Le Faux Bourgeois

So I finally got around to eating out, and what a treat. Le Faux Bourgeois opened a few months ago at 15th and Fraser, not exactly a hot spot for fine dining. It's a small, warm-feeling (though cool) room, and it comes highly recommended.

The reservations are hard to get unless you want 6pm or earlier, which suited us fine. We were eating early to make it to the opera early (something about losing tickets, but I won't get into that here). A friendly host seated us at the window and didn't object when we moved to get away from the cold from the door.

The menu was limited but appetizing. A short discussion about dairy products led us to the Nicoise over puff pastry for an appetizer (sharing), and it was a good choice. The albacore tuna was gorgeously tender, the egg yolk still dark but not runny, the tomatoes crisp, the potatoes soft and scrumptious.

I tried the Fillet de Boeuf Grillé (rare), Nina the duck confit. After the two baskets of bread (which arrived very quickly) and the Nicoise, I wondered how much I would be able to eat, and upon seeing my dish I worried a bit. A generous portion, to be sure. The steak was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Tender, juicy, delicious, and beautiful. The sauce (red wine shallot jus) was rich and perfectly bitter-sweet. The potatoes gratin were good, and the accompanying vegetables were mostly very good, save for the chewy parsnips. A bite of the duck was also wonderful, if a bit bland (though that is probably in comparison to the beef).

The wine list was a good blend of regions, and the cheap by-the-glass options looked very decent. It would have been nice to have a red in the 7.5-9.5 range, but the Las Rocas (a Spanish grenache) for 7.5 was just fine.

We skipped dessert (had to replace the lost tickets), so I don't know what they offer, but I saw a créme brulée and chocolate mousse pass me during dinner.

All in all a wonderful meal. The food was amazing, the service exceptional, the setting lovely.