{"id":7835,"date":"2016-06-06T09:07:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T17:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/?p=7835"},"modified":"2016-06-06T12:10:22","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T20:10:22","slug":"au-comptoir-delicious-french-bistro-brunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickydiners.com\/www\/au-comptoir-delicious-french-bistro-brunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Au Comptoir – French Brunch D\u00e9licieux"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Expectations<\/h4>\n

I had been wanting to visit Au Comptoir for quite some time. The French bistro in Kitslano is often raved\u00a0by my\u00a0French friends, with one of them being\u00a0Yann, an associate professor of marketing at UBC, who was once in a feature on\u00a0CBC News about comparing portion control in French and North American cuisine<\/a>. The TV host\u00a0started with a question, while most French dishes seem heavier with using a lot of butter and heavy cream in cooking, why do\u00a0most French people still look\u00a0thinner?\u00a0 The TV interview was taken place at Au Comptoir, where\u00a0the question was\u00a0presented\u00a0to both Yann and Daniel McGee, the Chef de Cuisine of the French bistro. The fact which both men agreed with is that French chefs focus on the pleasurable eating experience, by satisfying their customers’ senses, instead of indulging them with large portion. \u00a0 \u00a0And the sensory pleasure\u00a0could come from a lot of things, the menu, the server, the quality of the ingredients, and the food presentation, which all matter in the whole dining experience.<\/p>\n

And here we were, sitting at the table right under the skylight, anxiously looking forwards to the\u00a0sensory\u00a0pleasure\u00a0from our Saturday brunch. \u00a0It was already quite the bliss for us, a group of food bloggers getting together and sharing the passion for food. Although Foodgressing<\/a> was MIA, I was happy to hang out with\u00a0Nosh and Nibbles<\/a> (Nosh), and Food Wench of Drunken Noms<\/a> (Food Wench).<\/p>\n

Brunch Drinks<\/h4>\n

While Nosh started his morning with a beautifully cut Cafe Creme<\/strong> (Latte) ($4), \u00a0our charming French waiter brought Food Wench and I both the famous Caesar \u00e0 \u00a0Paris\u00a0<\/strong>($7), \u00a0and we were getting\u00a0quite the kick from the heavily spiced and seasoned cocktail.<\/p>\n

\"Cafe<\/a>
Cafe Creme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Au Comptoir Caesar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Our<\/a>
Our Fluid Fix at the Au Comptoir Brunch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A\u00a0Pleasurable Appetizer<\/h4>\n

Sharing the Manchons de Canards Frits<\/strong> ($10), or the Fried Duck Wings, was a pleasurable start of our journey. The dish came with 6 pieces of duck wings, perfectly seasoned and fried. The colour, the smell, and and the crunchiness, all seemed impeccable\u00a0from the perfect execution. And the creamy dijon mustard was a great touch to the wings, and became even more special when Food Wench started telling the story of her travelling to Dijon in France and the whole experience at\u00a0a local mustard\u00a0factory tour.<\/p>\n

We were off to a great start for food!<\/p>\n

\"Manchons<\/a>
Manchons de Canards Frits ( Fried Duck Wings)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Sensory Pleasure Continues…<\/h4>\n

Our main dishes arrived, and they were visually stunning.<\/p>\n

My Riz de Veau aux Champignons Sauvages<\/strong> ($19) featured veal sweetbreads, lightly breaded and fried, and served with morel mushrooms, asparagus, leek puree, and 2 poached eggs. It was minimalist cuisine at its best. The sweetbreads were tender and flavourful, and a notch above\u00a0the ones\u00a0I had at Les faux Bourgeois<\/a>. The vegetable components contributed\u00a0refreshing flavours and great texture to the dish. \u00a0The dish was complete when\u00a0I cut open a\u00a0poached egg and let the bright orange yolk ooze out, a final touch that was binding everything to a pleasurable love affair on the plate.<\/p>\n

\"Riz<\/a>
Riz de Veau aux Champignons Sauvages (Veal Sweetbreadsd & Morel )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ris<\/a>
Ris de Veau aux Champignons Sauvages (Veal Sweetbreadsd & Morel )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sitting beside me, Food Wench was definitely having a\u00a0moment with her\u00a0Burger Maison Frites<\/strong> ($16) on \u00a0her own. \u00a0Although she kindly declined the option of adding a piece of Froie Gras<\/strong>\u00a0($6) despite the enthusiastic recommendation by our charming waiter, it was the sexy\u00a0burger that she was desiring. \u00a0Made from high quality beef ground in \u00a0house, the burger patty was succulent and juicy, with\u00a0a touch of pink in the centre, and it was served with delicious house-cut fries and a frisee salad. It was only\u00a0small bite on the burger that I stole from her, \u00a0but it was enough to have\u00a0me wow’d.<\/p>\n

\"Burger<\/a>
Burger Maison Frites<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nosh’s Fletan sur Brioche<\/strong> ($16), consisted of\u00a0lightly smoked halibut, poached eggs with dill hollandaise, briothe buns, and a frisee salad, \u00a0was another visually pleasing dish with vibrant colours from the greens and the hollandaise sauce. The dill in the hollandaise worked extremely well with the smoked\u00a0halibut,\u00a0and the fish seemed\u00a0much more delicate than crab or salmon that more often used in seafood benny.<\/p>\n

\"Fletan<\/a>
Fletan sur Brioche (Smoked Halibut on Brioche)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Sweet and Sexy Finish<\/h4>\n

It was always not easy for Nosh to say no to dessert menu, and it made it even harder when there was this impressive dessert stand \u00a0filled with \u00a0pastries of vivid colours at Au Comptoir. \u00a0I was captivated\u00a0by his pick, the\u00a0Tarte Citron<\/strong> ($7), or the Lemon Meringue Tart, and felt lucky to be offered for a taste of it. \u00a0The aesthetic plating of vibrant components, \u00a0the subtle fruity fragrance, the\u00a0refreshing citrusy\u00a0flavour, and the soft texture of the lush lemon curd, although it was only one bite, \u00a0 it was one heck of a\u00a0bite to please all my senses.<\/p>\n

\"Tarte<\/a>
Tarte Citron (Lemon Tart)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cafe<\/a>
Cafe Allonge (Americano)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Final Words<\/h4>\n

Our brunch at Au Comptoir was a pleasurable one. Although it was a casual bistro style meal, the quality of the\u00a0dishes\u00a0and the service was terrific, and just as impressive as what I experienced\u00a0in Paris a few years ago. It was the little details that they put in every single dish, even for the most\u00a0seemingly simple ones, that truly shows the effort of giving\u00a0a satisfying dining experience. I highly recommend the Fried Duck Wings, the Sweetbreads with Poached Eggs, and the Lemon Tart, which would hit all the right spots if you are looking for\u00a0a treat of\u00a0sensory pleasure on a Saturday morning.<\/p>\n

Website:
\n<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/aucomptoir.ca\/<\/a><\/p>\n

More reviews:
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\n\"Au<\/a><\/p>\n

Location:
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