauces, in either a 9oz fillet or a 14oz New York Strip for $29.99, and the same steak, just without peppercorns. It certainly didn't have to take up an entire page. Beyond the steak options, other choices included Duck a L'orange, three chicken dishes, a salmon dish, and a scallop dish. All entrees came with soup or salad, choice of potato, and wither asparagus or green beans.

At this point, we decided on a few appetizers - Pate, and endive spears with apple and Roquefort salad, and a bowl of French onion soup for Bill. We also took this opportunity to place our entree orders.

A few minutes later, the appetizers arrived. The pate was good, although given the generous amount a few more pieces of toasted baguette would have been appropriate. The endive with apple and Roquefort that Leorna ordered was particularly good. Bill's French onion soup was well received too.

While we were still eating our appetizers, our dinner salads arrived. Instead of seeing that we were still working on our appetizers, our server dropped off the salads right along side of them and headed off back to the kitchen. We could tell that timing was starting to become an issue. Little did we know just how much of an issue it was going to be, though. About five minutes after dropping off the salads, our waitress returned with our entrees. That's when she had the "a-ha" moment and realized just how off the kitchen timing was. She apologized and offered to take the entrees back and hold them there until we were ready. At that point, Leorna let her know that yes, that's what we wanted her to do, but if our meals came out overcooked, we would be sending them back. With Leorna's steak starting out as medium rare, and Pere having scallops, not to mention Bill and I having chicken breasts, we were worried we would be eating shoe leather after the food came back from being under a heat lamp.

The moment we finished our salads (literally), someone was there to clear our plates, and our server was back out with our entrees. I had ordered the Poulet à la Moutarde (chicken w/ mustard), with fries as my potato. What I was served, though, had mashed potatoes instead. This actually worked out ok for me. When I told our server that I had ordered fries and not mashed potatoes, she quickly let the kitchen know to whip me up a batch of fries as they had gotten the order wrong. Instead of soggy fries that had been under a heat lamp for 15 minutes, I had a nice piping hot plate of frites fresh from the fryer, and they were excellent! Our server felt bad enough about everything that had gone wrong up to this point that she offered to comp us two desserts.

Pere's scallops ended up being slightly overcooked, but not enough that she felt she had to send them back. My chicken had just passed the perfectly done state and was a little on the dry side, but the mustard sauce, although a tinge too acidic, did a good job of adding necessary moisture to each bite. I was happy with the dish. Leorna sliced a piece off the end of her steak, and I could tell from her facial expression that she wasn't happy. She had the waitress take it back because it appeared to be well done. She also sent the cognac red wine sauce back because she thought it tasted tinny. A few minutes later, the server returned with the dish and explained that upon returning it to the kitchen, the chef had cut open the steak (in the center), and it was indeed still medium rare in the center. They offered to make her a new one if she still wanted one, but she declined and took the returned entree, this time with the béarnaise sauce.

Since our desserts were being comp'd, we decided on the crème brulée and a chocolate soufflé along with a bottle of Cuvée Rouge Champagne (I don't remember what house as it was Leorna's pick). A few moments later, our server was back to inform us that they were all out of he Cuvée Rouge "because the wine guy didn't come today". She then informed us that the wine list was arranged from sweet to dry (funny, it seemed to be arranged in order of price to me), and we could just pick one above or below our initial choice and it would taste about the same. We declined and instead decided to go with 4 more splits of the Cuvée M. A few minutes later she was back out with the four bottles, letting us know that she had to dig around in the back to find them. Four more loud pops, and we were all sitting back laughing about how disastrous the meal had been so far. It's then that the desserts arrived. The sugar on top of the crème brulée was actually perfectly caramelized. The custard underneath was a bit too warm, and could have used a little more vanilla, but it was still good. The chocolate soufflé that Bill ordered was anything but. Besides the fact that it was yellow, the first bite confirmed it to be a strawberry soufflé. Oh well. At that point, we had finally had enough and asked for the check. Bill also asked if we were the worst table she had that evening. She completely missed the point and replied that actually the table next to us was worse because they had kids, and she doesn't like kids (other than her own)!

I wanted to like La Vigne, I really did. There aren't enough good neighborhood spots in Ahwatukee, and I was really hoping La Vigne would help fill that niche. I can't chalk it up to opening week jitters now that they have been open for a few months. I realize they are still new, but as large as the place is, if they don't start filling tables soon, I don't see how they'll be able to afford to stay open. Given the execution and service issues, they have some serious work ahead of them to counter experiences like the ones our friends and we had. I'm not trying to bash La Vigne. Had the owners been in that night, I would have been happy to talk with them about our experience as I really do believe in offering restaurants constructive criticism, and a chance to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, though, I don't think I'll be going back to La Vigne anytime soon. If they are still around six months from now, maybe I'll give them another shot.

I'm in the Philippines all week on business and have the opportunity to try all sorts of new cuisine. I've been here before, long before I started blogging and am looking forward to the opportunity to share my culinary experiences here. I plan to eat a mix of traditional Filipino food, and whatever my hosts throw at me while I'm here.

Last night, we had dinner at a swanky French restaurant called Le Souffle, just outside of Makati, in a new area called Global City. The dinner was hosted by my Filipino friends and coworkers Bob, Alex, Jobbit and Eric. The meal started off with a bottle of merlot selected by Bob. It was full bodied with quite a bit of tanin. Pretty good merlot even if the guys in the movie Sideways don't do merlot, as Jobbit pointed out.

Bob asked if I liked liver, and I replied that I did, so he ordered salads of goose liver, scallop prosciutto and goat cheese for everyone. The salad was a very nice starter to the meal. I hadn't had goose liver in quite a while as most of the fois gras you get in the US tends to come from duck. The flavor of the goose liver was sublime.

The next course consisted of a pumpkin and carrot soup. The soup was stronger in carrot flavor, but had a hint of the pumpkin which came through stronger after a few spoonfuls. I believe it was thickened with cream, but I'm not completely sure there as lately I've been making soups thickened with a bit of white potato, and sometimes it's actually hard to tell the difference.

For my main course, I chose ostrich steak with currant sauce. When I cut it up into pieces, I thought the meat was going to be a bit tough, but I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into the first piece. It was very tender, not at all gamey, and cooked just as I had ordered it, medium rare. The sauce went well with the ostrich and offered a nice amount of sweetness that didn't totally overwhelm the meat. The ostrich was accompanied by braised red cabbage and a gratin of potato. The cabbabe was good and not at all overcooked. The potato gratin was also good. It was formed in a pastry ring, and looked like a mini-cake.

After we finished our meals, I was reminded that you can't eat at a restaurant named Le Souffle without having a souffle for desert. I was already stuffed on account of the great meal, but luckily for me they offered a demitasse version of their souffle. I ordered a Flambéedmango souffle. It ended up being the perfect size. About four bites and it was finished. It proved to be an excellent ending to a good meal with my hosts.

To cap the night off, after hearing that I'm really into food and write this blog, Jobbit asked the waiter to have the chef jot down the names and descriptions of everything I ate (this will come in handy as I get into more of the local cucuisine The chef did one better and returned me a hand written menu of the dishes he had prepared me along with a personal note wishing me the best.

Stay tuned for more posts as I eat my way around the Philippines!

Last night, I happened to be up in North Scottsdale after work. Since I was near Pere's office, I gave her a call to see if she wanted to meet for dinner. She suggested Zinc Bistro at Kierland Commons, a place which just happened to be on my restaurant to-do list.

Kierland Commons bills itself as a "main street shopping experience". It has a definite small town, residential feel to it that I like. Especially in Arizona where the concept of a city seems to be lost. That said, Zinc Bistro is set smack in the center of the commons. It's modeled after a typical Parisian bistro, complete with zinc bar. We chose to sit outside on their sidewalk patio as the weather was absolutely beautiful.

I was in the mood for a glass of wine, and asked our waitress for a glass of the house Bordeaux. Unfortunately, they were all out of both of their house Bordeaux's, so our waitress suggested the house Cotes du Rhone instead. I went with her suggestion while Pere ordered a glass of the house Pinot Grigio. While we were waiting for the waitress to come back with our drinks, another server stopped by with a basket of sourdough bread. The bread was crusty, had a good tangy taste, but was a bit too chewy in the middle.

The menu at Zinc Bistro had a number of interesting appetizers and entrees listed, quite a few I would have been happy trying. In the end, I decided on their pan roasted basil chicken served with creamy risotto. They also had several additional "sides" on the menu that looked good. I wasn't in the mood for an appetizer, but I was in the mood for the lemon gnocchi with olives, so I asked the waitress for that as well. I figured I'd be taking some of the meal home with me for lunch the next day. Pere went with the ravioli stuffed with goat cheese and spinach finished with a black truffle sauce. She also ordered an additional side, the roasted cord risotto with chive crème fraiche.

Both of the house wines we tried were ok, but nothing memorable. Next time we come, I think we'll try a bottle from the list of French wines. We both like French wines, and find a generally poor selection of moderately priced wines at Arizona restaurants.

When the food arrived (promptly, we were pretty hungry. My basil chicken was evenly roasted and was served with a very flavorful basil oil pan sauce that contained mushrooms. Some people find chicken to be too boring to order out. I on the other hand take it as a challenge for a chef to do chicken justice. Chef Matt Cartier does just that. The risotto that came with the chicken was served in a small Staub crock. It was mildly flavored with herbs, and had small pieces of smoked chicken in it. Overall, it was good, but not great. The gnocchi, however were awesome. The combination of potato, lemon, and olives with the buttery sauce worked well, and I found myself finishing them off before I was even half-way through the rest of my meal.

I tried Pere's ravioli, and liked them too. The pasta was cooked just right, and the individual flavors of the spinach, goat cheese, and sauce all came through. Her risotto, however, was bland and needed more salt. Even with the addition of some extra salt, it still fell a bit flat, especially compared to the excellent risotto we're used to at Va Bene.

We passed on desert this time around as we really just had a light dinner in mind. Overall, I found Zinc Bistro to be pretty good, and I'm eager to come back for a more complete sampling of the menu.

Last night was the final night of our visit from Pere's parents. We decided to cook in one more time, and invited our friends Moody and Catherine over to join us.

I was really in the mood for seafood, especially because I had been eating fairly heavy all week. In the end, I decided to try to somewhat replicate the Truite aux Amandes I had at Bouchon Las Vegas a few weeks ago. Instead of pan roasting the trout, however, I decided I was going to grill it.

I picked up 6 whole rainbow trout from AJ's Fine Foods, a local "gourmet" grocery here in Chandler. They have great meat, fish, and produce, but it tends to be a bit over priced. I save shopping there for special meals, or when I can't seem to find what I want elsewhere. I'm lucky I got there when I did as I needed 6 trout, and that's all the fishmonger had ordered for the day!

To complete the recipe, I needed to also pick up some haricots vert and sliced almonds. I had everything else I needed at home. The complete meal would consist of the trout with almonds and haricots vert, served with a side of preserved lemon polenta.

The trout was very simple to make. They had already been cleaned and fileted at the market, all that was left was to sprinkle some salt on each fillet and rub the outside of each fish with some olive oil. 15 minutes on the grill over indirect medium heat was all that it took. I grilled each side of the whole trout for about 7 and a half minutes each. If I were to do it again, though, I would open each fish and cook both sides at once, skin side down (I'll get to why in a second).

To finish the trout, I planned to top them with the sliced almonds, haricots vert, and brown butter. To make the brown butter, I cooked about 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium heat, spooning the solids off the top. After about 6 minutes, I added 3/4 cups of the almonds to the butter and continued to saute for about another 4 minuted, being careful not to burn the butter or the almonds.

Meanwhile I brought a pot of water to a boil and tossed in the beans. I let them cook for 3 minutes before moving them to a strainer. I then put them in a large bowl and added 3/4 of the remaining brown butter, poured off from the pan along with about 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon or so of salt and tossed to coat.

The preserved lemon polenta recipe came from Ming Tsai and consisted of sauteing 1/4 cup shallots and 2 tablespoons minced ginger in 1 tablespoon of butter, adding to that 3 cups of polenta, 1/2 cup of diced preserved lemons, 3 cups chicken stock, 3 tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste. The whole mixture went in a 400 degree oven (covered) for an hour.

To plate the trout, I opened each one up and laid it on a plate butterfly style, so that each filet was facing up with the head still attached. I had a bit of difficulty with a few of the fish as I had grilled each side of the fish individually while the fish was closed, resulting in a few of them being fused back together. Nothing I wasn't able to fix by sliding a knife up between the fillets. On top of each trout, I spooned about two tablespoons of the almond/brown butter mixture, and toped that off with the haricots vert. I served the polenta from the pot in which it had cooked.

One note on the polenta. When I was browsing through the store, I was trying to decide whether to pick up more cornmeal in case I didn't have enough at home. While looking at the various varieties, I noticed that different manufactures had different cornmeal to liquid ratios listed. The polenta I ended up cooking came out a bit drier than it should have. The next time I try it, I'm going to have to compare the liquid volume called for in my recipe with the liquid volume recommended by the manufacture. I think my recipe could have used another 1/2 cup of stock or so.

We had several bottles of un memorable wine with the meal, until I popped open a bottle of Chateau St. Jean 2001 Chardonnay that Moody and Catherine had brought with them. It was fantastic! It had a very buttery mouth feel that was bursting with pear and honeysuckle and went really well with the trout. I'm going to have to add this one to my list of wines to try again. I had been getting tired of whites lately, but this one has definitely grabbed my attention.

For desert, we had sliced fresh strawberries that had been soaked in some amaretto, served over purchased pound cake with homemade amaretto whipped cream. Nice, light, and simple.