Cafe Touche

Ambiance was great - except I wish they played French music - they were playing country!

Great waitress - knew the menu, very perky, and professional.

Bussers - not great. Not sure who ordered what, bit of spillage delivering soup, didn't come pick up plates when we were done. Had to ask.

Excellent menu. The food was sensational and perfectly prepared. I had the Croque Madame with pomme frites. My mom had the Faux Filet with the same. She started with the soup of the day - roasted red pepper. Finished with the creme brulee and the apricot tart. Would order all of them again.

You get better bussers and French music and I'll give you four stars.

I have eaten here many times and its a mixed bag.  Love the salads, the bread, the potato au gratin and the desserts are awesome.  But I encountered a hostess with an attitude and a waiter who was too busy with another larger party.  And when we got the bill, we were charged for two items we didn't even order.  Really dissapointed.

Quick summary:  4 stars, 4 sure.  Left Cafe Touche wishing we had elastic pants because we were so full of yummy goodness.  Reasonable prices, good service, great ambiance, but very very loud inside.

The story:  I don't know what's wrong with me, but I voluntarily suggested and took the wife to a French restaurant, and frankly I'm starting to worry about myself.  Situated in the bustling little restaurant corridor of Edison Park on Northwest Highway, I was thrilled to find street parking a few doors down from Cafe Touche on a Saturday night.  Having never been here before, I was really struck but how inviting the decor was upon entering, and how much it really did remind me of when the wife and I were in Paris, the high ornamental ceiling, the small intimate tables (which also can be tricky to have all your food on), but what made me an instant fan was the Christmas Story "major award" lamp sitting on the bar; yes, I was sold.  The service was very good, bringing refills, checking on us and clearing plates and.....bringing more bread!!!!  Oh man that bread......mmmmmmmm.  The real only negatives were that once the restaurant fills up, it is incredibly loud in there.  The whole place goes from a romantic Parisian cafe atmosphere to you screaming at your date to see if she likes her food, or in my case me screaming at the wife "are you gonna finish that?"  

The grub:  The bread, the bread, the bread....did I mention the fantastic warm baguette that is brought out?  Apps - Assiette De Fromage - that's a platter o' cheese and stuff for us non French speakers - three types of cheeses with some almonds, dried apricot, grapes, and an apricot jelly and some assorted crackers, all which was great except I could have used some more crackers for the cheese as they only gave about five crackers.  Soup Du Jour - Split pea - flavorful, more liquid than creamy, and since I'm a dipper, that bread went right in.  Entrees - Beef Bourguignon for the wife, and the Touche Burger for me (don't laugh too hard, yes, I got a burger).  The wife's entree was just scrumptious, tender, juicy beef with tasty gratin potatoes.  And the burger....was almost too big for me to finish!   Juicy without being messy, in a lite dressing that brought out the flavor of the meat very well.  Dessert - Apricot Almond Tart - perfect for two, the wife hit the nail on the head when she said "its like a wonderful, gooey, breakfast treat!"

Conclusion:  The wife and I really enjoyed Cafe Touche and left a few pounds heavier, and wallet justifiably lighter, as the food was both superb quality and portion.  Honestly I enjoyed myself more before the decibel level went waaaay up, and I can't give five stars because although it was great, it was not a complete knockout.  But we will definitely return, probably to give lunch a try.  And the best part, although it did remind me of being in Paris, when we left I wasn't actually there, and that's alright by me.