In case you haven't noticed, the Grove is being taken over by the Frenchies, which makes my favorite pastime so much more exciting! First there was the lone Le Bouchon. But, after selling it and moving back to France, George could not resist the lure of the Al Fresco culture of Coconut Grove, and came back to open the appropriately named, "George's." George's offers more than just great French Bistro fare, it serves up a fun time too. The filet & potato gratin is perfect and seriously recommended. But besides the food and free-flowing champagne, George serves up a healthy dose of entertainment. As you enjoy a glass of rose, you may find yourself dancing to a techno version of the Beverly Hills Cop theme song, without even realizing it. Don't be embarrassed. You will also notice everyone around you, doing the same, and George egging you on over the microphone.
Just around the corner, is Le Petit Paris. I ate there with my sister Danni last night, and had a great meal. Although I have eaten there for dinner more than once, I have only ever sampled their moules et frites. I should take my job more seriously, and order different dishes in order to have a better sense of the menu, but frankly, they are just too tempting to resist. I will try my hardest to order something different next time, but can make no promises. Besides dinner, they offer breakfast and lunch, all of which is fantastic. I only wish that they did not do away with their macaroons, which are my favorite French treat. However, they did totally redeem themselves with their chocolate mousse. Order it. Thank me later.
Besides Le Petit Paris and George's, there are also the staples -- Greenstreet Cafe and Le Bouchon. I have not been to Le Bouchon in a while, but always loved it. I should return again to see what they are up to. While Greenstreet's food is more American than French, the owner is French and the food is always great. I also heard that they have made several additions to the menu. Since I pretty much love everything on it already, I should also try out these new offerings. I know that I am sure to like them. Finally, there is Le Moulin across the street, and I have to say, I have never eaten anything there besides a chocolate croissant. I think I just gave myself another homework assignment. - one that I am glad to take on.
Get out there, and get your French on! (Food, I mean.)
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6 comments:
Hey Kate,
Youre right, the Grove is definitely the "French Quarter" of Miami. I love it because I live in the neighborhood and French food is my favorite. I often hit up George's for brunch on Saturdays and get the eggs benedict which is sinfully delicious. FYI though, George sold his stake in Le Bouchon. He was not sole-proprietor there.
The remaining owners opened up Le Petit Paris as a 2nd venture (Im 99% positive on this) and Ive noticed its been pretty packed lately but Ive never gave it a try. Unfortunately, its got some really bad reviews of late from other diners that Ive read so Im skeptical but your positive experiences are enough for me to give it a try and come to my own conclusion.
Surprisingly, Le Bouchon has been less than 1/2 full the past 2 Thurs/Fri nights Ive walked by which totally blew me away. Ive never seen that place not packed.
Do yourself a favor though and avoid Le Moulin. The food is horrible. I took my folks there one time when they were in from out of town and I'll never go back. The food was just bad. They had a cool jazz piano dude but the food was a total miss. Cant say Im a big fan of Greenstreet for anything but brunch and a weekend bar scene. Nothing really wows me there. I miss French Kiss that used to be on Bird. Great food, horrible location that led to its demise.
Overall the new additions to the Grove have been great. Cita's, George's and Le Petit all seem to be doing well and last Friday all were chock full of diners. Too bad the other French Creole place is trying to be too South Beach...
Thanks for your feedback! I am glad you saved me the trip to Le Moulin; I never thought it would be great - just worth a shot. Anyway, I am sad that diners haven't liked Le Petit -- not just because they're good friends with my Sis and Bro-in-law, but because I have really enjoyed the food so far. They also have some lobster special that is supposed to be awesome!
I want to try George's for Brunch and I am bummed that I never got over to French Kiss, because I heard great things as well.
Thanks again fr your response! It is great to know that there is oemeone out there who not only loves French Food, but likes to rey all the new places popping up in the grove. (I can't wait for the new Swiss restaurant and the adjacent Chocolate Factory!!!)
yeah, and Crazy Pianos in Cocowalk could be fun too not to mention Lucky Strike Lanes and a new Muvico theater taking up roots there.
I know youve been to Cita's too and that place just gets better every time I go. My current rotation for when I get home from out of town includes MGFD, Jaguar, Cita's, and George's.
Your recco to check out Ra Sushi was great too. The scallop sashimi with a kiwi lime sauce was incredibly good as was the tuna sushi dish (forget the name) where they fry the rice and lay the tuna on top.
I find the best restos currently are in South Miami, Grove, and DD.
More bad reports on Grapevine blog about Le Petit (under debate party thread). I think Im staying away for now...
I can't find the bad reports on the Grapevine? All I can vouch for are the mussels, and I promise they are great! :)
The comments here are where you can find the negative reviews... Between that and others Ive read, Im not going to give it a try for sometime because it seems they have a lot of kinks to work out.
http://coconutgrovegrapevine.blogspot.com/2008/10/debate-watching-party-tonight.html
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