TASTING MENU: Elin and Andy Trousdale with their six-course menu for $25 per person.
Le Bistro
- 4626 N. Federal Highway
- Lighthouse Point, FL 33064
- 954-946-9240
- http://lebistrorestaurant.com
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- $$$, $20 - $40
- French, International
- Menu
Le Bistro in Lighthouse Point is that rare fine-dining establishment that conveys ma-and-pa-type warmth, reflecting the earnest efforts of owners Elin and Andy Trousdale. The couple took over the 30-year-old restaurant 3 ½ years ago and haven't rested on their laurels yet.
Le Bistro in Lighthouse Point is that rare fine-dining establishment that conveys ma-and-pa-type warmth, reflecting the earnest efforts of owners Elin and Andy Trousdale. The couple took over the 30-year-old restaurant 3 ½ years ago and haven't rested on their laurels yet.
Andy is the chef and Elin is hostess, waitress and proud promoter of her husband's considerable talents. She also chooses the eclectic background music and guides the boutique wine selection.
Le Bistro's summer wine list offers 70 selections and during the season, 80 to 100 choices, including by-the-glass options and appetizer, cheese and dessert wines. She recommended a light, crisp bordeaux blanc, a fine accompaniment to the many flavors of Le Bistro's menu.
And the menu keeps evolving. This month it will change again, adding more international ingredients to Trousdale's intriguing stable of classic French and lighter ''spa'' cuisine.
Le Bistro's new motto: ''One World, One Cuisine.'' While still building upon French sauces, the new entrees -- and additional veggie choices -- will trot the globe, with Indian, Middle Eastern, Thai and Trousdale's native British influences. A preview: mustard-crusted beef tenderloin with coriander Yorkshire pudding, confetti vegetables and wild mushroom jus, or Indian eggplant Parmesan with coconut curry sauce and garlic spinach.
While not available the night we visited, Le Bistro offers a six-course tasting menu for $25 per person (two-person minimum), a terrific value.
Trousdale impresses at the start with a rustic white Berlotti bean dip and the chef's spice blend complemented by garlic crostini. His list of ''New Beginnings'' starters included so many appealing choices we could have grazed all night, but a standout was the divine mushroom ragout, a richly flavored combination of portobello, shiitake and button mushrooms in a Port-scented cream sauce encased in flaky, star-shaped puff pastry.
Snails roasted in garlic and pesto butter are silken soft, redolent of herbs de Provence. An appetizer of ''flowering artichoke'' is an attractively arranged array of steamed artichoke leaves. The best part: the roasted garlic and balsamic dipping sauce with goat cheese.
You can order a trio of soups, but we stuck with one made of sweet, vine-ripened tomatoes offset by garlic, onions and pesto.
The aptly-named Decadence is a splurge worth taking, a layer of beef tenderloin in an assertive shiraz reduction stacked between garlic mashed potatoes and pan-seared foie gras with julienne slices of sopressata sausage adding a tinge of smokiness.
Trout amandine is a simpler though still delightful affair, the 10-ounce slab of mild fish skillfully cooked. Tagine, a savory, stew-like ''melting pot'' of salmon, grouper and shrimp, is nicely flavored with anise, saffron and tomato, but a few of the mussels were barely open.
A vegetarian choice of spice-dusted legumes is excellent, teamed with grilled portobello mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli and baby leeks served with cumin and tomato coulis.
For dessert, the Swiss chocolate mousse was calling my name, but we shared the Grand Marnier crepe, a sweet standout -- like Le Bistro.
Place: Le Bistro.
Address: 4626 N. Federal Hwy., Lighthouse Point.
Rating: Excellent.
Contact: 954-946-9240, lebistrorestaurant.com.
Hours: 5 p.m. to closing Tuesday-Sunday.
Prices: Starters $7-$19, entrees $12-$29, desserts $6, crepes (for two) $12-$16.
FYI: $10 corkage fee; AX, DS, MC, VS.
Hours
5 p.m. to closing Tuesday-SundayDetails
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Location
- Current 82.4 °F
- It's a tennis day
- Take a lesson in Brickell
