La pomme espagnole

I’m warning you, this entry is not about Spanish food. I know, this is a blog about Spanish food and I’m writing about something else? I’m a terrible blogger. But this week was restaurant week in Madrid, and that means half-priced dinners at over 100 restaurants around the city. To be honest, I was feeling tired of Spanish food, and I just wanted the comfort of a dinner prepared by my mother.

Lucky for me, I can find something similar (though never as good) in any French gourmet restaurant. Unfortunately, that’s rarely an option for someone working on a teacher’s assistant salary. So I thought what better than restaurant week to go and splurge a little on some upscale French food? I did some searching, and found this great little place called Le Petit Bistrot Madrid.

picture from www.lepetitbistrot.net

Le Petit Bistrot has the exact feel of a typical French bistro. For those of you not in the know, this means simplistic décor, wooden floors, and lots of wine. A good bistro must have a decent wine list. As soon as I opened up the Le Petit Bistrot’s menu, I got really excited. There were so many delicious dishes to choose from! I opted for a salmon tartar with mango and pesto to start, followed by duck filet with apricots and potatoes. I was also really excited about A’s choice of the escargot appetizer and steak tartar dish.

The first courses arrived, and my first thought was: “I’m jealous, I was to trade appetizers!” I LOVE escargot. It really made me miss my mom’s garlic butter and parsley escargot. This one was ALMOST the same, but I think perhaps the cook forgot to add salt. With a pinch of added salt it became perfect!

My salmon tartar with mango and pesto sauce was not as exciting. Actually, it was disappointing. I think it was a combination of bland salmon and the flavourless mango. It had a lot of potential, but it was just lacking a boost of flavour that could have come from riper mangoes, or better quality salmon.

Luckily, our main courses totally made up for the lackluster salmon. My duck was amazing. Cooked to perfection, nicely juicy, and accompanied by some yummy little potatoes. I loved how they brought the whole sauté pan to the table so I could enjoy it freshly off the stove! A’s steak tartar was seasoned to perfection. They even brought out a little spoonful ahead of time to make sure it was seasoned to his taste.  Very classy!

This was a very enjoyable experience, and I left happily full of yummy French food. I do love discovering Spanish food, and it is truly wonderful, but I think that my heart will always be with the French (the food, not the people!). Thank you Le Petit Bistrot for taking me back home for an evening