B+ for Bouchon Bistro

Writer’s note: We were neither diligent nor lucky enough to get a table at French Laundry but we had the good fortune of eating out at three of Thomas Keller’s other outlets, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc.

Some of us after guilty of late night takeaways or fast food deliveries but Thomas Keller started Bouchon Bistro as he needed a place to eat at after work. This just goes to show that Man can't live by bite-sized twenty-odd course meals alone huh? Oh, in my Dream World, I would go home to a Japanese chef, who just so happens to be a dead ringer for Takeshi Kaneshiro and who just so happens to be my catch of the day.



Interestingly, Bouchon has an unmistakeably cliche French bistro feel and service that borderlined on superficial courtesy. I say “Interestingly” as I would have expected a lower kitsch intensity from a Keller establishment and admittedly, I have been ridiculously spoilt by good service throughout this trip. Although Bouchon is an one-star Michelin restaurant, by now, I had taken it upon myself to take the Michelin guide with a pinch, no handful of salt.



The Epi bread from Bouchon Bakery next door was 'hmm ok'. It was too crusty and hard for my liking. Given how hungry I was (yes, I was also slightly grouchy and sulky), I could have easily polished off an entire stretch of white carbs with butter; but this time round, I didn't even go for seconds. Very very strange.



One of the chalkboard specials that day was a sweetbread starter. I love sweetbreads and this was good but forgettable.



Any self-respecting bistro would have steak and frites, and any self-respecting customer would order it as a benchmark. We are the obedient kind, yay!



Bouchon's Steak Frites, a pan-seared prime flatiron, was faultless. Medium raw pink, juciy, topped with yummos caramelised shallots and maître d'hôtel butter... what could possibly elevate the experience, right?

The fries, oh the fries! A motherload of fries! Double fried French fries, double the pleasure.



The Cabillaud Noir au Homard was beautiful though maybe, two portions too small. The sautéed black cod was superficially crisp but innately soft, surrounded by a rim of Maine lobster bits, sunchokes, pearl onions, bacon and garden celery.

Despite being fiendishly hungry, I wasn't blown away by the food at Bouchon Bistro. Yes, it was very good, but it wasn't 'Last Meal' material. Perhaps by association and unfairly so, I was looking for some Keller-infused piazza - and by not finding it, I felt as if I had been kept waiting - and waiting - by my date.