320 W Johnson St.
3 Adjectives: entertaining, cozy, elegant.
Price:
app (6-12) entree (16-34)
Authenticity:
Atmosphere:
Overall:
Other Opinions: tripadvisor, gaylot, yelp, madisonatoz ...
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I thought Le Chardonnay would be a good restaurant to talk about as a "back to school" review since it will be opening soon from a hiatus that the owner takes every August. As the name implies, the restaurant serves mostly fancy French food with a Tunisian bent (the country where the chef is from). However, don't let the Frenchness scare you away; although there are daring dishes such as the escargot, there are also less adventurous but just as tasty foods such as chicken in white wine sauce.
Since the menu is very pricey, the only times I have been to Le Chardonnay are during their all you can eat mussels and fries Tuesdays, on Valentine's Day (by mistake- an interesting story if you ask), and during the most recent Restaurant Week, where they offered a filling three course meal of their delicious food for $25.
The interior of Le Chardonnay feels nice and comfy. Upon walking inside, you will see rows of elegantly plated tables and a nice open kitchen on your right. Usually you can see the hardworking chef and owner, Sami Fgaier wearing his classic red bandanna, busy cooking with the many other cooks - no wonder he takes that vacation of his. He's a really friendly guy and may come to your table to ask about your meal.
The Tuesday night (and newly expanded to encompass Thursday nights as well) specials are an amazing gem if you like all you can eat moules frites (mussels and fries) for $19 or are willing to try plates of mussels and crispy shoestring golden fries. During any meal, you are first given baguette with a delicious curry carrot spread. However save your stomach for the best part of the menu: the mussels. The mussels are ordered the day they serve them so they taste fresh and I have discovered that mussels served in other restaurants are simply a far cry from those of Le Chardonnay. Le Chardonnay serves their mussels in many sauces on a rotating basis of four sauces every week. Their standard is a saffron cream sauce, Marinières, (my favorite) and it is on the menu every week. However, other sauces I have tried have been tomato based, cream based, and even curry (delicious) and barbecue based. The fries also have a tasty dip that accompanies them. This is a great activity to go to in a group and challenge each other on how many plates (generally 12ish) of moules you can consume. If you have a large group, be sure to call ahead and tell them you are competing. I recently challenged a group of friends to beat Le Chardonnay's previous record of 16 plates (though Chef Sami told me that guy never returned) and two of the guys to my great astonishment ate 17 and 18 plates (along with plenty of fries and baguette) and they've pledged to return. So for those of you googling the Official Le Chardonnay Mussels Record: it's 18 plates, folks. Top that.
The rest of the menu is generally delicious. On my trip for Restaurant Week, I ate the Julia Child Salade Niçoise, grilled chicken with a sherry cream sauce, and the tiramisu. The grilled chicken was the highlight of the meal. The meat was extremely tender and complemented well with the savory sherry sauce and grapes. Also, although I can not remember my dishes as well on a previous Valentine's Day, I do remember that meal as the tastiest Valentine's Day special I have had in town. Given the phenomenal food at the special occasions I have gone to Le Chardonnay, I am sure the regular menu is just as spectacular.
I would highly recommend paying the extra dollars and going to Le Chardonnay for the Tuesday/Thursday night all you can eat moules frites for those of you adventurous enough to try it. In addition, don't miss out on their regular menu, especially if you are able to snag a table during Restaurant Week.
3 Adjectives: entertaining, cozy, elegant.
Price:
app (6-12) entree (16-34)Authenticity:
Atmosphere:
Overall:
Other Opinions: tripadvisor, gaylot, yelp, madisonatoz ...
---
I thought Le Chardonnay would be a good restaurant to talk about as a "back to school" review since it will be opening soon from a hiatus that the owner takes every August. As the name implies, the restaurant serves mostly fancy French food with a Tunisian bent (the country where the chef is from). However, don't let the Frenchness scare you away; although there are daring dishes such as the escargot, there are also less adventurous but just as tasty foods such as chicken in white wine sauce.
Since the menu is very pricey, the only times I have been to Le Chardonnay are during their all you can eat mussels and fries Tuesdays, on Valentine's Day (by mistake- an interesting story if you ask), and during the most recent Restaurant Week, where they offered a filling three course meal of their delicious food for $25.
The interior of Le Chardonnay feels nice and comfy. Upon walking inside, you will see rows of elegantly plated tables and a nice open kitchen on your right. Usually you can see the hardworking chef and owner, Sami Fgaier wearing his classic red bandanna, busy cooking with the many other cooks - no wonder he takes that vacation of his. He's a really friendly guy and may come to your table to ask about your meal.
The Tuesday night (and newly expanded to encompass Thursday nights as well) specials are an amazing gem if you like all you can eat moules frites (mussels and fries) for $19 or are willing to try plates of mussels and crispy shoestring golden fries. During any meal, you are first given baguette with a delicious curry carrot spread. However save your stomach for the best part of the menu: the mussels. The mussels are ordered the day they serve them so they taste fresh and I have discovered that mussels served in other restaurants are simply a far cry from those of Le Chardonnay. Le Chardonnay serves their mussels in many sauces on a rotating basis of four sauces every week. Their standard is a saffron cream sauce, Marinières, (my favorite) and it is on the menu every week. However, other sauces I have tried have been tomato based, cream based, and even curry (delicious) and barbecue based. The fries also have a tasty dip that accompanies them. This is a great activity to go to in a group and challenge each other on how many plates (generally 12ish) of moules you can consume. If you have a large group, be sure to call ahead and tell them you are competing. I recently challenged a group of friends to beat Le Chardonnay's previous record of 16 plates (though Chef Sami told me that guy never returned) and two of the guys to my great astonishment ate 17 and 18 plates (along with plenty of fries and baguette) and they've pledged to return. So for those of you googling the Official Le Chardonnay Mussels Record: it's 18 plates, folks. Top that.
The rest of the menu is generally delicious. On my trip for Restaurant Week, I ate the Julia Child Salade Niçoise, grilled chicken with a sherry cream sauce, and the tiramisu. The grilled chicken was the highlight of the meal. The meat was extremely tender and complemented well with the savory sherry sauce and grapes. Also, although I can not remember my dishes as well on a previous Valentine's Day, I do remember that meal as the tastiest Valentine's Day special I have had in town. Given the phenomenal food at the special occasions I have gone to Le Chardonnay, I am sure the regular menu is just as spectacular.
I would highly recommend paying the extra dollars and going to Le Chardonnay for the Tuesday/Thursday night all you can eat moules frites for those of you adventurous enough to try it. In addition, don't miss out on their regular menu, especially if you are able to snag a table during Restaurant Week.
1 comment:
18 plates?! Wow, that puts my 3.5 average in perspective (or to shame, depending).
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