Restaurant Review: Petit Robert Bistro

[teddywolf]

It had been a long time coming. I told my wife, "It's now or never." She asked, "Are you sure?" "Yes," I replied. "If we don't use these dining checks from my job, we will never get the chance to use them." She said, "OK, but you have to find the restaurant. And I don't want a heavy meal."

Tonight we dined at Petit Robert Bistro in Kenmore Square, Boston. It was a magical night, starting with actually finding a parking space within a block of the restaurant. Parking is generally difficult in that area. Still.

We went in, inside the converted brownstone, and were seated in the downstairs section. It is a little noisy down there, even though it is not as crowded as it could be, and this was only half full when we arrived for a later supper.

We started with onion soup gratin, one bowl apiece, and a plate of applewood smoked salmon with capers and grilled bread. The soup was wonderful, well balanced, not too many onions and not overly salty like many such samples I have tried. The salmon was smoked to the extent that my wife said it tasted like a high end bacon. I placed some on a piece of bread, added a few capers and squeezed a bit of the lemon wedge onto the result. It was extremely tasty.

Our entrees came next: bluefish with a corn cream sauce for her, and skirt steak with choice of sauce for me. The maitre'd suggested the Bearnaise as his favorite. As I had never tried it before I asked if I could have both that and the Bordelaise, which she was amenable to. My wife's bluefish came with a cooked crust to the fish which she did not find agreeable, but otherwise enjoyed her fish immensely. My beef was wonderful. The Bearnaise sauce is butter-based. I did try a bit of personal heresy and had a bit with one piece of my beef. Flavorful, enjoyable, but not worth the extra sin :)

Both of us had side vegetables: sliced carrots and green beans, a small amount of each; mashed potatoes for her, and french fries for me. We also ordered a side of Spinach Beurre. My fries were tasty with both of the sauces, and the Bearnaise was magic on anything it touched. While my wife did not finish her mashed potatoes, I liberated the last ones from her plate. I did, however, leave a few fries over.

Dessert was another pleasure. I ordered mine early, as I wanted to try their souffle. It was Grand Marnier flavored, with a vanilla sauce on the side, and it was exquisite. My wife enjoyed some creme brulee and a coffee.

We did go a little over what we normally would have ordered due to the gift checks, so we had what would have been, for us, an amazingly expensive supper - the coffee was the only beverage ordered aside from water. This said, the prices (though not the portion sizes) are about on par with Outback or Bugaboo Creek, and the quality is, in my opinion, much higher. Tables are a little small, but the cloths are double-laid on the table.

My review? If you are thinking of Outback or Bugaboo and don't have kids in tow - heck, maybe even if you do - come here instead. Fair warning, though, reservations would be a good idea. And yes, I can help with those.

Comments

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

I've eaten there. It's very good.

[gingicat]

The corn cream sauce was a great idea; it made it seem like I was eating forkfuls of especially good fish chowder. And aside from the 1/2 cm crust, the bluefish was tender and buttery in texture.

Next time I'm getting the asparagus, though. :)