I find that I often enjoy restaurants the most when I don’t pore over their Yelp ratings, scrutinize their menus extensively, and vacillate between one reviewer’s dish recommendation over another.
And so, on a whim, Paul and I decided to try Côté Soleil – a family owned French restaurant a mere block from his home. The diminutive blue awning seemed welcoming enough and we entered into a cozy dining area. The decor was quaint and felt unpretentious. We came on a Wednesday night but a fair number of diners occupied the tables.
Our waiter was direct; when we asked for his recommendation of the best things to try on the menu, he blithely replied that everything was good – he had chosen the items on the menu himself. It wasn’t arrogant, it just was. Nevertheless, he suggested a few favorites that past customers seemed to like. This is what we decided on from their menu:
To Start:
La soupe à l’oignon gratinée – french onion soup gratinée
Le friand au brie – baked brie with honey
The Following:
La bavette à l’échalote – flap steak served with potatoes and salad and shallot sauce w/ green peppercorn sauce
Dessert:
L’île flotante – meringue floating on crème anglaise
Wine:
Cotes du Rhone (Rhône Valley, France)
Verdict:
Truly a lovely experience. I tend to procrastinate when it comes to blogging but here I am writing about my experience on the same night.
We started with soft bread and butter. Our waiter spared no time getting the wine we’d asked him to suggest (and he was handling all the tables). I’m no wine connoisseur but the Cotes du Rhone paired well with our food and had a fine balance of flavors. The french onion soup was straightforward – cheese melted over a flavorful soup with plenty of onions and bread. I thoroughly enjoyed the baked brie. We’d cut into the pastry filled with warm cheese and swirl it in the honey and balsamic; the accompanying side salad just enhanced the taste and provided welcome texture.
With such a promising start, I hoped that I’d be just as impressed with the main courses. They did not disappoint. Paul enjoyed the steak with peppercorn sauce and the bites I tried were quite good. We did wonder how they made their fries because they were seasoned quite well (we eat a lot of fries). The other main course that we had was easily one of the best dishes of our dinner; the braised beef was so tender it could be cut with my spoon and the meat had such a delicious flavor. The ring of mashed potatoes definitely tasted authentic; it was creamy but not perfectly smooth which I liked.
Just as we were about to ask for the check, our waiter asked us if we’d like dessert. We’d never tried a l’île flotante. I loved this dessert and would get it again – not too sweet, not too cold, not too soft. Vincent, as we learned his name was, explained in his French accent that the caramel was homemade and the topping was toasted pistachio.
Final Words:
At the end of the night, I was quite happy with our choice for dinner. Côté Soleil serves traditional homemade French cuisine that is delicious and worth your while (and your budget). Vincent was quite genuine and made us feel very welcome. Paul even spoke about bringing his parents here because they’ve been wanting to try French food. And I’m already thinking about what I’ll when I next visit.