Mar. 14, 2012 - Issue #856: FAVA
C’est un bon café
Café du France est un melange de la France et la Méditerranée
A little slice of France / Meaghan Baxter
#111, 11523 - 100 Ave
780.447.2690
Every so often, a woman just wants to have a lunch date with her mom. Being the Francophiles that we are, we headed to Café du France, the elegant new restaurant in LeMarchand Mansion.
As soon as we enter, I realize that the stately old building is a perfect home for this place. The brick, wood and stone of the Mansion create a romantic backdrop for diners; paintings, many depicting scenes of French life, dot the walls, adding colour and ambience. A panoramic view of the Seine—I mean the North Saskatchewan—only adds to the charm, as does the background music: when those notes tango out from an accordion, my imagination joins in for a few steps.
We arrive early, but the place is already hopping—tables include everyone from work colleagues to seniors.
I order a latté ($4), and my mom goes for a regular coffee. My latté arrives; the foam on top rises, all fluffy, high above the edge of the glass. For an appetizer, I order the bowl of soup with a fresh croissant ($8.95). The soup comes in two choices, of which I select potato leek. For my main dish, I consider the pasta à la Normande ($11.95), pasta with cream sauce, chicken and broccoli.
The server informs me that the latter dish would take about 30 minutes to prepare; this wouldn't be a problem, except that we had parked at a parking meter just outside the building after scrounging from our purses just enough change for 90 minutes (only pay-parking is available right next to the building, by the way).
Instead of the pasta, I order a caesar salad ($8.95), and my mom orders the spanakopita, which is one of the Mediterranean offerings.
When my soup and croissant arrive, I see that I'm in for a treat: the croissant is flaky, light as air and enormous. We split it, and my mom remarks that "This is how a croissant should taste." If only all croissants were as buttery and fresh as this one, substantial and satisfying. I'm already really happy, and I haven't even tried the potato-leek soup yet.
This is not some runny, wimpy attempt at a cream soup. Oh, no. This is garlic and pepper and cream, cream, cream. I feel the need to tell my mom about five times how much I enjoy the soup, especially that interplay of strong pepper and mild leek in a tango of their own.
By the time we finish the soup, I'm starting to feel full, but the salad's also huge, and very, very fresh. And there's that garlic again. My mom likes her spanakopita, too, remarking that it's soft, there's plenty of spinach and that the feta cheese isn't too salty.
As much as we enjoy our visit and want to try dessert, we realize that we don't have much time left on the meter, and we're very full already. I definitely want to go back and try their desserts, or maybe I'll return for another lunch date with my mom.
More info about Café du France →
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