Mistral

         I’ve been to Mistral several times for lunch and dinner, and always enjoyed the food. The cuisine is upscale French, and the portions are huge! I tried them recently for restaurant week, when my friends and I managed to score a same day reservation for a table in the lounge. Although there was a limited al carte menu available, all of us opted for the special three course restaurant week menu.

          I started with the beef carpaccio. This was a thin sliced raw beef with a lemon garlic aioli, shaved pecorino, arugula, and bits of ciobatta toast. I’ve only recently started eating carpaccio; for a long time I couldn’t get past the idea of raw beef. Since I tried it I’ve been on a kick lately ordering wherever I see it, and this was one of the better preparations.

          My entrée was the pork chop with sweet corn and peach panzanella, and aged sherry vinaigrette. The pork was cooked a perfect medium, still very juicy inside. I loved the combination of the peaches, and the onions and bread in the panzanella.

          I also tasted the sirloin steak, which came with lyonnaise potatoes, English stilton, and port wine sauce. The steak was incredibly tender and flavorful, and though I always enjoy the combination of steak and blue cheese, the addition of the port wine made it even better.

          I was tempted by the chocolate for dessert but decided to try something different, and ordered the almond nectarine tart. This was a pastry shell filled with warm nectarines, and topped with vanilla ice cream and ginger syrup. I really liked the idea of nectarines in a fruit tart as opposed to apple which I’ve seen quite a bit lately. The nectarines were light, sweet, and refreshing.

          We all enjoyed everything we tried, and agreed it was definitely one of the better options in town for restaurant week. Mistral is definitely a great place for value, since the regular prices are much higher and they don’t seem to adjust the portions at all. I didn’t find the food or service to be lacking at all (which I’ve occasionally encountered during restaurant week).