Blue Windows Bistro

BW participates in Lee County's Restaurant Week with a prix fixe menu to make you roll, rather than stand up, out of your chair.  It's a succulent, savory, sweet, DELICIOUS, perfectly prepared and presented repast.  

We enjoyed a tangy, Asian shrimp app, cool gazpacho, filet mignon a point in red wine/mushroom sauce, lettuce with a balsamic spritz, and qumquat pie.  Yes! Tiny chunks of tart fruit hide in Chef Christian's recipe, resembling key lime pie.  Also at the table was a creme brule, with its alchohol lit a table by the waiter, who can coo in French until the low, blue dessert flame burns deep into your heart.

Thanks John & Clara for making the evening so enjoyable.  Here's another round of applause for Christian and Mari for their Blue Windows' genius.

Profoundly disappointing, $160 bucks straight down a disposal..

I waited a while to write what I knew would be a poor review to see if my negative impressions might soften with time.  If you check my reviews you will see this is my first bad one.  I say that as a prelude to noting I am a dissenting vote in the company of adoring fans who seem to be inexplicably thrilled about this place.  Perhaps being the singular French restaurant currently in Lee County does not invite proper critique since there is nothing to compare it to.

Over the 35 years my wife and I have lived in this area, we have seen several very fine French restaurants come and go, like Michele et Michelle and Peter's La Cuisine, for example.  Now, enter Blue Windows Bistro.  With rave reviews, how could we not rush to go try it?

I called the owner  to make sure he was not catering that night as the website instructed, and to ask about bringing my own wine since I have a nice collection of properly cellared  wines .  He said corkage would be $20.  That may be par for the course in New York or San Fran, but it's a very stiff fee for these parts.  However, I figured once he saw the extreme rarity of what I would bring in he would probably comp the corkage, especially after sending him a glass to the kitchen like I usually do on first visits to new places.   Not that I expect it, it's just how it normally goes for us when the owner or manager recognizes the rarity of the vino we bring and how much food we order.

The place was busy upon arrival, usually a good sign.  It was cramped,  tables were small and the atmosphere was super plain vanilla, but it was the food we came for so that didn't deter us  Our poorly situated reserved  table was  just elbows away from our neighbors. We still remained open minded.

As we normally do on first visits, we ordered about a third of the menu.  Our girl server couldn't answer most of our questions but said she would find out .  Okay I said, "While you're at it,  would you please take these two rare wines back to the kitchen and show the owner?"  "Please ask if he would consider charging just one corkage fee of $20 for both of them. And tell him he will get a full glass of each!"  That seemed like a reasonable request to me and I was sure he would come out brake dancing after seeing what I had brought. One was a '89 Leroy Pommard Les Vignots.  The other was a '86 Ch. Mouton Rothschild.  If you know wines, you know how insanely rare and impossible those wines are to come by now and what they would cost at auction.

What was his response?  "The owner says absolutely not, corkage will be $20 each!  He says, there will be no discounts at this house."  She seemed quite uncomfortable having to tell us that.  I reassured her it was not her problem, and all was okay.  She then went on to explain she only worked there one day a week and really didn't know as much as the other people.

A review of their so called "wine list" sheds some light on that unexpected response, it contained domains I never heard of, and they all came WITHOUT a single vintage designation.  And all were very pricey.

Okay, we decided that $20 bucks it would be, to drink our super rare ' 86 Mouton (by ourselves.) We'd just return the ultra rare Pommard to 55º in the Vinoteque back home.

That  episode shook our  server girl and a new obviously French guy showed up, whose name I think was "Jacque."  No explanation about why there was a sudden change in servers, it was an awkward moment.

Okay, fast forward to the dinner..  

The Frog legs Provencal were poached or steamed and placed directly on a dollop of poor tasting tomato puree...highly unappetizing.  A bite from each of us and we were done with that abomination.

The signature dish, the Pave de Boeuf aux Champignons was bitter and improperly prepared.  We came to the conclusion they never cooked all the alcohol off.  A few bites and we were done with that. as well.

The worst disappointment of all were the sweet breads, a dish we adore when we find it.  It was ruined with more salt than Lot's wife could withstand.  

We had several other dishes I have since forgotten, none of which were worthy of mention.  In the end, I should have sent all but the soup and bread back, but due to my normal reluctance to do so, they hit us for the full bill, even though we ate almost nothing of what they brought to the table.

First time in my life I ever tipped less than ten per cent.  Was eager to exit that place quickly.  In our haste to do so, the server had to run us down in the parking lot to tell me I forgot to sign the bill.  That was another very awkward moment.

P. S.  Look at the owner's catering photos and cooking videos to discover what an amateur he really is.  But somehow he seems to have the fans, I'm still scratching my head over that.  Boy, do we ever need a REAL French restaurant in Ft. Myers again!  In the meantime we go to La Lafayette in Naples when we have the urge.

Well ... that was breathtaking.

The duo has been awe struck on only a couple of occasions, i.e. Le Bernardain, WD-50 ... add to that list Blue Windows Bistro.

The second we walked in to the charming and warm Bistro we were greeted by Chef Christian's wife and partner Mari with a smile and a warm hello. As she whisked us away to our 'romantic' table we couldn't help but take in all of the lovely details in this quaint space.

We began the meal with an olive tapenade laced with spice.  It was fantastic but I imagine it would work marvelously on grilled crostini. The menu was small but that made it all the more difficult to decide between the appetizer and entree. I had the Pate de Champagne- described as a country-style terrine.  It was described perfectly.  The flavors and texture were wonderful.  Chris chose the frogs legs (note: we were stuck deciding between the frogs legs, veal sweetbreads, and a lobstergot.) I kid you not when I state that Chris was almost cleaning the dish with his tongue, a trend that would continue throughout the meal.  The sauce was rich and amazing and the 'meat' just fell right off the bone.    

As we were enjoying our bottle of Chateauneuf Du Pap and the wonderful server T.R. cleared what was left of our apps we couldn't help but imagine what was in store for our entrees. much to our surprise we were served a crisp and refreshing green salad .. on a chilled plate nonetheless.

You might be wondering why we would include what some might think of as a mundane detail of the meal. Well, this was what our experience was all about at BWB ... the details. A completely unpretentious, home like meal which we look forward to enjoying again and again.

Before we knew it, our entrees were upon us. The better half of the duo had chosen to go with the Sole & Shrimp Beurre Blanc and I went with the blue plate special of Magret al Orange (a kick ass duck breast). As chef Christian likes, he pairs each meal with the featured sides of the evening. We enjoyed the most spectacular haricot vert and corn salad (which I begged and pleaded for the recipe for to no avail) as well as boiled potatoes with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Thank you for the caviar on the potatoes -- a touch to be remembered.

The sole and shrimp did not stand a chance as it was meticulously devoured. The beurre blanc was creamy yet smooth adding the rich complexities of a divine dish. As for the Duck Breast, another superb dish which is nearly too wonderful to describe. I made it very easy for them to clean our plates as I did most of the cleaning with all the bread I could find.

A testament to Chef and his crew of 3 (we think) ... the sauces, as to be expected in fine French Cuisine were spectacular. Absolutely, 100% perfection.

Not to be short but we have taken up lots of your time already. Our desserts, the lavender infused creme brulee and the poached pear with vanilla ice cream and chocolate gran marnier sauce were ... you guessed it, stupendous.

All in all folks ... come here. Now. Repeat and Repeat and Repeat until you have enjoyed everything on this menu and then try it all again. Not one stone goes unturned in this gem of a Bistro.

There is not a better meal in all of Ft. Myers.