Bouchon: Paris Without the Jet Lag

An evening at Bouchon is a culinary trip in time and taste

We had expected the food at Bouchon, the latest addition to the fine dining panoply of Coral Gables, to be nothing less than superb. Chef Thomas Keller is, after all, considered one of the top masters of French cuisine in the country — the first American male chef to be designated a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, among other accolades. What we did not anticipate was the experience of being there.

To call Bouchon a bistro is an exercise in modesty; few bistros in France can match the quality of the food served here. But bistro is the perfect appellation if what you want is the experience of dining at a French café.

To begin with, Bouchon is housed in the recently — and immaculately — restored La Palma building across the street from the Alhambra Towers. This 1924 gem, designed by George Fink, is among the most important historic sites in the city. A walk through its shady courtyard is a trip back to the golden era of the Gables. Inside Bouchon is an even deeper trip into the elegant past.

We don’t want to know how much it cost to create the main dining room, with its patterned tile floor, its glowing bar, its burnished wood wainscoting, and its inlaid deco ceiling lighting. Whatever the price, it was worth it. This is what experiential dining is all about. To sup in Bouchon is to dine in late 19th century Paris. The waiters play their part, bustling about in the classic white apron with black vest. Even the plating, with the Bouchon insignia, feels like it came from some old establishment of the Belle Epoque.

Chef Keller calls his food “classic French.” It is not the kind of haute deconstructed dishes you find at contemporary Parisian restaurants, where the cooks are bent on reimagining the French palate. The food here is based first on exceptional ingredients — the freshest, the best quality. You understand this immediately with the seafood, from the oysters glistening on beds of ice at the bar, to the plump jumbo shrimp on their Petite Plateau tower ($98) of crustaceans.

Keller is fairly obsessed with sourcing and considers the “foragers and the gardeners” the foundation of his food ecosystem. With sister restaurants around the world, Bouchon is part of a Keller empire that has global procurement clout.

And then there is the food itself. In a word, exquisite. We were pleased by the amuse bouche openers of marinated olives and warm pistachios, and we were impressed by the opening appetizer of mussels ($10 per dozen) and the lovely Salade Lyonnaise with bacon lardons ($21), but we were blown away by the entrees.

We’ve had rainbow trout at other French restaurants, but Bouchon’s ($38) was so light and flavorful, topped with roasted cauliflower florets, capers, and brioche bits cooked in brown butter, that we had to close our eyes to better savor the moment of gustatory bliss.

Salade Lyonnaise (left) and Moules Ausafran (right)

The other entrees were also right up there, a testament to Keller’s philosophy of taking basic French fare and making and perfecting it. The simple Poulet Roti, for example ($38). They start with pasture-raised chicken, which they brine for 12 hours and then air cool for another 12 hours before roasting it and serving it with “hen of the woods” mushrooms in a pool of jus-de-poulet. The skin is perfectly crisp, the meat moist, and the sauce — well, you do understand that sauces are the glory of French cuisine.

We also sampled the lamb, medallions of lovely pink meat roasted and placed on a bed of small flageolet beans from the south of France ($54), and the steak frites ($55), with a generous pile of scrumptious French fries (now we know why they call them that) and a thick piece of flat iron steak with a pat of butter and caramelized onions on top. Our waiter recommended medium, and it was perfect: a soft, rosy interior, with a slight bite to the edge.

Traditional roast chicken (left) and classic steak frites (right)

Adding to the perfection of Keller’s main dishes are the desserts. We ordered The Bouchon, squares of chocolate cake with caramel sauce, and the profiteroles, which use ice cold vanilla ice cream in lieu of a cream filling. The waitstaff — which is superb, by the way — pour the warm chocolate sauce over the top when you are ready. We had ours with café-au-lait and café cream, those classic café beverages that reveal how well the French understand the essence of good coffee.

Bouchon also offers a excellent, deep wine list, 40 pages long, with selections from various parts of France, from the Rhône region to the Loire Valley. After discussing our taste preferences with the sommelier, we ordered a 2020 Saint-Joseph Offerus ($100), and it was superlative. The same can be said for the entire experience.

Bouchon Bistro
2101 Galiano St.
305.990.1360
thomaskeller.com/coral-gables-florida/bouchon-bistro