As you might have guessed, if you’ve read… anything else I’ve ever reviewed, I like unfussy restaurants. And while the democratization of fine dining has enabled me to express my gluttony in sweat pants, french food has always seemed to resist the movement towards letting the plebs in. Because nothing screams fine dining like having some French peasant sneer at you because he can read the menu
Bergerac doesn’t do that.
Down in Milwaukieis a great little restaurant. Busy, but never loud – Excellent wines, serviceable cocktails, and friendly, welcoming staff. And some of the best food in SE.
Bay scallops –seared bay scallops, fennel & saffron sauce vierge, dill, spicy apple slices, arugula .
These were some wee scallops, but damn they were good. And perfectly cooked, which is no small feat when they’re the size of mini-marshmallows. Fuckers will be chewy as a new condom if you turn your back on ’em The spicy apple chip is a bit of a non-sequitor – sweet, with a bit of chili powder and paprika. It doesn’t really fit in to everything else, but taken by itself is tasty.
Pear salad – gf warm poached pear, french blue cheese cream, arugula, hazelnuts, pear reduction
This one is fuckin’ baller. I’m not a big fan o’ the fillbert, but the toasted halzelnut flavor and a bit of crunch really brings everything together. The dressing is light, just enough to remind you it’s there, without overpowering everything else. Hard recommend
Confit de Canard gf.df cured & slow cooked duck, garlic parsley potatoes, green beans, onion jam
What doesn’t taste better slowly cooked in it’s own fat? Not exactly a Spring dish, but I wanted duck and taters. So I got duck and taters. And you know what? It was fucking great.
Poisson du Jour gf. e leeks & potato soubise, creamy fish broth, asparagus, snow peas, young carrots, smoked garlic, fried shallots mp
And that day’s fish was halibut. I’d comment more, but I didn’t really get to try any. Which speaks for itself, really.
You should definitely save room for dessert – pear belle helene, chocolate mousse, a killer pear tart, and what I’m pretty sure is house made ice cream. At least they get it from somewhere good.
If you’re down south, you should check it out, for the halibut.
www.bergeracpdx.com