Chloe's French Cafe

It’s rare that I’m speechless after a meal. Even rarer when that meal comes out of a take out box. But consider Ms. BiteClub stunned into a reverent silence for the now decimated container of Boeuf Bourgogne from Chloe’s French Cafe. Je suis dans l'amour.

Tipped off by a reader (thank you! thank you!), Chloe’s has been open for just a few weeks in the most unlikely of spots--the Landmark Executive building off Airway Drive in Santa Rosa. Both a sit-down cafe and take-away spot, there’s no exterior signage to tip eaters off to this bonanza of French brasserie-style fare: homemade croissants, brioche, sandwiches (including a hearty Nicoise and zut alor, Croque Monsieur--Béchamel sauce, baked ham and Gruyere on bread) and soups.

But it’s the weekly specials you’re here for, the Bourgogne this week, and at the whim of the chef, things like Coq au Vin and more, usually under $10.

The Bourgogne, which is basically a long-simmered beef and vegetable stew with a heavy dose of red wine, is served on a square of gratin potatoes. I usually really dislike the stuff, because the meat can get tough and gamey and the veggies mushy. With chunks of still-intact mushroom and carrot comingling with beef that literally falls apart in your mouth, BiteClub has is rethinking Bourgogne altogether. The dish should be on the menu through the week and will hopefully reappear throughout the winter.

It should come as little surprise that behind the restaurant are two French brothers, Alain (the pastry chef) and Marc (the sommelier) Pisan whose family have been artisinal bakers for generations. Alain’s wife, Renee (an American) heads up the café and catering kitchen, having immersed herself in the art of French cuisine.

With the remnants of a hazelnut crème puff still on my fingers, BiteClub can confidently report that desserts are Parisian-quality. Alain whips up feather-light éclairs, tarts and cakes each day, most under $3, and some under $2. Raspberry mousse tart? Please.

Marc is putting his wine skills to go use by offering up a happy hour each Friday evening from 4 to 6pm, featuring French and local wines. There are plans for cooking and wine pairing classes in the near future. Sign up for their newsletter at chloesco.com.

So okay, you have your marching orders, eaters. Get steppin’ to Chloe’s. Rapidement! I’ve still got some pastry-eating to do.

If you go: Take the Mendocino exit off 101 and head down Hopper Avenue (look for the Kohl’s Department Store). Make a right on Airway Drive (you think you’re headed for a dead-end) and turn left into the Landmark Executive Center. Go to the far parking lot and enter through the main entrance. Chloe’s is on the left, just use your nose.

Chloe’s French Café, 3883 Airway Dr., Suite 145, Santa Rosa, 707.528.3095. Open 7:30am to 5pm weekdays. Closed on weekends.

Do you have a favorite restuarant you'd like me to know about? Email me at biteclub@pressdemo.com

Bistro Jeanty: So French you'll belch the Marseillaise

From pig's feet and escargot to jellied bone marrow, the French have an uncanny ability to drown pretty much anything in béchamel or brown butter and make it exceptional. But what keeps eaters beating a path to Chef Philippe Jeanty's Yountville restaurant is his elevation of rustic cuts and home-style French cooking from merely palatable to universally comforting.

A perennial vote-getter on the Chronicle's Top 100 Bistro Jeanty is oft-lauded as Wine Country's most authentic French country bistro. A native of Champagne and the opening chef of Domaine Chandon, Jeanty's menu features simple dishes like rabbit terrine, Coq Au Vin, cassoulet, Sole Meuniere, steak frites, foie gras pate, fried smelt and roasted bone marrow--classics informed by a mother's kitchen and hometown bistros. Classics that, to the consternation of some and comfort of others, remains constant. (Beef stew and cassoulet in summer? Really?)

In warm weather, the small patio is a favorite spot for sipping espresso and lingering over crepes Suzette. Inside, the restaurant is intimate and cozy, painted in a soothing tone of buttercup and plastered with vintage French adverts and Marcel Pagnol posters. Lace curtains adorn the windows and a country bicyclette sits parked outside with flowers in its basket. Calculated charmant, bien sur. Mais charmant.

Best bets on the lunch/dinner menu include the pork belly and lentils ($14), fried smelt, and Entrecote frites (a grilled rib eye steak with fries and Bearnaise sauce, $28), tomato soup in puff pastry ($8.75), and Coq au Vin ($16.50).

Daily specials supplement the menu--like a recent Sunday's addition of bone marrow. Not the easiest dish to approach, it's elegantly crude. High level stuff even for experienced gourmands, it amounts to gently scooping out the inside of a roasted cow femur, spreading the gelatinous goo on a crouton and moaning ecstatically. And while a silver spoon, civilized drip of Bordelaise and swig of Cotes du Rhone helps the process feel less flagrantly carnivorous, one can't help listening cautiously for the disapproving clucks of angry vegans.

With the opening of Jeanty at Jack in SF and PJ Steak (which has since closed) fans howled (as fans often do) that consistency had begun to suffer. Along those lines, the Sole Meuniere ($18.50) was the meal's only casualty. And while it was perfectly okay, the flavors were a bit muddy and tired. The brown butter seemed oilier and less nutty than expected. The citrus tang that I so love in this dish was only in the small bits of cut lemon I had to squeeze myself. And the capers were merely window dressing. Perhaps I should have followed the old adage about fish on Sunday and stuck with the steak.

Desserts keep the French accent with a focus on rich crème brule and delicate crepes Suzette with orange butter. For a change of pace, skip the sweet stuff and tuck into a nice slice of Epoisse (served a bit chilly for my taste, but nonetheless stinkily delightful) with candied walnuts and poached pear as you ponder post-modern existentialism and the brilliant humor of Jerry Lewis.

Bistro Jeanty, 6510 Washington Street, Yountville, 707.944.0103