5.22.2009

A Faux Filet

I know I told you I was recently in the Cleveland area (OK, OK, its not really Cleveland-my mom lives in Lorain, I just think Cleveland sounds better) and on Saturday night we went out to the fanciest place around, Chez Francois for dinner. You know, in English that's Frank's House. Now you can trust me, Chez Francois is in Vermillion, OH - down the road from Lorain and it is quite amazing it's there at all. It is open for a very short season, and is on the Vermillion lagoons catering to a wealthy boat clientele and people like my mom who love to eat and don’t mind spending $36 on a steak. In the dining room men have to wear a coat and tie and of course my mom LOVES this.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the menu. The server brings you an “amuse bouche” to tempt your palate (in our case it was a smoky asparagus soup served in a shot glass so when you drank it, it created a lovely green moustache) and since we had 5 people in our group we ordered a couple of appetizers. We shared the artichokes stuffed with herb cheese and a gigantic scallop that certainly never came from any water anywhere near Ohio.

But, I need to get to the filet. All five of us ordered the same thing, the tenderloin topped with bleu cheese. The menu reads "center-cut filet mignon, grilled, topped with aged English Stilton cheese, garnished with a cheese crisp and baked polenta, served with a Ruby Port wine sauce." Yum, except what is the big woo about polenta? I was surprised everyone got the same thing, since the menu is varied and my sister and daughter are far more adventuresome than me, but there you go. EVERYONE HAD A BETTER LOOKING STEAK THAN ME. Mine had what looked like two huge meatballs of bleu cheese on top and when you scraped all that off, it looked like a skinny sirloin. They apparently tried to make my presentation look good, but I wasn’t fooled. I am not sure why I am telling you all of this, but I am still mad about it - although the food was great and I could not have eaten much more, except of course we shared dessert. Chocolate mousse and something else I cannot remember. Anyway, I guess sometimes it is your turn to get the best steak and sometimes it is someone else’s turn, but why does my sister always get the best one?

Us Girls at Frank's House

4 comments:

Stephen said...

Becky---FYI......The Lorain area has a new restaurant that you may want to check out. It's in Avon Lake and is owned by Chef Michael Symon (Food Channel, Iron Chef,etc.) I understand it is wonderful, with no item more than $17. My understanding (from my Avon Lake friends) is that it's very difficult to get a seat. Since I travel there frequently I am looking forward to trying it.

Stephanie B. said...

Tete Becky -

Trust me, I often wonder the same thing - Summer always gets the best steak and everything else, for that matter! Ha. But really, you ladies look so beautiful. Miss you all!

BECKY B. said...

Don't you just hate that? We miss you too sweetie! And Summer too!

BECKY B. said...

Where is the new place in Avon? I'll have to drop in the next time I am in Lorain.