date: 3/21/06
location: minneapolis
grade:b-feels odd writing this on the day dara in city pages writes a glowing review of the place. she had nothing but a lovely time with lovely food there. we weren't so lucky. whereas some things were indeed praise-worthy the five of us felt that it didn't live up to expectations, nor did it live up to the past. of the five of us, three had been there in its previous incarnation, and i've been to the lounge twice. the first time it was a special wine tasting dinner, and it was fabulous. the second time was for my birthday and i was disappointed.
some people asked about my grading system, so i added a note on the main sole food page. in this case, i am comparing la belle vie with the best possible la belle vie it could be, but also against the previous incarnation. i don't know if i was made more disappointed because this used to be my favorite restaurant (until vincent's came around). none of really had plans to go to the dining room again, and the person who had planned to go next month for a birthday will be headed elsewhere to do so. other places in town do the same thing better, alas...
the setting before: convivial, intimate, warm, cozy, friendly. a place where you could go for a high end business dinner, sure, but also a special dinner out with one or more friends.
what we experienced: the dining area is high end, lots of white, cold, businesslike. the tables are huge and hard to talk across, so it's hard to hear anyone who isn't sitting next to you. a place for business people who really like wearing suits. the lounge is slightly less cold, but it's also heard to hear anyone who sitting next to you. and the bathrooms are so out of place, heading towards tacky and poorly planned. apparently someone was almost taken out with a door when they were at a sink when we were there.
the service before: excellent, probably the best in town. most good service is genuine and somewhat unobtrusive. in many cases the best is when you get what you need before you ask for it. servers were knowledgeable without being overbearing.
what we experienced: i thought the service was slightly creepy. well, the main server. too much close talking and they kept joining in our conversations. when the food was hitting the table, there were many servers coming at us from all angles each describing the dish, though sometimes we got told by two people what was in each dish, sometimes we were not told at all. we had problems getting bread and water to the table when we needed it, and at least one of the servers either could not hear or understand us or something, or ignored us. either way, not good. someone waited for a while to get checked in, and when they were it was done by a waiter (they were told the hosts were goofing around). i had to wait a few minutes before i found someone who could get my coat from the coat check. there were a few nice touches, like amuse bouche and mini-desserts for free. the bartender was an exception- the most attentive staff memeber of the night, doing things like offering to upgrade a patron's glass of wine to small pours for free when they ordered the tasting menu.
the menu before: a variety of dishes at a few different price points, with at least a few vegetarian options.
what we experienced: higher end price points, no main course vegetarian options, and ok... if there's a cheese plate that you can order that you wanted warmed to room temperature, it would be nice if it was on a menu someplace that said that. in this case you can order it, though it's not on the menu. then they apologized that it was not room temperature. that lacks a certain logic. other people must have ordered this. i don't get this at all. the wine list had varied price points (we ended up with a decent cotes du rhone). also, if you want the tasting menu, everyone has to order it. so ok... apparently there's a vegetarian tasting menu. why not pull a dish or two off that and stick it on the regular menu, or at least let the servers know that
those are options?the food before: humble or complicated, appetizer to dessert, it was all pretty great.
what we experienced: a mixed bag. there was some overlap of ordering, so there's not five per category, in case you were keeping track.
starters: the rabbit, braised, with red wine risotto, porcini, and robbiola croquettes first course was maybe average. it was overdone and bland. the roasted beet salad with parmesan panna cotta in a walnut-orange vinaigrette was excellent, with but the warm goat cheese tart with tomato confit and tapenade vinaigrette... salad... was not a tart. it was more napoleonlike (ok, it reminded me of crackers with cheese stacked up). when it says tart on the menu, i think... goat cheese in a crust of some sort. the beef carapaccio with artichokes, black truffle, and horseradish emulsion was also good- especially the sauces.
main courses: the foie gras 'tagine' was ok also, but the texture was a bit odd and the sesame seeds it was covered in didn't help any. it had a apricot nice sauce though. it suffered in comparison to the foie gras prep in the lounge, on grilled bread with bitter orange marmalade (which was also cheaper... we had this before we started dinner, along with the best homemade potato chips you will ever eat in your life with truffle cream sauce). the vegetarian among us ended up with the 'duck preparation without the duck.' yes, the cheese potatoes and brussel sprouts and such were among the best of cheese potatoes, but as a dinner, well, it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi (hey, it's a french place). the bouillabaisse was the star of the main courses, with sea bass, shrimp, mussels, clams, and a tasty, tasty broth. though in such an elegant setting, you may get to feeling odd with food that messy.
dessert: most people split the mango tasting- mango done up several different ways, with cilantro foam somewhere in the deal to boot. there was one odd gelatinous thing, but the rest of it was all that. the chocolate semi freddo in a smoked chocolate soup was all that and more, i was told. me, i went for the aforementioned nonexistent cheese plate, in case anyone doubted it (i did share. a bit.). i think that the description was the best we've ever gotten on a cheese plate (done by a previously unseen person), so points for that. there were five cheese, i triple cream goat's milk, a roquefort, and three others that i can't look up because, hey, they're not on their online menu either. a nice selection, lovely cheeses. however. when we got the cheese plate at the tasting in november, they had a better presentation with nuts and balsamic reduction, quince paste and such. this time, just quince paste. they left a bread basket that time, here we had bread confusion. i did talk some people into the gewurztraminer ice wine, and they were happy i did.
how to enjoy yourself at la belle vie before: go there with any amount of people, order anything.
what we experienced: go to the lounge. order foie gras on grilled bread and the potato chips with a glass of the gewurztraminer ice wine, and if you're getting a cheese plate let them know then. order any dessert you please. try to avoid the restrooms, do not check your coat, do not go with more than one person.
© The bent sun as risen