Le Paradou vs. L'Auberge Chez Francois

[laineypsu]

Any opinions as to which of these restaurants is better? They both seem to be highly rated on this board, and though Le Paradou seems to edge out L'Auberge by a bit, I haven't seen a head to head comparison. My SO and I are looking for a French place with great food and service to celebrate his birthday.

We are in Woodbridge so either is a bit of a hike for us, and that is ok.

[Steve]

Neither. Go to Central Michel Richard. Brand new and starting off at the top.

[dpan]

My one visit to L'Auberge was underwhelming. I've had better meals in ordinary no name restaurants in France or Belgium.

[Dakota Guy]

I have been to both. I enjoy La Paradou much better. Chez Francois is very good, mind you, but La Paradou is more creative, has a formal atmosphree, better service, and better (though far pricier) wine list.

Central is not in the same class.

However, Citronelle is defintely better than Chez Francois or La Paradou.

[Dakota Guy]

Let me add that La Paradou and Chez Francois are meant to offer different dining experiences. Chez Francois is refined country French and La Pardou is refined city French. The distinction is in the type of food offered. You would enjoy either. Chez Francois has been around forever and is a bit of an institution; it is also living a bit on past glory. Yannik Cam, chef at La Paradou, seems to eschew publicity and hence his restaurant is less well known among Washingtonians. It is however, IMHO, the better of the two for reasons cited above.

However, if you want the best French restaurant in town, try Citronelle; hands down the best. If on the other hand, you are truly interested in French country cooking, I would recommend La Chaumiere in Georgetown. On yet another hand, if you prefer French bistro cooking, there are several very good ones; everyone on this board has a diffeent favorite but the contenders include Bistro D'Oc, Bistro Lepic, Montemarte, ....

Wherever you go.. enjoy!

[MakingSense]

Dakota Guy's assesment is spot-on. I only disagree with him on one thing. Michel Richard is French and much of the food and preperation at Citronelle is French but it is somehow un-French because it is so un-traditional. Which is not a bad thing in the least. It is an absolutely wonderful, not-to-be-missed restaurant. But if you expect classics, a lot of it isn't, and Richard seems to delight in it not being.

Central is Citronelle's "let's eat in the kitchen" sibling. Informal, busy, a little noisy, and wonderful. A great place to grab dinner after work. Some comfort foods, a few things perfect for eating at the bar, some of the celebrated menu items from Citronelle. But not the relaxed atmosphere for a fine dinner you may be seeking.

[laineypsu]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I should have mentioned earlier that, quite honestly, Citronelle is out of my price range. We are also looking for more traditional French food. However I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about French food, or food in general, as any of you so I'm not sure what type of French food I am looking for! However, I noticed that Le Paradou has rabbit on the menu and my boyfriend has been wanting to try it so I think we will give it a try. I think we will like it - our last nice dinner out was at Equinox - which does not get raves on this board - and we were very impressed.

We are looking for a quiet, relaxed atmosphere and elegant atmosphere, but certainly hope to try Central or Citronelle in the lounge another time.

[Dakota Guy]

Enjoy La Paradou. A few thoughts. Use the valet parking; it is right at the door in an area with little parking. The servers at La Paradou are sometimes accused of being too stiff and formal. In fact, they respond to the client. They are formal or as informal as you wish. You set the tone, not the servers. Bottles of wine at La Paradou are pricey; if you are on a budget, order by the glass. Lastly, if rabbit is important, call and ahead and ask if it will be on the menu. Online menus are often sample menus and may not be what is currently being served.

By the way, I agree with you about Equinox. It is a favorite of mine but under-rated by many on this board.

[Pappy]

I would suggest that Le Paradou is 1) not traditional french, 2) is not a "relaxed" atmosphere, and 3) is not really any cheaper than Citronelle. My one experience there was about as stuffy as Washington gets (which I like, btw) and about as expensive as any meal I've had anywhere in the city (and I've eaten just about everywhere.)

Although I don't like to promote it, because it's already too hard to get in, I think Dakota Guy's suggestion of La Chaumiere is perfect for you. They are probably the most traditional french restaurant in the city right now, including an excellent rabbit in mustard sauce. The prices are high but still probably half of La Paradou. And the setting is quiet, relaxed and slightly elegant, especially near the round fireplace in winter.

Finally, I find Chez Francois to have a Disneyland element that I do not enjoy.

[laineypsu]

Thanks for your thoughts Pappy. I will take another look at La Chaumiere, but another thing Le Paradou has going for it is a $45 3 course menu available during the month of February (I just found this out).

[Pappy]

Thank you. $45 is a good price for Cam's quality cooking.

I also wonder if that is the first sign that Le Paradou's days are numbered. I've got an Andrew Jackson that says that place doesn't see Labor Day. Any takers?

[Dakota Guy]

Sure. How about lunch (on you) at La Paradou next October? Or your choice (on me) if your prediction comes true. :-)

[Pappy]

Considering 1) that location hasn't kept a restaurant longer than 3 years (Bice) since it was built out more than a decade ago, and 2) I don't think Cam has stayed anywhere more than two years since the 80's (La Pavillion I believe), I'm pretty comfortable with my bet. Mark your calendar and send me an email the first week of October. I'll make a reservation at Gerard's to celebrate. ;>)

[Dakota Guy]

I look forward to it either way [Gerard's is a favorite of mine as well]. Of course with Gerard Panguad gone to L'Academie de Cuisine and the restaurant losing its lease later this year, we may be dining in a place tbd!

[Pappy]

Good point! Although my sense is his ex(?) wife has the business sense to keep that place going, and I think they have just barely enough of a regular clientel to pay the rent every month. But who knows...August brings a lot of "closed for remodeling" signs.

[Steve]

I was not pleased at all with my one visit to Le Paradou. I don't know if my experience is indicative, but if it is that could explain the total emptiness of the dining room at the time.

[laineypsu]

Do you care to elaborate? Was it food, atmosphere, service?

You don't mention what time you were there but I also think that Washingtonians are late diners. Equinox, which I mentioned above, was empty when we arrived at 6:45 PM and I was concerned, but thought it was wonderful. When we left - probably around 8:30 or so - the dining room had gotten full.

[Steve]

I started off with a carrot ginger soup which was like a student experiment gone horribly wrong. The worst thing about it was the carrot sorbet plopped in the middle. It was intensely salty, almost enough to knock you over. The soup itself tasted mostly of salt, but not nearly so much as the sorbet.

I then had a stuffed quail dish. It looked beautiful and was cooked perfectly. I wish I could say any of the components of this dish had much flavor. Not the bird, and certainly not the bed of lentils it was sitting on or even the baby carrots that were in there too. The stuffing, rabbit/pistachio, for all it's fancy ingredients, tasted pretty much like any run of the mill pate de campagne. The only discernable flavoring to all this was a bit of salt. No herbs.

Dessert was nice but in the comically small category. A tiny chocolate square with a delicious but slim squirt of thyme sauce on the side. There was also an enormous ring of cookie (like a giant cookie of which everything was removed except for the very thinnest edge, perched beautifully upright, embedded in the chocolate. Beautiful to look at, tasted nice, but a dessert for people on a strict diet.

Personally, I don't care if I'm the only person in a restaurant, so much better than a noisy one, but I couldn't help thinking at the time that there was a direct correlation between accomplishment of flavor and number of clientele.

[laineypsu]

Actually there's a special promotion going on called "Come Out to Play"...DC tourism is apparently trying to promote DC theaters and there are a number of restaurants offering specials on pre and post theater menus. Check it out here:

http://www.washington.org/ComeOutToPl...

[Night Owl]

I agree with Dakota Guy and Pappy re: La Chaumiere for traditional, cozy French fare that is calmer than the loud, boisterous French bistro atmosphere lots of places have. There's the fireplace, the comfy food (don't miss the quenelle... the appetizer option is plenty since it's so rich).

Would also definitely echo that Le Paradou is very stiff and formal, even if there's a menu special. Yannick Cam is a very talented chef, but this one's a dissapointment, both in food and service. When I was there, it was nearly empty -- literally 2 tables full in the whole space -- but we had to wait 30 minutes to be seated... and we had a reservation. We were served the same amuse bouche twice (being told that since we enjoyed it so much the first time, the chef wanted us to experience it again... meanwhile, the table next to us and served a while before us had 2 different offerings... read: the kitchen ran out). The whole dinner literally took 4-5 hours, with long gaps between courses and, strangely, difficulty getting the attention of a waiter, even though there were about 6 waiters on the floor with nothing to do. And the food was less than memorable.

La Chaumiere is an entirely different feel, in a good way. And if you're looking for a more relaxed experience another time, I'm a big fan of the Citronelle lounge. And, of course, if you're going to splurge, Citronelle itself is a different experience (again, in a good way) every time you go.

[food dude]

La Paradou is MUCH better than L'Auberge. It's really no comparison.