A New Food Affair

The best remedy for a sad love affair is a new one which is better.

A Food Affair is the perfect antidote to my grief of bad owner attitude and a revolving chef in residence from my formerly favorite French bistro. I had to keep eating out until I found a better combination of food and service.

Tonight I found the perfect neighborhood French bistro. Not only is the food superb, but the couple who own it are professionals who know how to be personable. This place only opened 4 months ago, but from my experience tonight, they will be here for as long as they wish to be.

This is truly a place for a friendly feast, and BYOB with no corkage means you can enjoy your meal with your favorite wine.

They offer nice rustic bread, butter and olives on the table.

I started with a charred romaine salad with crispy pancetta, blue cheese, pomegranate seeds and roasted bosc pear for $8 that could have been a meal in and of itself. Great combination of flavors and lovely presentation.

I chose the Boeuf Bourguignon for $18 which came with wild mushrooms, paparadelle, pearl onions, turkey bacon and carrots that was so perfectly done, I don't think I will ever go to the trouble of making it myself again. The portion was so generous that I ended up taking half of it home.

I tried the Bouillabaise another night and it invoked memories of Nice with fragrant fennel, leeks and grape tomatoes in a light seafood broth. The fish and seafood were cooked perfectly and I highly recommend this dish to anyone who wants something filling yet light.

For dessert my eyes immediately went to the Tahitian Vanilla crème brûlée which was absolutely perfect with the lightly burnt sugar topping and the creamy vanilla custard.

Even though I was full, I still wanted to taste a chocolate dessert, so Babette (one of the owners) suggested the 3 chocolate terrine since it would pack to go nicely if I couldn't finish it (I took half of it home). The other owner is the chef, Christian, who came out and greeted every diner, making sure everything tasted as good as it looked.

They source as many of their ingredients locally and organically as possible, so you can rest assured that they are not skimping on quality. Since they still cater, they are only open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, so stop by and enjoy a taste of rustic French cuisine without having to endure any jet lag :)