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| Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars |
I love French food, and I happened across Cafe de Paris while driving around the city one day. Always eager to try new places, I invited my friend Allen to join me at the restaurant for dinner the next day.
Upon entering, we were greeted by Serge, one of the two chefs at Cafe de Paris. He spoke in a delightful French accent, which instantly made me feel relaxed. (And shall I say, a bit swooned? After all, what girl doesn't like a man with a French accent?!)
The atmosphere was a lot nicer than I expected, and very cozy. The server invited us to choose our seating and took our drink orders. I was pleasantly surprised at the menu items and my eyes were instantly drawn to the Duck Confit. So were Allen's eyes, however, and I decided to choose a Pan Seared Dover Sole "Meuniere Style."
The server brought along bread and butter, and took our orders. The Mussels a la Créme that we ordered as an appetizer were regretfully sold out and we decided to go for the Snails Normandy Style. As soon as the server left, I slathered on a healthy portion of soft butter onto my bread and was surprised to find that left a sweet aftertaste in my mouth. Allen and I couldn't get enough, and we asked our poor server for three servings of that bread and butter.
The service here was excellent and the chef sent out "a little something extra" before our appetizer came out. It was a plate of four grit balls, with a rustic tomato sauce. I raised my eyebrows when it was first brought out, but smiled immediately when I stuffed one into my mouth. The bread crumb coating on the outside provided a nice crunch to the soft inside of the grit ball. Coating the ball with extra sauce, I immediately fell in love. Regretfully, no pictures were taken of these lovely grit balls.
Our appetizer finally arrived. Normally, I eat my snails basted in butter and topped with breadcrumbs. This time they were in the form of snail nachos, which again, looked a bit curious to both Allen and me. The flavor was there but it was a little too drippy for the both of us. I couldn't really wrap my head around the idea of tortilla chips being used for snails.
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| Snails Normandy Style: $12.95 |
Service was a bit slow, but our entrees arrived not too long after. Upon receiving our entrees, the first thing I noticed about my fish was that the plate was huge! The dish was accompanied by two sides; I had chosen sautéed potatoes and cabbage. But the size of the fish was massive. I definitely should have come to this restaurant with a larger appetite. The first bite of my fish filled my mouth with a burst of flavor. There was a subtle lemon bitterness that complimented the juiciness of the fish. The capers only intensified the flavor and I was extremely happy in my choice. The sautéed potatoes reminded me of homestyle fries at a local breakfast joint but I was really pleased with the cabbage, which had a nice texture, not soggy, which added some textural dimension to the dish.
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| Pan Seared Dover Sole: $19 |
I felt the Duck Confit was not as special. However, Allen enjoyed his duck more than he enjoyed his tasting of my fish. I felt that the duck, which was poached in its own fat (mm yum!), offered a lot of flavor, but the skin was disappointing. I was expecting it to have crispy skin that would crunch when I bit down. The potato gratin that was served underneath tasted to me like potato chips with a hint of garlic. In terms of color, I felt the duck was slightly unappealing with its near-black color. Also, at the same price, I felt that my fish was much larger and had more dimensions.
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| Duck Confit: $19 |
I have a sweet tooth, so a dessert was ordered even though my pant buttons were already threatening to burst. We ordered a bread pudding served with crème anglaise and vanilla bean ice cream to share. It was delicious. My spoon cut easily through the warm bread and the ice cream was perfect against the warmth of the creamy sauce and bread pudding. There was a strong cinnamon hint to the pudding that balanced perfectly with the vanilla bean. I would come back just for this dessert! C'est tre bon!
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| Pain Perdu: $7.99 |
Cafe de Paris is a cozy restaurant that I would eat at again. I have heard great things about the lunchtime menu and would love to come and eat a savory crepe served with creamy béchamel sauce. Mmmm! Just thinking about it is getting me hungry again!
Jusqu'à la prochaine fois!
Cafe de Paris
2801 7th Avenue South
Birmingham, AL 35233 (205) 202-4024
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