Le Pigalle, Washington, D.C.

While Ryan and I were in the Dupont neighborhood picking up a DVD Friday night, we decided to grab dinner at a litte French bistro called Le Pigalle. This was my first time to Le Pigalle in its current form (it opened last spring); in January 2005 when I ate here, it was called "Peppers" and I remember having had a blue cheese hamburger with fries. Well, it's no longer a casual burger and beer kind of place!

Actually, I was a little apprehensive about trying this place. Even though the chef and management are alumni of Bistrot du Coin, the restaurant reviewer for The Washington Post majorly trashed this place in his review last month. Of course, Mr. Sietsema and I seem to have very different experiences at the same places. Some of the places about which he raves I think are crap and/or not worth the money, and some of the places he criticizes I find to be worthwhile. He gave Le Pigalle a zero out of four stars, but that very simply wasn't our experience.

We opted to sit on the large, red awning-covered patio and got a nice-sized interior table. We didn't go inside the restaurant, so I don't know what's in there, but through the windows we could see some big screen video monitors playing Europop music videos.

Ryan started off with one of those weird, fruity, pineapple juice and several kinds of alcohol "martinis." I took a sip and it was way to sweet for my tastes, so I stuck with my iced tea.

Meanwhile, I started off with the soupe du jour, a cold green pea soup. It was lovely. They made it very much like a vichyssoise, so it was cold, rich, and creamy. I could have eaten another bowl.



Our main courses were both very nice. Ryan had the canard aux trois poivre, two leg quarters of duck with a three pepper sauce. The duck had a nice crispy skin on the outside and looked to be tender and juicy on the inside. The sauce was served on the side in a separate gravy boat. He also got pommes frites with his duck.



I chose the salade Pigalle. This was a rather unusual French-style potato salad with fried bits of prosciutto and crumbled up bleu cheese served atop a bed of greens and crowned with a sunny-side-up fried egg. It looked a bit small on arrival, but it turned out to be nicely filling. The Post reviewer accused this salad of being a way for the restaurant to empty out its refrigerator, but all I can say, then, is that they have a very nice refrigerator.



Dessert was tempting. Some small confections brought to us on a dessert tray that looked fun and adorable. It was late, though, and I was full (and Ryan chose to spend his food budget on that big martini), so we had to pass, but I'd love to try some of them on a future visit.



So, there you have my tale. We noted none of the problems mentioned in the review, we found the hostess pleasant and quick, and our waitress did a good job with bistro-style service. I'll be happy to go back another time.