L'ARDOISE BISTRO | FIRST TIME TRYING FRENCH CUISINE

Hi everyone!

So I am finally getting around to post about where I went for my birthday dinner - super belated dinner. I used my phone to take the pictures and because it was really dark in the restaurant, I feel like I didn't get the best pictures, but I assure you...the food is good!

We went to a French restaurant in San Francisco called L'Ardoise Bistro.  I never really thought about eating French food because I was always so intimidated by what to order or what the cuisine really consisted of. So this was the first time I've really had French food and I was super excited to try it!

Being the average english speaking American, I had no idea how to pronounce half of the stuff on the menu or even the name of the restaurant itself. Apparently, "L'Ardoise" is pronounced "LARD-WAZZ." And the only thing I really knew how to say was escargot, I know, it's sad.

The restaurant itself is small and intimate. It's dimly lit (meaning dim photos, womp womp).  Since it is a little bit on the smaller side, I recommend making reservations so you don't have to wait a really long time if you go when it's busy.

Here is what we ordered: 

Terrine de Foie Gras - This was the first time I ever had Foie Gras, so I really didn't know what I was looking at when the plate arrived. Hence why all you see in the picture is toasted bread, rather than the foie gras itself. So for those of you who don't know, this is the liver of either a duck or goose that is fattened up and served to you. It was surprisingly delicious! I never would have thought that I would like duck liver. The texture of it is really soft and a little slimy but really tasty. We spread jam onto the brioche and placed the foie gras on top and sprinkled some salt on top. REALLY DELICIOUS.

Here is it on my toasted brioche:

Escargots en Gueusaille - So escargot is cooked snail. This one was cooked pretty interestingly, the snails didn't come in the shell itself. They took the snails out and served it inside a fried potato cup. Outside is a parsley and garlic cream sauce. I really liked dipping the snail into the sauce but the I didn't eat it with the potatoes in one bite because it took the taste away from the snail itself.

Traditional Duck Leg Confit - YES PLEASE. So let me just read you the description - cooked 7 hours in its own fat. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty good to me. And indeed it was. Because the duck is cooked for 7 hours, it is very tender and the meat falls right off the bone. The outer skin was crispy and tasted really good with the garlic sauce from the potatoes. The only thing I found out of place was the potato chips, maybe because I'm not a big fan of chips - I didn't like them with my entree too much.

Black Angus Filet Mignon - Of course, my dear boyfriend ordered yet again, a steak. What else is new? You may be able to tell from the picture, this was a very petite steak. However, the meat was cooked perfectly to a medium rare and was very very tender. Just the way I like it. I really liked the sauce the steak was topped with. This was my kind of steak - not too big so I can finish it and tasted amazing!

We were so full we skipped out on dessert. We did order a cup of cappuccino just because we didn't have our caffeine yet for the day. I know most Italians would shake their heads at us, but luckily we're in a French restaurant!

Overall, I really enjoyed my dinner. Everything was cooked really well and tasted really good. Considering this was my first real French dinner - I will be more open about going to try more French food now!

xo

Michelle