Le Titi de Paris, Lunch, Friday, March 4 @ 11:30 am

Cynthia has nominated Le Titi de Paris as a Great Neighborhood Restaurant. I have always been intrigued by their Express Lunch:

Lunch express menu wrote:Butternut Squash Soup
Or
Velouté of Wild Mushroom & Thyme
Or
Lobster Bisque (+$3)

Composed Salad of Mixed Greens with Honey Tarragon Vinaigrette

(Select One of the Following)
Seared Balsamic Beef Tenderloin
Mushroom Crusted Chicken Breast
Sesame Crusted Black Tiger Shrimp
Sautéed Golden Tilapia
Grilled Atlantic Salmon
Nut Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Symphony of Desserts

Two Courses: $16
Three Courses: $19

Though people are welcome to order from their lunch a la cart menu.

Le Titi De Paris
1015 W Dundee Rd
Arlington Hts, IL 60004

Tel: (847) 506-0222

http://www.letitideparis.com/

Attendees:
Cathy2
Helen
WillG
milz50
mhill95149

Cathy-

The kids are out of school, but I am going to try to make it.

Thanks, Will

I am a maybe for attending this lunch since I need to figure out what to do with my kids who will be out of school. Another restaurant in the area which I like a lot is D & J Bistro in Lake Zurich. They also have a good prix fixe deal for lunch and dinner.

HI,

The choice of restaurant was due to its being a Great Neighborhood Restaurant nominee.

I have heard of D&J's Bistro, I think coolerbythelake liked it. Sometime!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

The choice of restaurant was due to its being a Great Neighborhood Restaurant nominee.

I have heard of D&J's Bistro, I think coolerbythelake liked it. Sometime!

Regards,

You should try it sometime.

I am looking forward to seeing more restaurants from the northwest suburbs get into the GNR list.

I will try to be there. Thanks for organizing this.

As much as I'd like a meal including a "Symphony of Desserts" I must pass.

This is, of course, the one Friday this month that I'm busy. Sigh.

Soups at Le Titi are always good. Of those offered for the Express Lunch, the Velouté of Wild Mushroom and Thyme is my standard, but I've enjoyed both other offerings, and both were wonderful.

While I usually get the Express Lunch, a friend and I recently ordered a la carte for lunch, and the sole muniere was simply amazing. To be honest, while some things obviously work better than others, I've never been really disappointed with anything at Le Titi. Just be aware that the Express Lunch mains are more comfort food than haute cuisine -- all excellent, but not as high-end as a la carte. (For the price, they couldn't be.)

Hope you have a good time.

I will have to miss this one since I will have to watch my kids.

I am no longer tentative, I will be there.

Thanks, Will

Unfortunately, I'm ill and will be unable to attend.

Hi Cathy,

I can make it. Sorry for the late notice.

-Matt

Hi,

It's only too late this afternoon.

We'll be happy to see you.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

It's only too late this afternoon.

We'll be happy to see you.

Regards,

Looks like I can make the lunch at 11:30 am
see you soon!

I had a great time meeting some new friends and seeing an old one!
here are a few of the photos I took at lunch today.
Thanks for the tips Cathy!


$50+ wine on the list for $32 (checked to see if it was a mistake) done!
nice bottle age, a bit of air woke it up and it drank very well.

ouch, overcooked Foie Gras, such a loss.. But at $9 not too painful

tasty mushroom soup, others felt it was a bit rich…

I did not taste this pork dish

the diner who ordered this commented on the lack of crunch
to the goat cheese crust

did not taste this duck dish

my dish, filet mignon over potatoes, nice and worth the set menu price.
(lit with my iPad)

chocolate soufflé looked good, did not taste

very tasty dessert of the set menu.

Excellent company and service, but I was very disappointed by the food. As Mel's picture shows, the foie was way overcooked. That was my goat cheese salad, and instead of being crispy, the outside was oily breadcrumb mush. the chocolate souffle was nicely cooked, but it could have used more chocolate flavor. We may have just hit a bad day, but I dont think that this is GNR caliber if they cant get some fairly basic things right.

-Will

Mel - great pictures. It was wonderful dining with old and new LTH friends.
Our server was very pleasant and accommodating as our group kept changing in size. She was very gracious as our group got moved from one table to another.

The food, unfortunately, was disappointing. I too ordered the foie appetizer which was a slice of seared foie served with toasted brioche and cranberry and pear chutney. This was served on a bed of sauteed spinach and a sauce. On the side was a dab of mashed potatoes. In my opinion, the dish seemed overly fussy with too many components that did not seem to mesh together. As pointed out by others, the foie was overcooked and lacked the silky, fatty, mouthfeel that is the essence of good foie.

My soup Veloute of Wild Mushrooms was flavorful and very rich. I thought the portion was quite large, but I'm sure this would be a big plus for many.

My main course was Seared Balsamic Beef Tenderloin which was served with assorted vegetables and a mixed green salad with a honey and tarragon vinaigrette. I was unable to detect much tarragon flavor in the dressing. The beef was very tender, but was seared a little too long which gave the seared crust a slightly bitter taste which overwhelmed other flavors in the dish.

I agree that the three course lunch for $19 is an excellent price value. Today, however, my meal was not one which would cause me to rush back to Le Titi.

jygach wrote: the foie appetizer which was a slice of seared foie served with toasted brioche

Should have been brioche but according to the wonderful server it was just toasted house made bread (and that's what it tasted like...)

What a pity that they weren't up to snuff for your luncheon. I do know there are off days -- and, of course, the number of off days for anyone makes the difference between being a champion and being a wannabe. I'm particularly surprised by the foie gras fiasco. I've had foie gras in a vast number of great restaurants, and Le Titi's has always been in the top ranks -- not quite as good as Le Francais, but mighty fine. One hates to see an innocent piece of foie gras badly handled.

mhill did point out one of the nice things about Le Titi -- reasonable wine prices.

I must say that I find it amusing that anyone would find fault with something being too rich. I realize not everyone has my capacity for richness, but I've never considered "rich" to be a liability. But while that is a difference of taste, burned foie gras is simply a faux pas.

I still hope to get in for bouillabaisse, while it's still in season. They do a great job with that (among many other thigns). But it looks like Le Titi missed the boat on impressing "the gang."

Cynthia wrote:mhill did point out one of the nice things about Le Titi -- reasonable wine prices.

I guess I was not clear, I found ONE bottle that I felt was so underpriced I had to check to see if it was a half-bottle or had been incorrectly priced. Once confirmed that the price was correct, I ordered it...
I did notice plenty of typical restaurant wine mark ups and a few typos (like listing a Hermitage as a Cote du Rhone)

FWIW the wine in question was a 2000 Domaine de Trevallon VdP des Bouches du Rhône on the list for $32
typically sold at retail for $60. I would have expected to see this bottle priced between $90 and $110.00 on a wine list.

Sadly, it was also their last bottle.
Wine service was well done, our server having noticed that it was the last bottle, brought up a second bottle
(just in case) of something similarly priced and from the general area.

I appreciated the thought on her part but this was going to be a single bottle lunch...

HI,

I went for the express lunch solely.

The mushroom soup had very finely minced mushrooms. I was surprised they didn't simply puree it. Instead it had a lumpy texture to it, rather than a fine smooth finish. Taste was fine. No complaints from me on richness, it was to my liking.

I ordered the nut crusted pork tenderloin. My first bite of the tenderloin, I found the meat had an overpowering taste confined to the surface, not to the underlying meat. My first thought was a long ago comment from Ann Fisher on a rub called Char Crust. My friend Helen's beef tenderloin had a similar strong surface taste, too. Le Titi may not be using Char Crust, they are using something whose flavor isn't complimentary to the meat.

There was a green salad on the plate with the meat. Helen commented she would have preferred it not on the same plate. I might have liked that arrangement, too. It is a style choice, just not mine.

Dessert was a nice assortment. When Helen declared herself too full and gave me what remained of hers. Yes, double dessert! Who would ever complain?

The waitress was a sweet gal. She did the smoothest upselling I have ever witnessed. A lot of hospitality people could learn from her.

I will definitely bring the Moms for their birthday. If they go for either tenderloin, I will ask a few questions on the preparation.

Regards,