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!"

Rendez-vous in Albany

I went with the photo of the daube, since it turned out the best in the low lighting at Rendez-Vous Cafe-Bistro, our newest favorite restaurant in Albany, CA, but all four of the dishes we tasted this time were outstanding. If you live in the greater Bay area, you gotta try this place!

We ordered the French-style deviled eggs (four halves to a plate), rich with green onion and garlic, for our shared appetizer; I don't know how they made them but if there was mayo in there, it was very, very minimal. They were served on a curving leaf of Boston lettuce with Niçoise olives and cherry tomato wedges on the plate. If you have a more ladylike appetite than I, the eggs alone would make a nice meal.

My Beloved chose the daube, a killer slow-cooked beef stew, topped with crispy onions and mashed potatoes. I ordered the lamb stew, equally deep in flavors; fork-tender lamb mixed with big chunks of hearty fall veggies in an unctuous sauce. My bowl of stew was so generous that I brought home half. Pal Sari had a Croque Monsieur slathered in béchamel sauce. We all tasted all four dishes and they all were pleasure groan-producing, table-pounding, eye-rolling delicious.

Dessert was also wonderful. My Beloved enjoyed his apple crepes with caramel sauce and Sari ordered profiteroles with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch sauce. All three of us sampled these, too, and pronounced them fit for a king and two queens. Add prompt and responsive service by a personable and charming wait staff and reasonable prices, and you have a treat of the first magnitude.

I might also mention that the owner is a tall, handsome, charming Frenchman with a smile capable of making this old gal's heart flutter a bit, a small but distinct bonus. Even Sari, who is more dignified than I in the presence of gorgeous guys, had a rather starstruck look on her face after he visited our table.

After dinner, we strolled up Solano Avenue, settling our dinners before settling in to our seats at the Albany Twin Cinema next door to Rendez-Vous for a showing of "Paris," the new Juliette Binoche movie, which is a feast of a different sort.

Rendez-vous at Rendez-vous

The downturn in the economy has reaped unexpected benefits for me and My Beloved - my retirement portfolio may have shrunk by half over the past year but we scored lunch with daughter Katie, who has been furloughed one day per week. Bummer for her, for sure, although she's grateful still to have her job, but we enjoyed a weekday lunch and a catch-up with her, thanks to a miserable economy.

We agreed to meet at a new-to-us restaurant in Albany, a French-style bistro called Rendez-vous that is actually owned and managed by a guy from France. You'd never guess he's French from his appearance - he's very tall and looks quintessentially, clean-cut American, but as soon as he speaks, I'm tempted to break into my schoolgirl French.

My Beloved and I have eaten there twice now, once for dinner and this time for lunch. Both were very pleasant and the food was formidable! This is not haute cuisine but rather my favorite type of French cooking, just good, plain, well-prepared bistro fare. At dinner there, I had steak and frîtes; this time, for lunch I had mussels and frîtes. Both were good, really good. The frîtes were crisp on the outside, melty-creamy on the inside and sprinkled with fresh parsley, rosemary and (I think) thyme. The mussels were plenty of the tiny ones where one need not fear the occasional "pearl," steamed with some wine and onions in the broth. We didn't taste Katie's choice of pissaladière but she ate the whole thing with relish so I think that's a thumbs up. The portions were plentiful without being obscene and the atmosphere is casual.

Both times, I have noticed that we arrived early to a nearly empty restaurant that filled to capacity in the time we were there - clearly, it's a popular spot. It is located near the corner of Solano and San Pablo Avenues, right next to a movie theater that shows artsy films. I expect a number of customers come for dinner and a show.

The prices are reasonable, too, another bonus in this sour economy. We enjoyed the chance to have lunch with Katie and to hear about her doings - we'll be sure to schedule additional future rendez-vous(es) at Rendez-vous!