No Kitchen Nightmare Here

This past Saturday evening my husband Steve and I went out to dinner with our very best friends Jackie and Alan.  Since we were celebrating our 41st Wedding Anniversary they asked us to select where we should dine.  It was really an easy choice since we had recently viewed an episode of Gordon Ramsey's "KItchen Nightmares" that took place at a restaurant very near Jackie and Alan in Lighthouse Point, Florida.  The restaurant is called Le Bistro.  On the show Ramsey came in and totally revamped the menu to reflect the seasons, be less complicated and to have a more bistro flair.  We were excited to be dining at a place that had his stamp on it because Steve and I feel he is somewhat of a restaurant genius.  When we drove up to the restaurant it didn't appear to be very crowded although Jackie was told that she needed to make a reservation.  It made me a bit nervous since I had requested this particular place but as soon as we walked through the door I was put at ease.  Le Bistro is owned by Elin and Andy Trousdale.  Elin welcomed and seated us and her husband Andy was our fabulous chef.  While we were perusing the Spring Menu our waiter brought us a nice crusty freshly baked baguette, roasted garlic and a dish full of the best olives I have ever tasted.  We ordered a bottle of Malbec which was very reasonably priced and tasty but could have been just a bit cooler.  Steve and I decided to share the Tuna tartare, ginger, green onion, house pickled jalapeno with rice crackers appetizer and the Caesar Salad with a Black Olive Tapenade topped Crouton and Jackie and Alan each had the Caesar.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our starters.  For the main course we each ordered something different.  Jackie ordered the Slow braised beef ribs, caramelized trinity vegetables and garlic mushrooms, Alan the Roasted Mahi-Mahi, arugula, shitake, onions, garlic and tomato coulis, Steve the Diver scallops, chanterelles, peas in the pod and fingerling potatoes with Champagne crème and fennel pollen and I ordered the fish special which was Halibut Filet over a bed of garlicky fava beans and green beans.  Each dish was amazing!  Jackie's meat was literally falling off the bone with such well flavored sauce that we were all mopping it up with the bread.  Steve loved his scallops.  The sugar snap peas in Steve's dish and the green beans in mine were perfectly cooked.  The were a beautiful shade of bright green and tender but still crisp.  Alan's Mahi Mahi was fabulous with a great combination of flavors on the plate and in your mouth.  My halibut was delish.  It was merely dredged in seasoned flour and sauteed so that it had a wonderful crust and delicate interior and went perfectly with the fava a green beans.  The portions were huge, I took half my dish home.  Then came the really daunting decision of what to share for dessert.  But wait!  We noticed that the table next to us, also two couples, was presented with a sampler plate.  How great is that?  A small portion of each dessert on the menu.  We didn't have to choose one.  The sampler was presented on a long narrow plate with each item beautifully presented.  We had the Granny Smith apple & raisin roulade with cinnamon crème Anglaise, Belgium iced chocolate mousse, couverture chocolate sauce topped with Chantilly whipped cream, Tahitian vanilla crème brulee, Papaya house made gelato and a Profiterole filled with Vanilla Ice Cream.  It was all absolutely sinfull!!!!!  Yet somehow we managed to devour every last morsel.  When we had finished dining we asked our waiter if we could talk with the chef.  Chef Andy graciously came out to talk with us.  We spoke with him about the entire Kitchen Nightmare experience and I suspect that a lot of what we see on the show is as a result of serious editing because Chef Andy could not have been more delightful or personable.  I know this makes for good TV but always remember when watching reality shows that everything is not always exactly as it seems.  My only regret is that Le Bistro isn't closer to our house because I would definitely eat there often if it was.  Thank you for a great anniversary celebration Jackie, Alan, Elin and Andy.