A few years ago when France was the target of xenophobic sentiment and some political commentators even advocated boycotting all things French, my vivacious friend Janet Resnik remained a fervent Francophile. With the simple retort, “ah, but the food,” she found it easy to diffuse dour diatribes in which not a single good thing was said about France. Not even the most ardent anti-French could argue that French food isn’t among the very best in the world.
In Albuquerque, chef Jean-Pierre Gozard has been more instrumental than anyone in providing fine French alternatives to the ubiquitous chile laden cuisine that seems to define the city. Chef Gozard started it all in 1975 with the launch of La Crepe Michel, a hugely popular restaurant that’s still going strong nearly four decades later. In 1979 he opened Le Marmiton, one of the four or five restaurants I’ve missed most from among all those which have closed since we returned to Albuquerque. From 1987 through 1995, Chef Gozard plied his talents in Casa Vieja, a Corrales landmark.
After leaving Casa Vieja, it looked for a while as if Albuquerque had seen the last of the über chef, but in 2008 he turned up at La Crepe Pierre, a highly regarded restaurant which has since evolved into Chez Bob, another excellent French restaurant. By year’s end, Chef Gozard had launched Cafe Jean-Pierre in the space once occupied by two restaurant instantiations both called The Cup. Cafe Jean-Pierre is within easy walking distance of the Century 24 theater. It is clustered amid several local independent and chain restaurants, all of which have seen varying degrees of success.
With all due humility, Chef Gozard will tell you he offers simple dishes at good value and while that may be the case, he prepares them so extraordinarily well that every meal is a sublime experience. In an age of larger-than-life celebrity chefs, he is a breath of fresh air, a modest man who buses tables, greets his guests personally and does whatever it takes to ensure a great meal.
The high ceiling, exposed ductwork and concrete floors might give the restaurant an uncharacteristically industrial feel if it wasn’t softened by homey touches. Faux French windows with shutters, their sills adorned with potted plants, hang high against one wall, giving the appearance of a second story abode. French movie and art posters festoon the walls. Linen tablecloth drapes over every table with the appropriate place settings and stemware at the ready. You’ll know you’re in the presence of French food greatness when you first peruse the menu, or better yet, then its aromas waft toward you.
Rather than being a compendium of every possible French dish possible, the menu focuses on a select–and if our choices are any indication–delicious few. Only two soups grace the menu–soupe a l’oignon gratinee (French onion soup) and a soup du jour. Traditional French onion soup is said to have healing properties, but what it is best at remedying is hunger. Blanketed with melted Gruyere cheese melted to a golden sheen over toasted slabs of French bread and steaming with rich, hearty stock and caramelized onion, it is indeed a fabulous cure-all for mealtime blues–when made well. Chef Gozard’s version is among the very best I have ever had.
Ironically, it may not be the best soup on the menu–if the soup du jour is cream of mushroom soup. If your benchmark for cream of mushroom comes from a red-labeled can, you’ll be amazed at how wonderful the real thing is. Rich, creamy and steaming hot, it is the essence of French comfort. It has the flavor of heady wild mushrooms, perhaps portobello and shiitake and (maybe solely in my imagination) a hint of sherry. With any luck Chef Gozard will someday prepare a soup for an upcoming Souper Bowl, Albuquerque’s premier tasting competition. It will be even more fortuitous if I’m honored to judge the event again.
You’ll want plenty of the restaurant’s French bread, a lean, airy hard-crusted bread to sop up any remnants of the soup, but also to slather on the real French butter. French bread is the essence of simplicity–flour, water and yeast– but it is the essence of a French meal. Cafe Jean Pierre procures its bread from the incomparable Fano Bakery, an Albuquerque institution for the staff of life. While many restaurants throughout the Duke City area also offer Fano bread, they tend to slice it envelope thin. Not so at Cafe Jean Pierre where each slice is wonderfully thick.
A quadrumvirate of salads– Nicoise, Endive, Caesar and Maison–are available, and not just for smaller appetites. These are main course sized salads, plates brimming with garden fresh ingredients plated like fine art. Appetizers are similarly generous–a smoked salmon plate garnished with capers, red onions, cream cheese and toasts; escargots served the traditional way; La Friture D’Eperlans (smelts, dredged in flour and deep-fried; and the house pate, a housemade pate served with cornichons, moutarde and garnish.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking at the mention of pate in a French restaurant–some expensive gourmet duck or goose liver, maybe chopped pork liver. Cafe Jean-Pierre’s version is a mixture of minced ham, pork, fat and spices. It’s not easily spreadable, but it cut can be sliced thinly and laid atop toasted bruschetta. It’s an excellent pate, as good as any we’ve had in Chicago (where some chefs seem to believe you can’t ever have enough garlic on pate).
The BBC calls mustard the “unsung hero of the kitchen cupboard, adding a lick of heat and a depth of flavour to a huge range of dishes.” That is an apt description for the dollop of grainy yellow mustard served with the pate. It’s one of several items on the plate providing complementary and contrasting taste sensations that take the pate to another level. Thinly sliced red onions, tangy capers, tart pickled cornichons, meaty olives and ripe tomatoes all seem to enhance and enliven the pate. You can have them on their own or with the pate. Either way, this is a plateful of deliciousness.
If you ever happen upon Cafe Jean Pierre on an evening in which fried oysters are a featured appetizer special, don’t dally. In fact, consider having more than one order. Only at Jennifer James 101 have we had fried oysters comparable to these pearlescent beauties and JJ’s fried oysters are better than at all but a handful of restaurants we frequented on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. One of the secrets to great oysters is breading them lightly and frying them to a light, golden sheen. When you bite into them, you should be able to discern a slight crunch followed by the incomparable, sensuously gooey texture. The best description of how they should taste I’ve read is, “they taste as if God prepared them.” These qualities all define the fried oysters at Cafe Jean Pierre. A half-dozen oysters are served with a rich-tangy tartar sauce, a seared lemon and capons, none of which can improve on perfection.
The menu features six crepes, including a Ratatouille (stewed zucchinis, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, onions and fine herbs) which should be very popular following the success of the animated movie by that name. Lunch only items include sandwiches and quiches as well as a lunch portion of Moules Marinieres (fresh steamed mussels served with French fries) and the ever popular Steak Frites (a seven-ounce sirloin charbroiled to order, French fries and garnish). Crepes are not the name on the marquee, but they’re among many reasons for visiting Cafe Jean-Pierre.
My love affair with crepes began in 1978 when my dear friend Paul Venne’s mom made them for breakfast one Sunday morning in Pelham, New Hampshire (near the childhood stomping grounds of Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos). Until then, the most exotic breakfast entree I’d ever had were French toast. In my review of La Crepe Michel, I share my tale of exasperation, woe, despair and agony in my futile attempts to master the crepe. I’ve since given up and have decided to leave it to the masters–chefs such as Jean-Pierre Gozard. The world (and my wrist) is better off for that.
Seafood aficionados will fall in love with the Fruits de Mer, literally fruits of the sea. This crepe entree has a depth of flavor and richness matched only by the seas in which the seafood bounties–shrimp and scallops– were caught. Bounty is also a good description for the portion size. You’ll count five to six sizable scallops, each perfectly prepared and remarkably sweet with none of the “fishy” taste Duke City diners seem destined for when having seafood in our landlocked heaven. The briny sweetness of the shrimp and scallops is balanced by the earthiness of mushrooms and an ultra-rich sauce. The crepes are perfectly prepared and sheath the seafood so that each forkful includes the light, airy crepe along with either seafood or fleshy fungi all luxuriating neath a rich cream sauce.
Landlubbers will love the Jambon Fromage, a crepe enveloping ham and Gruyere cheese adorned by a rich, creamy Béchamel. It’s like having a Croque Monsieur sandwich substituting a crepe for the crustless sandwich bread. French ham is perhaps a bit saltier than American ham with little of the American ham’s characteristic (and often overstated) sweetness. It’s a perfect complement to the sweet and only slightly salty Gruyere. Crepes are accompanied by a vegetable medley that includes perfectly prepared carrots and zucchini with a sprig of florid rosemary.
The sense of smell, more than any of our other senses, influences our ability to recall past events and experience. Fragrance is considered one of the most potent mediums for conjuring up a memory. True enough, one of my most enduring sensory memories is associated with the amazing aromas that greeted me the first time I had Beef Wellington in Chicago. It’s a memory rekindled instantly as the Boeuf en Croute at Cafe Jean Pierre approached our table. For all intents and purposes, Beef Wellington and Boeuf En Croute are the same dish, but you’d never get anyone from England and France to agree on that point. In any event, both feature tenderloin wrapped in puff pastry. From there, creative chefs may indulge themselves with any number of sauces.
Chef Gozard certainly puts the tender in the tenderloin and he wraps it in a puff pastry more reminiscent of the thin crust of freshly baked bread and the cottony light bread just beneath it than it does the puff pastry which disintegrates when penetrated by a fork. It even looks, tastes and smells like a small, golden hued loaf of bread. It’s the heady bready aroma which so transported me back to the Windy City. The tenderloin is prepared in a traditional French manner which means it may appear more raw than rare. That’s the way it should be for optimum moistness and flavor. Also sheathed within the puff pastry is a mushroom duxelle, essentially sauteed and finely chopped mushrooms. The pastry swims in a wondrous Bordelaise sauce. Julia Child described French sauces as “the splendor and the glory of French cooking.” That’s a perfect description for Chef Gozard’s Bordelaise sauce, a flavorful accompaniment to the astoundingly wonderful boeuf.
Having lived both outside of Boston and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast heightened my appreciation of good seafood dishes in our landlocked state where truly outstanding seafood dishes are almost as limited as green chile enhanced entrees are outside New Mexico. For seafood lovers, few things are as satisfying as a rich, hearty seafood stew, whether it be cioppino or bouillabaisse. There are more similarities between the Italian-Portuguese cioppino and the French bouillabaisse, both of which have their genesis in the pots and cauldrons of the scions of ancient Mediterranean fishermen. When the wait staff recites the specials of the day, he or she need not go any further than cioppino or bouillabaisse. Invariably that’s what I’ll order.
Cafe Jean Pierre serves the very best bouillabaisse I’ve had in the Land of Enchantment. “That’s an easy feat,” you might think considering the relative dearth of seafood stews in New Mexico. Actually, in recent years, both bouillabaisse and cioppino have shown up on the specials menu at several outstanding restaurants throughout the state and all have prepared it very, very well. Chef Gozard’s rendition transported me back to the piers in San Francisco and Providence with a bouillabaisse so replete with seafood that it seemingly held all the treasures of the sea within a swimming pool sized bowl–shrimp, oysters, cod, mussels, clams and scallops, all perfectly prepared. At my request, the chef added a bit more heat (courtesy of cayenne) for my order, rendering the broth absolutely perfect for this fire-eater. The tomato-cayenne rich sauce ameliorated the sweet, succulent seafood, taking nothing away from its native flavor profile. The oversized (is that even possible) shrimp and scallops, in particular, were perfectly prepared.
Les crepes sucrees (dessert crepes) include the de rigueur Crepe Suzette, but for an adventure in taste and contrast, it’s hard to imagine anything better than the Belle Helene, a crepe playing host to poached pears and vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, toasted almonds and a housemade whipped cream. This dessert is the essence of richness, balancing flavor and texture in an island of deliciousness. The pear is a mellow, slightly tart counterpoint to the sweetness of the chocolate. The whipped cream is heaped on in plentiful amounts and is as light and frothy as air. The shaved, roasted almonds are, well, nutty. This is a dessert to savor slowly and enjoy immensely.
For sheer richness, however, it may not be possible to beat the four cream crepe, a light, thin crepe enveloping sour cream, cream cheese, whipped cream and Mascarpone. Unadorned, in fact, it might even be too rich. To cut into the richness, Chef Gozard tops the crepe with a tart and tangy lemon sauce then sprinkles powdered sugar. The result is a very well-balanced dessert that awakens your taste buds with explosions of flavor. If you enjoy the adventure of flavor discernment, you’ll appreciate the challenge of trying to figure out the flavor contributions of each of the four creams.
Janet would have loved Cafe Jean-Pierre, a restaurant reminiscent of the French countryside she loved so much. She probably would have shared a crepe or two with the anti-French xenophobes. It’s a good bet they’d be singing the praises of this fabulous crepe, perhaps even of the land of its origin.
Cafe Jean Pierre
4959 Pan American Freeway, N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
LATEST VISIT: 15 March 2012
1st VISIT: 7 February 2009
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 24
COST: $$$
BEST BET: House Pate, Soupe a l’oignon Gratinee, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Fruits de Mer, Jambon Fromage, Belle Helene, Boeuf en Croute, Bouillabaisse, Four Cream Crepe, Fried Oysters
We met a couple of friends for dinner. They ordered seafood (mussels and scallops) and were served. My spouse and I waited at least 5 minutes, maybe a few more, for our dinners to be served….grilled salmon and a pork chop. This is embarassing as you don’t want your friends to let their dinner get cold, while you await yours. For the prices at Cafe Jean-Pierre, they should know how to pace things in the kitchen. The waiter apologized for the delay but did nothing to satisfy the customers, who were kept waiting. The grilled salmon was very nice, with a sauce, but the vegetable accompaniments (which everyone received), were paltry and overcooked….a small plate with a few wrinkled green beans, a cube or two of eggplant, one piece of onion, a few nice carrot slices and a couple of watery tomatoes, with a dollop of white and wild rice. Barely a side dish. The wine (Pinot Grigio), was your basic half a glass and when we received the bill, discovered it was an outrageous price of $11.50 per glass….certainly overpriced in my opinion. The grilled salmon, incidently, was not listed on the menu or the menu specials and was word of mouth from our waiter (a very pleasant fellow), so we didn’t know the price beforehand and to our fault, we should have asked. In my opinion, for the portion size of the salmon, even though pleasant, at $24.95 and my spouses pork chop at $26.50, it was definitely not worth the price and really nothing noteworty about it. We have had more excellent food at Trombino’s for more competitive prices, even though Cafe Jean Pierre is French and Trombino’s is Italian. Rather disappointing and we will not be returning. There are plenty of eclectic restaurants in Albuquerque with food equally well prepared at prices more reasonable. I would not recommend it.
My wife and I went to CJP last night after the movies.
What a terrific dining experience!
Don’t know which wine to choose? Try a couple before making a choice and listen to your server’s recommendations.
Our server, Pam, was professional, knowledgable, personable and more.
We felt welcome and appreciated. What could be bad?
I can’t think of one thing I’d change.
The appetizer of two pates, pork and liver mousse, was perfect with all the accompaniments and surely enough for sharing.
My wife’s beet salad disappeared in a NY minute.
I had the filet of sole muniere with a lemon cream sauce that was outstanding.
My wife had Chilean sea bass which she loved.
The side dishes were perfect.
Even the bread matched the rest of the meal.
I’d take the most ardent Francophile to CJP and challenge them to find a better French eatery.
It’s a great dining experience.
We have been coming here for several years especially for birthday celebrations and other special occasions. The food is excellent and the service is wonderful. The proprietor and chef, Jean-Pierre Gozard, often leaves his kitchen to visit with the diners – a welcoming touch. We have had parties here with as many as 12 people and the staff has always been able to accommodate us and make us feel welcome. The perfect place for an intimate dinner for two or a large group.
Several months ago my first visit to CJP was frustrated per it being closed for a ‘private party’. Fair enough/understandable…actually taken as a good omen….per someone wanting and able to treat one’s friends to a great meal! Friday went just a tad after opening to hopefully be accommodated as a ‘single’ on a weekend night. Alas, was offered the bar per prior reservations (which actually did come over time…LOL). While The Bar in several other places can be fine, I’d suggest CJP tidy it up so one is not looking onto an office ‘desk’ nor a storage room sorta speak especially if offering “fine” dining. Mon Dieu! would that view be offered Inspector Clouseau or Hercule Poirot?
Re-reading that, let me add, Pardonnez-moi, as I’m being a bit contrary to most everyone’s experience and thus would like to try to excuse my comments per not having had my prunes yet; its also a Polaroid. I came specifically to have my first experience be sampling the Onion Soup & Crepe Boeuf Bourguignon. As such, I may have missed some important detail per my cursory scan of the sheet of Specials that came with the menu folder. Nevertheless, I had an uneasy feeling that the price of items didn’t match up with my memory of looking at the same items I reviewed several days earlier online. For example, I see afterwards that Boeuf en Croute is six and the Veal is $3 dollars higher ! Again, I stand to be corrected lest I missed some important detail, e.g. includes dessert. Otherwise, it is off-putting as folks are wont to say nowadays….LOL
Le French Onion: For those who measure this by the length of the ’draw-out’ of cheeze (sic), this is could be the best! For me tho, the broth somehow seemed a bit ‘watery’, not full bodied, tho it was sufficient with onions and bread. That comes after several recent tastings at, for example, Chez Axelente and Blade’s.
The Bourguignon: An Excellent value for the price!! Bountiful and tasty! Am kinda iffy on the Crepe tho, but perhaps it’s my quirky palate as I’d say that of Le Crepe Michel, albeit a one time shot as well.
“Chow!”
We just had lunch at Cafe Jean Pierre today, it was by far the best dining experience we have ever had, Las Vegas, L.A., NYC included! The food was delicious but our server was so wonderful , she made my entire day! The moules frites were (was?) worth all of the damage I did my diet, the croque madame was the best ever and did I mention the service? If customer service can trump delicious perfectly finished French cream sauces, you know you have a winner on your hands. One of the best restaurants in Albuquerque, you have gained another regular today, J.P., je vous remercie!
Oh my, Gil! As if it isn’t bad enough to hear people say “marscapone,” now I see it on your website. What is “marscapone?” A little green mobster from a neighboring planet [Mars capone]?
It’s supposed to be “mascarpone.” [mass-car-pone]. I’m a writer and editor, and sometimes it seems that knowing these things is a curse.
Thank you, ABQBOB. My spelling gets worse (or is it worst?) every year. What’s worse is my spell-checker didn’t point out my malapropism. I finally taught it “chile” is the only acceptable spelling for New Mexico’s official state vegetable, and it let me down on mascarpone.
Seriously, I do appreciate any learning opportunity if it’ll help improve this blog. Thanks again.
Gil
My wife and I love the Cafe (restaurant, really). But since we always have hard time hitting the hours, we don’t visit it as often as we’d like. I think the last time was a New Year Eave of 2010, if I remember right.
Coincidentially, both Cafe Jean Peirre and Michel are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
What an amazing lunch I had at Cafe Jean Pierre! I had the calamari steak which was perfectly grilled, amazing sauce. I first had calamari steaks in Capri, Italy and had to have them everyday. Just couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t wait to go back for more. Cafe Jean Pierre out did any cafe in Capri much to my delight. I hope this is a special on the menu often. The vichyssoise was such a treat for me as it is rarely on any menu. My best friend is coming to town and I will treat her to a spectacular lunch. She is a great cook and she is a “foodie” like me so this will be a luncheon event for us. One small complaint. There are no signs off the frontage road. I had no idea about this wonderful cafe until I heard about it from a friend.
K Prinze
My husband and I recently dined at Cafe Jean Pierre and were delighted not only with the food and the service, but with the chef who was circulating among the guests in the dining room.Eating at Cafe Jean Pierre is a dining experience as it was meant to be. The French Onion soup was wonderful, and the Peach Melba???? Well, let’s just say that three days later when we returned, there was to be no sharing of this work of art! Yum-zo; foodies rejoice!
I had a wonderful experience at this restaurant. Absolutely no problem with the waitstaff, our waitress was very cheerful and attentive. Amazing, yummy crepes in generous portions. I can’t wait to try dinner there =)
I happened upon the cafe one day with a group of people from work, when we realized the Cup was no longer there. We stopped for our lunch break and I I had the most amazing sandwich I’ve ever had in my life. I wish I could tell you which one it was, but it was a while back and I don’t recall. After that I had to take all my friends and I’ve had some truly fantastic meals off both the lunch and dinner menu. The staff has always been very polite. It can be slow when it gets busier, but I can’t fault them for that. I’m glad they have the business with the economy the way it is. Haven’t been there in a while, but I’m planning on returning soon. Hoping they’ll have the flourless chocolate cake again. Yum!
We went to Cafe Jean Pierre for lunch yesterday. It was our 3rd trip. The other two times had been for dinner. To date we have had the Croque Monsieur, Croque Madame, Poisson du Jour, Duck Confit and Filet de Pore. All were excellent.
The first time we went I found a mistake on the charge turned in to our credit card company & called Chef Gozard. He had found it a couple of days earlier when he was making his weekly review of the charges and had already processed a credit. A very honest man. Many people would wait for a complaint.
If your server is Pam you are lucky indeed. Perfect service! Even when I commented of my trim boyish figure she agreed. We both knew that I was a fat pig but the bold-faced lie but I left happy.
My wife and I we looking to eat dinner near Century Rio 24 last night. We were headed to Japengo for Sushi when I spotted the “Now Open” sign above Cafe Jean Pierre. I love, love, love Sushi, but I was excited instead by the opportunity to delight in French Cuisine. A rare treat in Albuquerque since Le Cafe Miche closed — but there’s still La Crepe Michel in Old Town and La Provence Brasserie on Central. We were the first to arrive when the doors opened at 5:30 but it filled up quickly in the time before we left.
I had the Duck Confit and my wife had the Fruit de Mer Crepe. Both savory dishes shared with a bottle of Château Greysac 2004 Medoc.
I didn’t find the service to be rude, as Karla M suggested above. However, I was left feeling that the staff didn’t fully appreciate the Culinary culture of French Cuisine — which is a shame. The table service was actually akin to that of nearby ‘corporate’ restaurants. A Sommelier would probably help improve service.
I hope that Chef Gozard will take some time with his staff between lunch and dinner service to educate them on the importance and history of French cuisine, people’s appreciation for both, and how to better address his clientele.
I will be going back again and again!
dear mrs clement
let’s see …. which one of my heated frozen food/drink did you have ? i need to know so I can work on it and improve . My servers are naughty ? Mrs Clement you have a twisted mind .. thanks for the good laugh.
JP
Ps: “desappointed” ???? spelling maybe ?
Madame Clement qu’aviez vous bu le seize septembre ?
hello i ate at your restaurant lately and i was soooo desappointed, i was expecting a good french food and all i had was frozen and heated. i didn’t know where i was going but i will tell all my french friends not to go there. waiters are so naughty !
bonjour je suis passee dans votre restaurant il y a peu de temps et j’ai ete enormement decue
Made my 1st visit to Cafe Jean Pierre tonight, OMG!!!!! My new FAVORITE ABQ restaurant. Country pate, great bread (from Fano!), veal sweetbreads (not a regular item on the menu), a fantastic Bordeaux (thanks to a very kind and knowledgeable waiter (sommelier?) for his suggestion), crepes Suzette! To think I almost went to Santa Fe for dinner tonight. I’m so glad I didn’t! — Guess where I’m going for lunch tomorrow! I need to try a savory crepe and I’m told the pastries are all made in house! Great atmosphere, great service, great food!!!
The food is incredible, the waitress that tended to us was extremely attentive and friendly and added to the experience. Chef Jean Pierre visits your table after you are served to ensure the food and service is to your expectations. Thank you Jean Pierre, and Pam the watiress! We will return.
Thanks Gil for your kind comments .We try hard to please everyone .I am upset at the comments Mrs Karla M made regarding her experience at Cafe jean Pierre , we thrive to please everyone and are not racist in the least I would never tolerate this kind of behavior from my staff, we just had an extremely busy day , one comment was taken out of context and it went downhill from there. Anyhow Thank you again,
Jean Pierre,
We love the crepes and seafood. but miss having wine with the wonderful food.
Do you know when the restaurant will start serving wine. We have asked but also receive a response of “next couple of weeks”.
Look forward to lunch again, but waiting for wine for dinner.
We ate at C.J.P. Crepiere on Friday April 10, 2009 during lunch hours. I will not go into the food as much as I will the service.
We were referred to this restaurant by a close friend of ours. I had also read the BLOG and comments on this site.
I had been waiting for a few weeks just to have these fabulous crepes…
However the meal that was great, flavorful, and well portioned was basically ruined by the server who was not only rude and unhelpful. But also very prejudice. This was the worst waitress I have ever met. She never asked us if we needed more water. I had to ask the other waitress. She never came to the table to ask if there was anything else we needed, except at the beginning of the meal, when we asked her if we can have ‘extra bread’ .. Which she never brought to our table, although every time she passed our table, she looked over and kept walking…
Not only was she rude and disrespectful, she made comments about our weight and the fact that we were not good enough clientele, or as she put it “We have Higher End Clientele than You”.
Now regardless of what type of day a ‘server’ has, they have no right to treat customers with disrespect, or with bigotry.
Making comments about ones weight, especially while in a restaurant, is not called for.
We payed our bill of close to $50.00. While the food was delicious.. The $50.00 was not worth the humiliation that she caused us, speaking deragatory comments quite loudly in front of the other patrons in the restaurant.
To say the lest, we will NEVER be returning to this establishment. And if you are Hispanic or African American I would think twice before you decide to go to this restaurant.
Gil,
Its very nice to have good French food in Albuquerque, particularly since the closing of
Cafe Niche, the mussels were fine, the house pate was excellent and the beef crepes
were deeply flavorful. The portions were ( As John Lucas said ) generous. We look
to trying the dinner menue very soon. Chef JP has a hit on his hands. Apparently beer
and wine to compliment the food in two or three weeks. We found the service friendly
and helpful
Gil,
Since both you and David Steinberg had such good things to say we tried Cafe Jean Pierre for lunch. Tried the house pate, fruits de mer, chicken cordon beau sandwich and the salad niçoise. All were excellent and more than we could eat. The cafe was packed so the service was so so to poor. But great food. John L