Petit Robert Central

Recently, I was lucky enough to go out to eat with one of my favorite people, L.  It had been awhile since we had gotten together and we had plenty to catch up on.  Not wanting to travel far, we opted for Petit Robert Central, a French Bistro right in the heart of Downtown Crossing.  When Petit Robert took over the old Vinalia space, it really made a good effort in creating a sleek downtown bar and restaurant that was not too over the top.  Having worked in that area for 5 years, I can say I only stopped in once and it was for the company Christmas party - Petit Robert should not suffer the same fate as it really is a space you want to spend more time in.  With a large bar and lounge area in addition to the dining tables, there is plenty of space to spread out an enjoy.

On this Friday night, L and I seemed to arrive after the apres work crowd died down (and it was one of the last summer weekends) so we were seated straight away at a table for two.  After ordering some beers from their less than traditional selection (Matilda and Leffe Blonde) we set to ordering an appetizer.  After a little back and forth, we settled on the Steamed Mussels Marinière, which had a lot of flavor, and certainly were not lacking in the butter department (a theme felt throughout the dinner), however it did not mask the mussels taste.  

Mussels

Lucky for us, there was plenty of the hearty bread to mop up all the good sauce from the mussel plate!

Delicious French Bread

For entrees, I really could not resist the Grilled Colorado Lamb Chop with Boulangère Potato.  The generous portion of lamb (4 ribs!) was cooked perfectly and had an herbed butter on top that added a good flavor to the meat.  The potatoes were almost cooked like an au gratin style, but without the additional crumb topping.  The green beans were a surprising but tasty addition to the dish.  Once again, there was loads of butter on this dish (Julia Child would be proud).  I think the amount stuck out because I just do not use nearly this much when I'm cooking at home, but it sure does offer some yummy flavors.  At $20 I was surprised by the large portion of food - with lamb dishes I feel like I get jipped, but at Petit Robert this was definitely not the case here!

Rack of Lamb

L decided to order the Pan Seared Hake and Asparagus Risotto.  Hake is a fish that is similar to haddock - just a nice white fish that is not too fishy in flavor.  The hake was topped with the similar butter on my lamb, though I'm not sure it totally needed it because there was plenty of butter on this dish.  Not that it overwhelmed the dish, it just is a lot when you are not used to it!  The hake was well cooked and moist.  The asparagus risotto was delicious and creamy, and super filling.  I think there was enough risotto on the plate to feed a family of 4.  Once again, plenty of tasty food for the price point of $21.

Hake and asparagus risotto

Somehow, even though we hadn't finished our main meal (they were huge!) we had some room for dessert (of course).  We went with the Gateau au Chocolat Petit Robert that is served with a chocolate Eiffel Tower. And when they say it is served with the tower, they meant it - as you can see in the photo there is a mini replica of the Eiffel Tower on the plate!  While the cake had loads of chocolate in it - chocolate cake with ganache layers, and then a white chocolate toppings - it was not overly sweet and chocolatey like you would think.  It was just filled with a great combination of various chocolate flavors. 

A real chocolate tower!

Overall I really enjoyed a flavorful dinner at Petit Robert Central.  Downtown Crossing was getting a bit boring in its dinner offerings, but this French Bistro really adds a lovely new flavor to the area.