Now how's THAT for an interesting title!
Since there are current postings discussing both of these, I thought I'd throw in my two cents (as usual).
Someone mentioned that Ledo's is only popular because it's been around since the 1950's, and I contend that this is precisely the case with L'Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls.
There was originally a "Chez Francois" restaurant on Connecticut Ave that opened (I think) in 1954. This was probably one of the only places in town to get an Authentic French meal, much less one from the Alsace region. This chef eventually made his way to Great Falls and opened L'Auberge Chez Francois, which is one of the most charming restaurants I've seen in this country.
Unfortunately, the food at L'Auberge doesn't live up to its atmosphere or service. My wife and I went there recently and I had a boring seafood salad for an appetizer and dried up choucroutte for an entree. The raspberry souflee for dessert was a pleasant surprise, as was the excellent, well-priced Alsatian wine list.
I will probably receive death threats for this posting, because I know just how much people love this restaurant, but I think that the chef does not meet today's high standards of cooking (as he may have done 40 years ago).
If we had out-of-town guests who wanted a dining "experience," we would possibly take them back to L'Auberge, but for the two of us alone, our money is best spent elsewhere.
Go ahead and flame me, I deserve it. :-)
)
As always, comments, insults, etc. are welcomed and encouraged ....
Don Rockwell.
P.S. If you do go, downstairs (near the restrooms) are the original
menus from the mid 1950's -- check out the prices on them :(
P.P.S. Ledo's is mighty tasty pizza. It's not Famous Ray's, or
Giordano's, or Pizzeria Due, or whatever, but it's mighty
tasty nonetheless.Washington, DC
Ledo's vs. L'Auberge Chez Francois
In article , [email removed] (Don Rockwell) writes: > Someone mentioned that Ledo's is only popular because it's been around > since the 1950's, and I contend that this is precisely the case with > L'Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls. . . . L'Auberge Chez Francois . . . is > one of the most charming restaurants I've seen in this country. > Unfortunately, the food at L'Auberge doesn't live up to its atmosphere. . . The truth about L'Auberge Chez Francois at last! It has long been one of the area's most overrated restaurants.
Regarding complaining about bad experiences at big-deal fancy pricey French restaurants: I had such an experience at Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia. The first visit there was wonderful. The second was a complete letdown, including such things as being treated with contempt by the sommelier for ordering a mere Montrachet instead of _Le_ Montrachet and being served on chipped crockery. It wouldn't have helped to complain to the owner--he wasn't there that night, which is precisely why service and cooking went right into the dumper. I wrote M. Perrier a letter, to which I never received a response. And I have heard that others have had the same experience--if Perrier is onsite and supervising and cooking, the result is heaven. If he's not there, blow off your reservation and go to MacDonald's--at least at Les Arcs D'Or you'll get your money's worth and have no particular expectations that might not be lived up to. I have no intention of _ever_ going back to Le Bec Fin (the prix fixe dinner is probably into three figures by now, and the risk is simply too great to be disappointed at those prices) and I have no compunctions about repeating my story. (I even related it to the restaurant maven on Prodigy, when I had a subscription to *P*, and he pooh-poohed the whole thing. So much for him--I bet they recognize him when he comes in the door and make sure _he_ never goes away unhappy.) Perrier gets to turn away reservations every night, and his staff all make very substantial incomes (gratuities for a waiter at such a restaurant can easily exceed $300/night--with two sittings per evening and some twelve people per sitting to serve, that's a bill of $2400 times a 15% tip--and serving six nights a week...comes pretty close to $100K). It can take a long period of slacking when the boss is away to destroy the kind of reputation that Perrier built up. Perhaps the same thing goes on at the Auberge. Restaurants living on reputations of past glory, especially fancy ones that one does not frequent weekly or monthly, can persist for quite some time before people give up on them and the word gets out. (A neighborhood place in St. Paul, MN, however, disappeared very quickly after they jacked up their prices and cut back on the menu, service, and quality. Some golden geese die quicker than others.