A tale of three French restaurants: Bouchee, Lumiere and Pigalle
Bouchee, Lumiere and Pigalle
For a change of pace, and keeping in mind that they are three very different dining establishments, I'm going to compare each on settings, courses, service and overall experience. You can decide which you should try first, though I'd suggest trying them all sooner than later.
Setting
Bouchee: Casual brasserie
Lumiere: Special occasion bistro
Pigalle: Romantic Parisian hideaway
Favorite: Can't say I have one! Here's why... Whichever setting you like best will depend entirely what you're shooting for. Bouchee was probably the most brightly lit of the three, as it was a bustling, fun spot for a lunch or dinner with friends or coworkers. Lumiere was a lovely spot for a more intimate birthday dinner party. Pigalle was dimly lit and entirely too romantic for my foodie chick friend and I. You'd want to go here on a date.
First Course -- Appetizer
Bouchee: Simple greens with red wine vinaigrette and goat cheese crouton
Lumiere: Mushroom soup with exotic mushrooms, Madeira brown butter and gremolata; Hoisin glazed duck wings
Pigalle: Steak tartare with toasted brioche and Gaufrette potato chips
Favorite: Pigalle. I just love steak tartare. Add to that the simple side of a whole softly boiled egg, coated with tender breadcrumbs and lightly fried. Break into that and sop it all up with your steak on one of those potato chips. It's so good. I never thought I'd crave yolk quite like this.
Second Course -- Entree
Bouchee: Croque Monsieur with smoked ham, Gruyere cheese and pomme frittes; Beef tenderloin flatbrad with carmelized onions, crumbled bleu cheese and light arugula salad
Lumiere: Duck confit
Pigalle: Roast salmon filet with succotash, basil cream and salt cod stuffed potato rosti
Favorite: Bouchee for its comfort food factor; Pigalle for the fresh goodness of that salmon. I have such a weakness for Gruyere cheese that there's really no way Bouchee could lose, even if the other dishes are superb -- and much fancier I might add. The duck confit was perfectly moist and fatty; I think I just wanted to try something other than your typical duck option on a French menu.
Third Course -- Dessert
Bouchee: Chef's selection of sorbet - raspberry and lemon
Lumiere: Apple crisp, which was unfortunately trumped by a chocolate birthday cake I made. (I love apple crisp almost as much as chocolate cake.)
Pigalle: Grilled pineapple with cream. There was much more to it than just that, but this still simple dessert won me over with, well, just that!
Favorite: Pigalle. I may have picked Lumiere because I love apple crisps and cobblers so much, but the grilled pineapple dessert at Pigalle was perfectly light and plate-licking good. I didn't lick the plate of course, but I may have if I'd had it at home.
Service
Bouchee: It's a more casual restaurant, but you'd never know it from the white table linens and utensil clearing service. The only problem we had was the lack of water refills. That food is salty. Must bring water.
Lumiere: The nicest people! Considering I brought in a honking birthday cake (with cake holder), they were more than happy to hide it for me, joked about trying some themselves and even offered an addition to the menu that was a crowd-pleaser: Gotta love a steak frites option with a menu full of duck confit and mushrooms.
Pigalle: Loved our sweet older waiter, but the dinner took 2-1/2 hours. Considering we weren't seated on time (not until 9:30 PM for a 9:00 reservation) I was more than ready to go by the time the entree came around.
Favorite: Lumiere. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice they all were, from the moment we arrived till the moment we left.
Overall Experience
If you add it all up, it looks like Pigalle takes the cake for food, Lumiere for service and Bouchee for its fun setting. It's hard to pick one favorite, though I'd say service tends to reign supreme for me. If I had to pick just one, I'd go with Lumiere -- if only because I enjoyed the food, the setting and the service equally. That said, I'd be likely to return to Bouchee first because it's so close to where I work and I've been wanting to go back since March, and then of course Pigalle will always leave me wanting more steak tartare.
I'm so indecisive.
If you try one, two or all three, let me know what you think. And if you hop a flight to Paris, be sure to hunt down the bouef bourganion at La Vieux Bistro.
Happy dining!
FC
Bouchee is located at 159 Newbury Street in Boston's Back Bay (617-450-4343). Lumiere is on the outskirts of the city in lovely West Newton, Mass. (617-244-9199), right across from the old-school West Newton Cinema. And you'll find Pigalle at 75 Charles Street South in Boston's Theatre District (617-423-4944). Be sure to check their websites for upcoming events, like the Bastille Day Local and Sustainable Dinner at Lumiere.
If you do get to La Vieux Bistro...make sure to compliment your meal with a fantastic bottle of 2001 La Gorce (A medoc, or cab/merlot blend). As FC touts -- quite possibly the best meal ever!
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