La Note

Hm. First post. Kinda awkward. No one's looking at this and I'm not quite sure what to say.

Well, to start things off, I'll just do a restaurant review! I just recently uploaded all of my recent (read, month-old) pictures and I've come across my pictures from a restaurant called "La Note," which is a provincial French restaurant located in Berkeley. I've seen it a couple times in the two years I've lived here, with fairly long waiting queues, but it was slightly pricey so I never bothered (you know, poor college me).

Here's the thing. I adore French food. My parents actually studied, met, and married in Paris (very romantic!) and they took my sister and I to visit when I was about 12 years old. I don't remember much of the trip (except that the 3rd floor of the Eiffel Tower was closed, Mona Lisa was being blinded by camera flashes, that kind of thing) but I do remember that I absolutely fell in love with French food. Creme brulee, foie gras, their cheeses, the style and taste of the food was incredible and to this day, if I have the money, I will jump to the opportunity of eating French food! I even like escargots.

So on this past July 4th weekend, my parents (and sister) came to visit me. And, you know, because they don't mind spending money on good food, especially on holidays, I think, "Well, why not?" and take them to La Note for lunch.

The wait is long, so if you plan on going, go early or late (not the busy hours.) If you do, you can expect to wait up to 1-1.5 hours. If it's a sunny day (in Berkeley? Ha!), opt for the seating in the back, where there's a cute patio with lovely lighting and a wonderful array of plants.

The menu is charming, and, predictably, my eyes go straight to the dessert, where I find the "Creme Brulee du Jour."

I sadly didn't have room after my main meal, but I know it's there! There's always the option of going in just for the dessert!

As I'm reading the menu, I also order Orangina (my absolutely favorite carbonated drink besides Canada Dry Ginger Ale) and look! It comes with its own matching glass!

The menu, however, is slightly disappointing. I don't know if it's because it's breakfast/brunch, but the majority of the menu were omelettes, pancakes, and bacon, which is more American than French. My parents and sister took a combination of the above, and got decent plates.

I'll hand it to them, though. Their variety of breads (one of the few things that are legit French!) is amazing. Their baguettes are crispy like no other and a perfect match to the meal. (I got to bring home the left-overs!) Their pancakes are soft and fluffy, and their omelettes are pretty good!

I, on the other hand, went for the Ratatouille, which is probably one of the few actual French plates on the breakfast/lunch menu. I've never actually had it before, but I've seen the movie, and have wanted to try it ever since.

Conclusion: I love it! I had the Ratatouille with the Merguez sausages, and the combination of the vegetables, cheese, and salty sausages was amazing. I'm actually fairly hungry as I'm writing this and can almost perfectly recall how a bite would be a burst of that amazing mix of flavors. Only downside was that there were too many zucchinis for my taste (I dislike zucchini)

Overall: I like it, but it might be a little bit pricey for a tight budget. My favorite items (I got to try basically everything that was ordered in our family, just as each other member got to try my plate as well) were the Ratatouille and the baguette. I would definitely go again, but would like to try the dinner menu instead where I will hopefully find more legit French food. Also, I'd really like to try their Creme Brulee! (How do I do accents on this laptop?)

Well, that's it for now! I'll be posting up my recent attempt at Creme Brulee hopefully later this week. :)