L'Artiste

4/14/2011
Here is what I like about this place: EVERYTHING!  The vibe is perfect, dimly lit, cozy, perfect relaxing jazzy music both old and new.  The staff is very friendly, warm, and accommodating.  The food is fantastic! The best course I've had here is the Salmon dish with baby bok choy, sherry tomatoes and more.  Perfect dish, absolutely bursting with flavor, well cooked. I finished the plate and practically wanted to lick it clean. Yes it was that good.  The price was great too, under $20.  The amuse bouche was great ratatouille in a small pastry shell with balsamic vinegar, great simple fresh start.  Even the bread comes with an olive spread which I love and is so much more exciting than butter/oil.  Highly recommended, love the vibe here, can't wait to return!

1/1/2011
It is a shame it took me this long to try this place, its a welcomed addition to Astoria, something distinct in an area that already has so much fantastic food.  I really enjoyed my meal here on New Year's Eve.  We had a reservation but were not informed about the special menu, I did not mind but my company would have liked to order from the regular menu.  That said, we had a wonderful meal and it was a great value.  $75 for champagne, wine, 3 small sampler appetizers, 2 entree courses, sorbet palette cleanser, and 3 sampler dessert course.

The appetizer  while a very good start was so small it was almost a 3 taste Amuse bouche.  Not sure the three items worked together either.  The beef was the weak link, not very tender, nothing special, although it was flavored very well.  The salmon tartar was excellent but again small.  The squash shooter was the best, great rich flavor.

For the second course I had the duck and my company had the crab cake.  They were both excellent, petite, but seasoned very well.  The duck was cooked perfectly.  For the third course I had the Fillet Mignon with potatoes, not the best choice in hind site, i think i played it safe.  It was very good, but a bit standard and the piece of Fillet I got was one of the fattier end pieces.  The potatoes were not as crispy as I would have liked, but overall a very good dish.  My company loved her chicken with mushrooms dish.  The chicken was cooked perfectly and was very moist.

Apply sorbet in i think champagne was the palette cleanser was fantastic, very crisp.  It really woke my palette up.  Onto the dessert round, I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, so this was a bit of a disappointment, but overall it was very good.   The best of the three for me was something like a hot chocolate with brandy shooter, very good and not too rich.  I also enjoyed the Semi Freda.  The chocolate layer cake was just alright, nothing memorable although it looked beautiful.

Overall the meal was excellent, although it was not the largest meal I've ever had.  Petite portions, but i did not leave hungry.  They played very nice diverse music at a good volume, the selection of wines and the house wine they served us was excellent.  The service was friendly and attentive. Great ambiance in the place and a kitchen that clearly knows how to cook.  I look forward to returning here for escargot and a fig desert very soon.  Highly recommended.