http://www.lepapillon.com/
More than a year after receiving the gift certificate, we were finally able to try it! My mom and Ray took Eliana for the night, and we were ready for our date. When we showed up to Le Papillon, the bar was full with young people. We were a little surprised because we remembered it having an older crowd, more of an "early bird" type. We were immediately seated in a nice quiet corner. The dining area of the restaurant wasn't too busy, but our reservation was at 6:00, so I guess that's to be expected.
Our server was nice and knowledgeable, but seemed a little new to the job. The decor of the restaurant was out-dated; it had more of a nice restaurant in the 80s feel, not a fancy restaurant in the 2000s.
Soon after we looked over our menus and decided to order from the menu, rather than do the tasting menu, our server brought out an amuse bouche. Yum! It was a vegetable and goat cheese Napoleon, with beets and other veggies. It was a small bite of deliciousness. Immediately after clearing the Napoleon plate, she brought another amuse bouche! This was a bite of melt-in-your-mouth foie gras.
And then, a third amuse bouche! This was a little yogurt ball surrounded in ouzo. To the side was pickled cucumber and on top was pickled lime. When you bit into it, the yogurt burst into your mouth. Very tasty. The pickled foods added a nice touch. Jeff doesn't typically go for pickled foods, but certainly enjoyed this little bite.
I felt so spoiled by the three surprise amuse bouches at the start, I couldn't wait for more surprises.
For appetizers, I ordered the Pan Seared Maine Day Boat Scallops with Hazelnut Polenta and Preserved Lemon. The server let me know the scallops aren't cooked all the way through, so I asked for them to be cooked a little extra. It was a tasty dish. I especially loved the Hazelnut Polenta (I'm a sucker for hazelnut). But, having it cooked extra certainly didn't help the dish. Slightly undercooked would have made it taste a lot better. I only ate one of the scallops.
Jeff ordered the Foie Gras Two Ways appetizer, hot and cold. It ended up being foie gras three ways. He loved the warm foie gras and wanted more. The cold foie gras he really liked but was a little too salty. The third way was a cappuccino foie gras... interesting... He didn't really like this one at all. He took a couple of sips and decided it wasn't worth finishing.
Next, I had the Sugar Snap Pea Soup with Roasted Button Shitake Mushrooms. YUMMY! This was absolutely delicious. The peas tasted fresh, like they had just been picked from the garden. The Shitake mushrooms added a nice chewy texture and flavor to the soup. I slurped this fast and wanted more.
Jeff had the Lobster Bisque with a Mousse. He should have ordered the pea soup. I could smell the fishy smell of the soup from across the table, and it wasn't too appetizing. Jeff didn't like it, so I didn't venture a taste. Needless to say, he did not finish the dish.
For my entree, I had the Pan Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Maitake Mushrooms, Potato Gratin and Roast Plum. Wow! Yum! On the right side of the dish, you can see they also included a bone marrow ravioli. Hmmm... I had a little taste and gave the rest to Jeff. It was surprisingly good. A very rich creamy texture. And on the left side is a candied date. Sweet and yummy! This dish was fantastic! It was prepared perfectly - cooked slightly more than medium-rare, slightly less than medium. The meat melted in my mouth. The Maitake mushrooms added a nice earthy flavor and interesting spongy texture. The potato gratin was amazing - thinly sliced fried potatoes with melted cheese. In my eyes, this was a perfect dish. In fact, my mouth is watering as I think about it.
They allowed Jeff to order his entree off the tasting menu (which was too much food for me). He ordered the 24 Hour Missouri Wagyu Tri Tip with Oxtail Dumpling, Pot-au-Feu Broth. Sounds delicious to me! Jeff loved it and finished every last bit of meat and drop of sauce. He wasn't willingly to share a bite with me. On the back left is a pea souffle, and on the back right is the oxtail dumpling. Fancy!
After we finished dinner, we looked at the dessert menu. Nothing jumped out to us, so we ended up going to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream :) Le Papillon had a banquet room behind where we were sitting and some type of award office party was going on. Everyone was loud and having a good time. When we left, the bar was completly empty, and we realized everyone that was in the bar when we showed up was part of the office party. In reality, the bar at Le Papillon is not a happening place on a Saturday night.
Although the decor has not been updated in awhile, the food is traditional French (escargot is on the menu!) while still being modern and fun. We had a fantastic dinner and would definitely go back.
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