Terrific Takeout: Le Village Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
C'est Magnifique: Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glazed Strawberries
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Upon entering Le Village, Peachy Deegan was greeted with kiss on both cheeks by our new friend, Didier. It looks like Le Village is one of the most spotless places in its neighborhood (you know we like CLEAN! See Clean Peachy...and our official cleaner is Hallak!), and we were also welcomed with lovely French water. If you have been reading closely, you know we loved our first visit to La Sirene. Didier Pawlicki is the owner of a second restaurant, called Le Village, so we just had to see what he was up to at this second endeavor. La Sirene is French, but Le Village is vegetarian. You know who isn't called Peachy Vegan but Peachy Deegan, and we do not aspire to review many vegetarian endeavors because they are meatless: we aspire to review many restaurants of excellence regardless of the cuisine (unless you serve only rabbit, goat cheese, cheesecake, blue cheese, lamb, and make us eat too much salad dressing...you ARE reading closely if you get this part.)
Le Village is absolutely extraordinary, and it's okay to not eat meat at every meal when the food is THIS delicious. Le Village has got everything but the Escargot (our favorite part of La Sirene!!! Escargots we miss you beaucoup!)
We chronicle decor as well as what we dine on, and like La Sirene, Le Village also has a Chandelier.
Normally we are thrilled by Brussels Sprouts with Garlic or Bacon, however at Le Village we met them with Balsamic Glazed Strawberries which is an absolutely divine creation.
All components were halved and sauteed splendidly, and the balsamic accentuated their natural flavors. Vegetarian appetizers can be quite good if you are at Le Village!
And, they have green tables.
For our Green Salad option, we chose Le Village salad and Didier was careful to put the dressing on the side because he is super-detail-oriented. The shallots that come to this party are pickled on premises, and add a smashing touch to the red/green leaf lettuce, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes and grated cashew.
For every takeout review, the drill is green salad, appetizer, and entree. Didier goes above and beyond the regulations and he suggested two entrees, an additional appetizer and dessert: he is fantastically passionate about his culinary vocation and had more plans for Peachy's stomach. If Peachy had not been so impressed at La Sirene she probably would not have gone to a vegetarian place, and note her safe choices above. You have her two thumbs up you can proceed to all of the following knowing they are delicious and not weirdly healthy scaring you away!
First, Didier wanted us to try the Beet Carpaccio Salad. Seems like a play on Beef Carpaccio, n'est pas? Peachy does not like bad tricks being played on her like beets substituting for beef in theory, however in practice at Le Village, Didier proved he has a great thing going. Look at the thinness of this beet:
These beets are oven roasted fresh and infused with Red Wine, Raisins, Almonds and Fresh Shredded Horseradish and combined this all screams amazing flavor, in french bien sur. It's a hit that you didn't think was coming.
Definitely our favorite was another Didier suggestion:
Gnocchi Parisian au Gratin
With gorgeous black truffles from Gascony, France, mornay sauce and swiss cheese, this will knock your tastebuds out with flavor and they will WOW you. The gnocchi is NOT a potato, it is pate a choux which for you non-francophiles is dough with cheese inside, which definitely sounds like the magic words for savory pleasure. This was the piece de resistance for Peachy at Le Village! You need to try this. It would have been even more perfect with escargots.
Finally, we met the penultimate entry in our review:
Cassoulet of Fava and Kidney Beans
Though accurate, the name does not sound as delicious as this is! Red and black beans stewed with mirepoix, smoked portebello, oyster, and shittake mushrooms joined sliced boiled potato, and evoo for a symphony of superb flavor.
A lesson to be learned: Vegetarian can be amazing if it's done by Didier!
We were greeted Au Revoir properly with a tantalizing tarte-pear a la mode!
Stay tuned for the Didier Pawlicki hit parade...
