Cafe Provencal in Kirkwood 5-22-2021

 Mike and I enjoy French food.  I don't know why we've never tried Cafe Provencal before.  Maybe because when we wanted French food we always went to the same place (Bar les Freres in Clayton).  But it has been "temporarily" closed by the pandemic.  So, we tried some place new and it was delightful.

We arrived at our reservation time of 6 p.m.  It was lovely outside and they have expanded their outdoor seating into the grass around the restaurant.  The hostess asked us if we wanted to sit inside or out.  Mike said outside...but not in the grass.  So, we were seated on the regular patio area under an awning.  It was very nice.  

The menu is small but we both chose to the the pre fix menu of 3 items for $35.  You can choose from soups, appetizers, salads, entrees, and desserts.  You just can't choose more than one entrée.  

Mike and I began the evening with a cocktail...nothing special there and ordered a bottle of French wine.  Their wine list isn't published online, so I had to do research at the restaurant (on my phone) which I don't like doing in front of other people (I feel like it's rude to be on my phone at the table) and I feel rushed.  I had a difficult time picking one because none of them scored very well on my wine app.  Mike finally picked on (after I'd narrowed it down).  It was a Bordeaux called Clarendelle.  It was fine, nothing special but kind of pricey.  

I was thinking about this later in the evening...I think over the years Mike and my wine tastes have definitely changes.  We used to consider ourselves "Old World" wine drinkers.  We liked wine from France, Spain, and Italy.  But it has been quite a while since we've had French wine and it really didn't impress me.  We still like a good Italian wine but we are much more open to California wines these days.  It is surprising how much more complex they can be than these wines that were supposed to be so much better!

Mike and I both started our meal with French onion soup.  It is one of our favorites and when someone makes it well (the old fashioned way with lots of slowly cooked onions in butter and wine) we are super happy.  The soup was very good.  It was super hot and took some time to cool down and actually eat.  One of our complaint (if you could call it a complaint) is that the portion was actually too big.  It would have been a great size for a lunch portion where you were having it with a side salad and that's it.  We both commented on the fact that we wanted to finish it but knew that we were not going to be able to finish our entrees (which we didn't).  

For his main entrée, Mike had steak and frites.  The steak was covered in béarnaise sauce.  The frites were cut very thin and were crispy and salty.  His dinner also came with some roasted vegetables. He said the steak was oh, so, tender!

I had grilled rainbow trout topped with herb butter.  It was good but you know, there is only so much you can do with trout...it doesn't have much flavor.  On the side were some really wonderful potatoes gratin.  They were layered with onions and I believe had some sort of cheese baked on top.  They were super yummy!  I, too, had the roasted veggies.  

For dessert I had crème brulee and Mike had chocolate mousse.  Both were small and just right to top off the meal with the end of the bottle of wine. 

(sorry, I can't find my photo of Mike's chocolate mousse...I think I accidentally deleted it)

It was a lovely dinner.  I have no idea what the inside of the restaurant looks like, but if you want to try some good French food and it's nice outside, I'd recommend Café Provençal.