Bistro Bordeaux

Being so obsessed with food and having tried almost every restaurant in the downtown Evanston area, I'm surprised I still haven't tried this place out - until this morning.

Went in for Sunday brunch, and was pretty excited to go. I've tried a few of the other more upscale restaurants in Evanston area - Stained Glass, Quince, etc. - and have for the most part not been disappointed.

I ordered the mussels and the boyfriend ordered cream of mushroom and an eggs benedict with salmon. The soup came out pretty quickly, and although it tasted decent, the small bowl was NOT worth $7.50. Not getting soup here again...

Then came the wait. Waited for over 30 minutes before I got my food. Which I don't get because my dish is pretty much steamed mussels in a light broth and the boyfriend's is a very standard breakfast menu item. Started to get a little frustrated (and hangry), but the waiter was very apologetic and kept checking in with us, which I appreciate.

When the food finally came out, I wasn't necessarily disappointed, but the food was far from stellar. I appreciated the fact that they were very generous with the amount of mussels they gave me (42 to be exact... don't ask me why I was weird enough to count), but the broth itself was bland and pretty flavorless. Didn't try the boyfriend's, and although he said he enjoyed his meal, I could definitely tell he wasn't LOVING it. Finally, my meal came with fries, and the flavor was fine, but they were kinda soggy and floppy.

Gonna take a little bit of convincing to get me back.

My standard for a good French restaurant is Paris....ok, I can't really compare French cuisine in Paris to the US, so I've been in search of something close.  Bistrot Du Coin in DC is the closest I've gotten. It's really hard to find a good French restaurant in Chicago.
Bistro Bordeaux was no exception.

Root vegetable soup - Had chicken in it. What?! If you call it a chicken soup, it's a great chicken soup. But that's not what it was called. Major misnomer.

Steak tartare-Excellent

Mussels-Restaurant Week menu online said this:
Moules Frites à l'Armoricaine aux Chataignes
Prince Edward Island mussels steamed in a lobster & chestnut bisque with
preserve lemon & tomato fondue served with Bistro Bordeaux French fries

At the restaurant, they CHANGED IT to a white wine sauce. Boring. The mussels were good, but I wanted what they said they were going to have. Really disappointed. About 10% of the bunch weren't open, which means they were dead.

The Restuarant week menu online also had this item:
Gnocchis Parisienne
pumpkin flavored French style gnocchi,
served with roasted butternut squash & sage butter

We go to the restaurant and it is not there. So my date ordered an alternative: Poulet Fermier Roti. It was too salty, but still had some good flavor. Hearty dish, and the vegetables were cooked properly.

Bread-they served Italian bread, not French baguette.

Profiteroles-Real profiteroles do not have ice cream in the middle. That's a US thing. The problem with that is that the puff pastry is not fresh. Tasted like they bought these from a restaurant company. The chocolate sauce was good. It was a satisfying desert if I were at Ruby Tuesday's or something of that genre.

I will never go back for the lack of value for the price paid, lack of authenticity, and changing the restaurant week menu to something of lesser value.

I'm not a debbie downer by any means, so let's point out the positives:
Server was good
Ambiance is great
Steak Tartare was delicious

Went for restaurant week with a friend and we each got different things so we could try a vast array of what was offered.

We started with chicken liver froi gras and steak tartar. I didn't care for the liver but my friend loved it and I loved the tartar but she didn't. Win in my book (don't touch my food!)!
For our entrees I got the mussels and she got the skirt steak. Again, I preferred mine and she preferred hers. The mussels were perfectly executed but I found the skirt steak too rare but I'm sure it was perfectly cooked in most peoples' books.
For desert we had the brioche and the creme brulee - both were decadent and amazing.

The service was prompt and friendly but the tables were TOO close and the lighting was horrible. I saw a few people picking up the candles on the table, hovering it over their menus to try and read it.

All in all, I will certainly go back and recommend this place for a special dinner, not for every day dining.