Hidden Treasure and Locavore 6!

Let's start with the easy part; Tapino's hosting "Locavore 6, Affinity" on February 2nd. Make a reservation, bring a friend or 10, and enjoy locally produced food from our Great State of Arizona! It's been fantastic every time so far, and it'll be great again.

Now, as for the other - our hidden treasure. Somehow (I forget exactly how), I came across a piece of information that rather stunned me. That information is that there is a French bistro in Goodyear, Arizona, of all places!

It's called "Bistro Bernard." And it had three strikes on me before I even investigated it. First off, it's in a city that perhaps is not noted for its international flavor. Sure, the Goodyear company is there, but the majority of people in the area are farmers and ranchers who, let's be frank, are probably about as interested in French food as they are French films. No offence at all meant to the farmers and ranchers of this state, it's just not something they're normally associated with. Second, it is in a strip mall. A French Bistro in a Strip Mall? Yikes! And third is it's about an hour drive from my home. For an hour drive, I damn well better be impressed.

Upon arriving, our party of four entered the smallish restaurant's lobby area and took note of the 50's Bistro decor with its hanging Tiffany-esque lamps and type-cast wall decorations. Honestly, I rather liked its attempts at some authenticity. But only a couple of the tables were occupied so when I finally got the attention of the single German server I was a little taken aback when he asked if I had a reservation. No crowd awaited seating, but still, yes I had one.

We were seated in a far back corner at a neatly set table with butcher paper on the tablecloth and of course flowers in the middle. Something that caught my eye and perhaps lowered my expectations was salt and pepper on the table. Most of the time when spending a good amount of money on a meal, or eating somewhere where gourmet cooking is advertised, it's assumed that the food will be properly spiced and salt and pepper are normally not on the table.

On our way in we noticed a chalkboard with a couple of specials on it. Onion soup, of course, and a halibut entree that looked pretty good. The menu was full but not expansive, covering most of the meat groups and nearly all of the basics, and our waiter - the German we discussed earlier - informed us of a few more specials not on the menu or the sign board. I was greatly relieved to hear the escargots were a special appetizer as I'd not seen them on the menu.

Sorry, a little give-away there. Our appetizers were the escargots, a tart of portobello mushroom, and a roasted vegetable soup. The escargots came in a parsley butter sauce with pine nuts and small roasted garlic cloves. The snails themselves were tender and delicate, in a manner rarely found even in good restaurants. The addition of the pine nuts and garlic was brilliant and not overpowering of the other flavors. The portobello tart was also delicate, with diced mushrooms on a very thin piece of phylo-like dough. But the standout star was the roasted vegetable soup, which was rich and thick with deep vegetable flavors. Other offerings included something called a "tomato tartare" (which, oddly enough, included roasted tomatoes - isn't tartare raw?).

Our entree choices were the halibut special, which came with asparagus and mashed red potatoes, a flatiron steak ordered medium well, served with "pommes pont neuf" (oddly enough, French fries in a log cabin stack), pork loin medallions with a potato-cake like arrangement, and roast Guinnea fowl with a mushroom sauce.

One at a time; the halibut was cooked to perfection, a small portion laid on top of the mashed potatoes. The asparagus were large and had been cut in half from top to bottom, and they were bright and crisp without being underdone. Someone who knew how to cook and cared about it had prepared this meal! Unfortunately, the mashed potatoes were just that and fell a little flat.

The flatiron steak was actually done properly. Medium-well is a temperature that can challenge a chef; you're walking the edge between tender and shoe leather. This held firmly to the former. And as for the "pommes pont neuf"? A silly name for magnificently hand-made French fried potatoes. The stacking was kind of cute, too.

The pork loin medallions were served in a mild yellow curry. To be blunt, it was an orgasm on a plate. The pork loin - typically a low-fat cut that can be hard to do well - was both tender and juicy. The curry sauce exploded with flavor and just a little heat, but still allowed the pork to exist in the dish. And the potato accompaniment was crunchy, just salty enough, and really nice.

The Guinnea fowl was perhaps the dish with the greatest depth of flavor, however. The meat was dark, flavorful and ever so slightly gamey. The mushroom sauce was rich, deep, hearty and strong. A very well executed exotic meat that wasn't just, "Hey, it's exotic meat, there ya go!" It was a whole dish, with thought given to each component.

For desert, there was a small chocolate lava cake that caused loss of consciousness, a lavendar creme-brulee that was quite adequate, a scoop of vanilla ice cream (from the Green Giant's scooper) with a peeled peach half on top, covered in heavy whipped cream and chocolate sauce (excellent combination) and a well-stocked cheese plate with dried cranberries and figs. Coffee was adequate from a gigantic French press pot but had been slightly over-ground as there was residue powder at the bottoms of all our cups.

One last comment on the dinner; the wine suggested by the waiter was a very fruity, sweet wine that was way too drinkable. It was fine with the fish and the pork, was okay with the beef, and wasn't nearly enough to stand up to the Guinnea fowl, but it was shared amongst all four of us so was otherwise a good choice.

At the end of the meal, being the "foodie" that I am and with I think one other party still in the dining room, I asked to say hello to the chef. He informed me that she would be right out. "She?" Yes, it seems that Bernard has legged it out of the restaurant for some reason and the "French" chef who prepared our magnificent meal is Scottsdale Culinary Institute graduate and Chef Bernard assistant, Chef Sonja (or Sonia, I'm not sure of the spelling). What's more, she's not French but Mexican. And she did an excellent job.

So in the near future, if you go looking for Bistro Bernard at 149th Avenue and Indian School (enter off of Wigwam), you may not find it. Instead, you'll find Bistro 66. Why the name change? Because Bernard is gone. But the food? Wow. And why Bistro 66? I dunno, ask the Chef! Chances are you'll pay more attention to the food than the name of the place.

By the way, dinner for four (three apps, four entrees, four desserts and one bottle of wine) came to about $50/person. Yes, that's expensive, but for a special night out and really great French food, it's not bad. Even in Goodyear.