Discussion of Robin Garr's Louis Le Francais review

[Robin Garr]

Let's say "bonjour" to Louis Le Francais
Voice-Tribune review by Robin Garr



I know this may seem an odd thing to say about an eatery in New Albany, but it's true: A visit to Louis Le Francais comes surprisingly close to dining in France.

How authentic is it? Here's how: I decided to give my limited language skills a workout by ordering a dish in French. "I'll have the Crepes aux Epinards, please," I chirped, properly gargling my Rs and liasoning the preposition so it came out something like "Khwehpp O'Zehpeenagghh." I beamed, anticipating high praise for my tourist-French accent.

"Spinach crepes," the friendly Francophone server chirped right back, restoring the conversation to English.

Funny, this always happens to me in Paris, too.

But you'll never need to worry about Parisian snootiness at Louis Le Francais, where the staff - French-bred and Hoosier-born alike - is courteous and as friendly as you'd expect at a dining room in an Indiana town.

Louis Le Francais simply means "Louie the Frenchman," and you'll find the namesake owner-chef, Louis Retailleau, turning out delicious country French fare in a bright, sunny-color venue where both the food and the mood come strikingly close to matching his native Provence.

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes.com:
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/lets- ... le-francai

and in the Voice-Tribune:
http://www.voice-tribune.com/life-style ... -francais/

Louis Le Francais
(812) 944-1222
133 E. Market St.
New Albany, Ind.
Web: LouisLeFrancais.com
Facebook: http://bit.ly/LouisFrancaise

Robin usually we agree more than disagree in terms of experience at any given establishment. My family had dinner here a few months ago and I really really wanted to like it; however, the quality of the food we had didn't measure up to the price - it struck me as a little too homestyle in a Julia Child sort of way. Nothing was bad and the service was fine but it was sort of meh. Maybe we caught them in a rough patch. Maybe we should go back for another shot.

[Robin Garr]

Robin usually we agree more than disagree in terms of experience at any given establishment. My family had dinner here a few months ago and I really really wanted to like it; however, the quality of the food we had didn't measure up to the price - it struck me as a little too homestyle in a Julia Child sort of way. Nothing was bad and the service was fine but it was sort of meh. Maybe we caught them in a rough patch. Maybe we should go back for another shot.

I put it off partly because of your report, Mark!

Given that it's new, though, it might have taken them a while to find their footing. And in fairness, note that I got the warm fuzzies because it reminded me of Provence, not Paris. "homestyle in a Julia Child kind of way" is actually not far off, but having experienced that in Provence, I like it. So ... maybe it improved, but maybe we brought different expectations.

Robin,

Glad to hear that it's improved. We were there soon after they opened and we were very underwhelmed on both service and food. I'm hoping this means they've found their stride.
Deb

[Robin Garr]

Glad to hear that it's improved. We were there soon after they opened and we were very underwhelmed on both service and food. I'm hoping this means they've found their stride.

I'm interested to hear both your report and Mark's on that, Deb. I'm glad I went in without any particular expectations, and if anything I was probably predisposed to be a bit negative, having watched in amazement as the chef abandoned two prior efforts around town pre-opening before completing this one. And as I told Mark, it's certainly a different style from either Le Relais or La Peep. But Mary and I have been lucky enough to travel in Provence several times, and to dine in friendly neighborhood bistros there. The style of this place, both service and food, brought back good memories. I'm still trying to analyze Mark's reference to "homestyle Julia Child" cuisine, though. I would have thought that a good thing.

Robin,
I don't think I posted at the time in hopes it was a bad night. We were there last year a number of weeks after it opened ( maybe late December?). When we arrived for our reservation at 7:30 no one was there to greet us for quite sometime, then once seated it took significant time before a waiter was found ( by management). It had the feel that they were operating as a soft opening/ friends only event but it was over a month since they had opened.
Bread was a cold Mejier-like baguette. French food without great baguette? C'est impossible!! We went with the prix fixe and the food was fine, but nothing memorable. I've been to France several times and it struck me as "Indiana playing French", not Provence French- surprising given the chef/owners background. Maybe they were unexpectedly swamped that night- it was busy. Service was slow but eager. The final negative was our dessert- despite the early hour, they were out of 2 of our 3 prix fixe options for dessert ( only told 15 mins after ordering) so we had to settle for the baked apple. Which again was okay, but...The best part of the meal was the caramel sauce served with it- which our young eager server brought us extras of as apology.
Really glad you had a great dinner and the appear to have resolved their issues.
Deb

Excellent report. I had a similar experience as Deb back right around when they first opened. I will have to return on my next day off. Hah.

We went there for a beer and food pairings and absolutely loved it! The food was excellent! We will be back.

Excellent report. I had a similar experience as Deb back right around when they first opened. I will have to return on my next day off. Hah.

You won't be having many of those for a while, judging by the response to your "soft" opening. What happens when the going gets "hard"?

BTW, congrats.

The lamb I ordered had a "freezer burn" like taste. I like Deb's analogy - it was like someone's Southern Indiana mother bought "The Art of French Cooking" and was attempting to execute those dishes with cheaper ingredients. Nothing was bad bad - but there was no value given what we paid and there was no incentive to drive that distance again.

Now if they have their act together - I'm ready to give 'em another shot.

Louis Le Francais is the WDRB "Be Our Guest" deal for this Thursday, just a heads up.