Just okay French

Aixois

My wife and I recently celebrated our fourth anniversary. It has become something of a tradition for us to go to a nice restaurant and celebrate. Last year we went to Tatsu's and had a fantastic meal. This year we thought we would try Julian's which opened in the space where Joe D's was formerly. Unfortunately, as they don't take reservations, we faced a 45 minute wait. Unwilling to sit at their bar this long, we opted for our backup plan, Aixois, at 251 E 55th.

We had tried to eat at Aixois, a charming little bistro in Brookside several times previously, but never had good timing. As both Natasha and I are huge fans of French cuisine, we expected good things. With a good menu featuring a variety of French classics, as well as daily specials, we thought we had found a winner.

Our server was charming and helped us select a nice white Bordeaux, while offering us crusty baguette slices and an excellent butter to tease our appetites.

We both started with cups of French onion soup, which was good, but not great. Topped with a fantastic Gruyere, it had good flavor, though was a bit sweet for my tastes. Natasha agreed.

As it was our anniversary, we also had appetizers in addition to soup. Natasha had the pan-seared foie gras, served with a shiitake and truffle salad and apple sauce (puree, to you foodiots). While it was cooked extremely well, I found the delicate taste of the foie gras overwhelmed by the pungent flavor of the truffles. It was good, but perhaps would have fared better with a less obtrusive side.

For me, I had Mussels Rouquefort, a dish I had never had before. Taking the blame entirely upon myself for my dislike, I hated this. It's always a bit of a risk to order a dish you know nothing about, and sometimes it doesn't work out. This was one of those instances. Consisting of mussels cooked in Rocquefort cream, I did not realize the strong bovine odor that this dish would offer. From what I have read, this is how it is supposed to both smell and taste, but it did not suit me. Through no fault of the chef's, I will never order this again.

For mains, Natasha had the rack of lamb, while I had the daily special of duck breast. Mine was served at the ideal temperature, with the color pink you expect from duck breast. It had an excellent flavor, but I was a bit disappointed that the skin was not more crispy. Additionally, as this was an airline breast, I had a leg with a bone. Though I was offered a steak knife, I found this insufficient to release the meat from the bone without a great struggle.

Natasha was actually quite upset with her entree. While her rack of lamb was beautifully prepared, frenced nicely and cooked perfectly, she felt it was terribly under-seasoned. Both mains came with a good mashed potato, boiled, yet tasty carrots and broccoli, and a pan sauce.

Overall, I thought everything was okay. Good, not great, especially considering our $100+ bill. Natasha was much more upset by the dinner than I was. Having been wowed by Tatsu's last anniversary, and Oak 63 earlier this year, Aixois proved to be a bit of a disappointment to her.

While I would like to go back and try their bistro burger and pommes frites, I fear I may have a hard time convincing Natasha to make the trip.

(FYI - I have decided to stop scoring restaurants)

Aixois