French Week

This seems to be my week for things French. First, my trip to the city to see the Stein family exhibit of (mostly) French artists at SFMOMA. Then a friend recommended and I purchased a copy of "The Paris Wife." Yesterday, when My Beloved came home to find that we had a power outage, he suggested going to see "Midnight in Paris." And, right next door the the Albany Twin theatres, where the movie is playing, is Rendez-Vous, one of our favorite French restaurants.

You'd like Rendez-Vous. It serves French bistro cooking, as opposed to haute cuisine. Bistro cooking is peasant food that has migrated to the city - paté de campagne rather than paté de fois gras. Lots of stews and soups. It's homey food, for the most part, a little hearty and almost always served with wine, usually the house red or white, rather than vintage wines. It's not fancy, but the food is solidly good. And when the #%*!ing fog won't go away for weeks on end, it's very welcome.

It's often less expensive food, as well, and Rendez-Vous embraces that tradition. My daube, their signature dish, was $17, as are the rack of lamb, the steak frites, the mussels and frites, and several other entrées. I don't think anything is over $20. The daube, and My Beloved's chicken with mushrooms, came with mashed potatoes. The stew also had tender carrots and little crisped onions. The house red was fruit-forward and smooth - it goes down easily.

While we were at dinner, My Beloved suggested that we go to Paris to celebrate my 65th birthday next year. I think it's time I brushed up on my French, but I do know how to say "Oui! Oui!"