CLIII: Les Faux Bourgeois

I'm pretty lucky, my parents never really imposed a curfew on me in my teens--not that they would have needed to since I didn't get into any trouble--but it still seems unorthodox to me to go out "late" on a weeknight. "Late" tonight means 8:45pm dinner reservations at Les Faux Bourgeois with my friends Oli and Mylo. "Late" because I didn't think to phone in and make reservations until this afternoon (this is very unlike me. My excuse is that I did not choose this restaurant).

And, ordinarily, 8:45pm would not be late to me at all. I normally go to bed around midnight or 1:00am, though I've been trying to be better this week. It's when you add up the circumstances that it starts to make sense: I woke up at 5:15am to go to yoga today, I have a cat that I should accompany for at least a few hours each day, I don't live within walking distance to the restaurant (though Mylo graciously offered to drive me home), and I have another early start tomorrow...if I dare.

Enough backstory, now for the main course: the food! We shared:

• A bottle of Les Brottiers Cotes du Rhone
• Escargots de bourgogne
• Tarte flambée Alsacienne - recommended by Metro and my favourite dish of the night! A light flaky tart with onion, lardons (similar to bacon), and ricotta cheese
• Coquilles St. Jacques - scallops in béchamel sauce
• Assiette de fromage - four cheeses and condiments
• Cassoulet - I'm the only one who didn't like it (silently). I'm not a fan of beans or stew but at least I gave it a try
• Special: chocolate silk cake with sweet crème fraîche and blueberry coulis - yummy! So rich and worth it. If only I had a tall glass of cold 2% organic milk to counterbalance it.

The service was really great and the waiters were authentic Frenchmen. Our waiter in particular was very attentive with the wine and water levels (I tend to drink a lot of water with my meal so this does not go unnoticed). The clientele mostly comprised of twenty- or thirty-somethings and the restaurant had a European feel. It's definitely a nice place to chat with friends. I enjoyed every dish but would forego the cheese plate and cassoulet next time, trying a terrine or pâté instead.

We finished our meal a bit before 11:00pm and I am so full that I don't know how I will go to sleep.

PS. If you're interested in checking out what music I'm currently listening to, I added a rough version of my mix-CD to yesterday's post. Enjoy! Or feel mellowed out. Probably the latter.