Sunday, March 6, 2011
Frisée aux lardons
Eastside Road, March 6, 2011—
THIS IS THE PRINCIPLE meal of the day, I said, leaning as near L's listening ear as I dared with this cold from hell. You bet it is, she said.
We were at brunch, not my kind of meal as I've written before, with a couple of friends. A tequila Sunrise would be good for my cold, I reasoned, and commanded one quickly; then took a quick look at the menu. This restaurant is market-driven — in fact, there was a small farmstand out in the parking lot — so I was immediately attracted to the frisée aux lardons. Besides, everything on the menu was in French, for the place has some kind of a Paris connection. What could go wrong?Well, frankly, a lot can go wrong. A quick look on the Internet reveals a recipe, for example, that purports to be a “Summer Salade Lyonnaise (”Frisée“ aux Lardons)”, complete with those internal quotes.
Salade Lyonnaise (Frisee aux Lardons) is a traditional French bistro salad that consists of bacon, poached eggs, and bitter greens (usually frisee). I decided to take advantage of the bountiful summer vegetables that are in season right now to create my own take on this delicious salad.Yikes.
The basics are the same, but I've added some summer twists, such as fresh corn, basil infused tomatoes, and sliced avocados.
But nothing did go wrong. Our salad today was authentic: frisée, bits of bacon (lardons à l'Americaine), croutons, vinaigrette, and a nicely soft-boiled egg on top. I would have preferred a poached egg, but you can't ask for perfection every day. Nothing needed at suppertime but a slice of toast with almond butter and a dish of applesauce.
A second Sunrise
• French Garden, 8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol, CA; (707) 824-2030
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