Discussion of Robin Garr's Louis Le Francais review

[Robin Garr]

Learn your French tastefully at Louis Le Francais
LEO's Eats with Robin Garr



All right, boys and girls, it's time for our French lesson! First, let's review: "Bonjour" ... "Merci!" ... "S'il vous plaît" ... "Je voudrais un verre de vin rouge." Very good!

Now, let's learn two important food words. Repeat after me:

"Cassoulet." Draw it out, warm and rich, just like the hearty dish itself, "Cahs-soo-lay."

Good! Now take care, this next word doesn't sound quite like it looks:

"Ratatouille." Someone bought it too many consonants. Drop a few to get "Rat-ah-TWEE," and wait eagerly for it to come to the table.

Got 'em? Now take your new words to a good French restaurant for a memorable dining experience. I suggest giving them a try at Louis Le Français, a fine, friendly French restaurant with a warm accent of France's Mediterranean South. Opened in 2012, it has become a landmark in downtown New Albany's growing restaurant cluster.

Even with the arrival of such fetching French eateries as La Coop and Brasserie Provence on the Louisville side of the Ohio (not to mention the landmark Le Relais), Louis Le Français is well worth the short trip to New Albany.

Restaurateur Louis Retailleau, who hails from the French Southwest and whose restaurant name literally means "Louie the Frenchman," had previously hoped to open a French eatery in the Metro, but backed away from locations in St. Matthews and the Hurstbourne area before ending up in the Hoosier suburb.

But this was a good move, it seems, as every time I visit this charming New Albany eatery, I find it crowded with seemingly happy diners enjoying good French food, appetizing libations and friendly service.

The authentic French clearly begins at the kitchen door. Everything I've sampled here has been well-made in the tradition of France, specifically its southern climes, Provence and Languedoc.


Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/learn ... e-francais
and in LEO Weekly:
http://leoweekly.com/dining/learn-your- ... n%C3%A7ais

Louis Le Français
133 E. Market St.
New Albany, Ind.
(812) 944-1222
louisthefrenchman.com

Hmm... I only know 3 words of French .. Chevrolet, Marzipan, Coupe'.. not very helpful foodwise except the Marzipan.

[Robin Garr]

Hmm... I only know 3 words of French .. Chevrolet, Marzipan, Coupe'.. not very helpful foodwise except the Marzipan.

Robin,
I have wanted to try their food but am shocked at some of the pricing on their dinner menu. The cassoulet is $28, which is basically is a bean dish, country food really. Their beef bourguignon is $38 and that is basically a very good beef stew. Does this strike you as expensive? I will say their lunch menu does have some very affordable specials & that is more in line with my spending habits.

I think the cassoulet & beef bourguignon are popular items which makes me question the high markups, maybe taking advantage of their popularity?

Please let me know your thoughts.

[Robin Garr]

Robin,
I have wanted to try their food but am shocked at some of the pricing on their dinner menu. The cassoulet is $28, which is basically is a bean dish, country food really. Their beef bourguignon is $38 and that is basically a very good beef stew. Does this strike you as expensive? I will say their lunch menu does have some very affordable specials & that is more in line with my spending habits.

Chris, certainly it's not a low-price restaurant, although I'd have to say that the cassoulet had quite a variety of meat in it, including duck, ham, sausage and lamb. The ratatouille was all-veggie and priced in the teens. Overall, their entrees were mostly in the $20s and $30s, which is about the same as Brasserie Provence (http://brasserieprovence.com/menu/) and pretty close to Le Relais (http://www.lerelaisrestaurant.com/menu.html), although there it seems as if they've cut the price range a bit.

So, yeah, analyzing it more closely, it's up with the priciest French restaurants in town. On the other hand, the quality of food and service is also very good, so part of the issue here is that fine French dining is pricey.

I'll note without further comment, though, that I love La Coop, and its price point is a bit lower than its French competition:
http://www.coopbistro.com/

Robin,

Thanks for reviewing one of our favorite places. It is like dining with friends when we have a chance to make it over the bridge. Chef Louis and Betty remember your name and preferences and the serving staff seems to not have had any turn over during the two or three years the restaurant has been open.

Whether having a sandwich special for lunch or nice evening dinner, we have always left happy.

[Robin Garr]

... during the two or three years the restaurant has been open.

Glad to hear the testimony, Harold! Has it really been open that long, though? I was thinking it had just been open a year or so. Of course, time flies!

Probably closer to 2 years than 3, but as to the exact beginning I do not know.

LLF opened in late 2011 so, yeah, it's in the 2 - 3 year range.

[Robin Garr]

LLF opened in late 2011 so, yeah, it's in the 2 - 3 year range.

Thanks, Lonnie! I first hit the place in July 2012 (1 1/2 years ago), and I guess I didn't realize it had already been there for more than six months.

Nice touch en francais, Robin--and on the mark. Using a foreign tongue can be tricky business:

I saw an advertisement for back pain last week that added "Se hablo espanol" ---sorry pal, but you really don't (should read "se habla")! The irony is that you now just scared off your Spanish speakers! ...Its kind of like "We speak it the English."

There was also a recent newspaper article in Louisiana's The Advocate titled "Parlez-vous Française en Baton Rouge?" --well, you sure don't (should read "francais")! Inexcusable in such a serious newspaper and in a state that has many thousands of French-speakers.

[Robin Garr]

Nice touch en francais, Robin--and on the mark. Using a foreign tongue can be tricky business ...

Thanks, James! Honestly, my wine-food and tourist French is pretty much self-taught, but I credit several semesters of Alliance Francaise classes with helping me get some of the details sorted out. (And curiously, on a trip to Italy while I was taking those classes, I found that the process actually helped me deal better with my self-taught Italian, which is only slightly better than my self-taught French. )

For my next amazing trick, I will convince Louis that there is such a thing as good beer from France; namely, Bieres de Garde. If I achieve this, it really WILL be amazing. The man is seriously gifted, but just doesn't "get" beer.

[Robin Garr]

For my next amazing trick, I will convince Louis that there is such a thing as good beer from France; namely, Bieres de Garde. If I achieve this, it really WILL be amazing. The man is seriously gifted, but just doesn't "get" beer.

No, I was tempted to mention that the beer list is short-and-boring, but I ran out of words.

For my next amazing trick, I will convince Louis that there is such a thing as good beer from France; namely, Bieres de Garde. If I achieve this, it really WILL be amazing. The man is seriously gifted, but just doesn't "get" beer.

No, I was tempted to mention that the beer list is short-and-boring, but I ran out of words.

It is not for want of trying. It is the ideal situation for a small, thoughtful list -- six would be fine. But he just does not get it. So it goes.