bistro corlise

The wife and I went to bistro corlise for dinner and with the help of our awesome waitress, thoroughly enjoyed our entire evening. We sat down and viewed the small menu of starters, salads, and entrees to map out our plan for dinner. The wife and I like to make sure we get items that we can share. That way we can swap if something doesn’t agree with one of us.

Then, she decided on the onion flan.

In my mind, I started thinking that she’s mad at me or that I did something wrong. I can’t think of something more unappetizing as an onion flan. But, since I can’t tell her what to do:

tartre des allymes
onion flan, belgian endive 9.

We ate the whole thing…she ate most of it and really, really liked it. I had a few bites and liked it as well. It wasn’t all oniony like I thought it would have been. You know what I mean. We think of a flan as what you get at Mexican restaurants for dessert, that runny, jiggly snot lookin thing. This was not like those at all.

Our waitress explained that this dish was more like a quiche than a flan so she decided to give it a try. We both agreed that this should be called a quiche instead of a flan. The wife says she’d go back just for that if it was a lunch item.

I only had a few bites since I was busy with my Wild Boar appetizer. Wild BOR appetizer. I’m a BOR you’re a BOR wouldn’t you like to be a BOR too? I’m a carniBORe.

sanglier braise
basque braised wild boar,
le puy lentils, celeriac 8.

Yup, that will work even though I have no idea what a sanlier braise is. I know the photo is not that great and the colors do not shine but for me, this is just want I want, meat and beans! Chef Logan is a fan of salt which agrees with me. I like my dishes heavily seasoned and bistro corlise does not hold back. My boar (or BOR) was very tender, it had the same texture as stew meat, and the lentils were grubbin. I enjoyed every bite.

After these two starters we wanted something on the lite side so we opted for the watercress salad.

la salade
watercress, goat cheese, golden beets, radish
champagne vinaigrette 7.

Unfortunately the photo did not come out but it was very good for a salad. The yellow beats were a great mix and the wife, who does not like beats at all, enjoyed them. She actually snagged the last couple before I could. Ok, that’s way too much info on a flippin salad. On to the next course!

The wife had a tough time deciding between the duck breast and the fish special of the day. She finally settled on the fish. A silver grey fillet served over a bed of asparagus with a prosciutto reduction (the pork reduction means more salt).

poisson du jour
seasonal fish, daily preparation market price.

The skin was crispy and the meat was similar to a fatty tuna instead of being flaky like halibut. The jus was salty and delicious.

Now for my entree. I swear this menu item was right up my ally. Before looking at the bistro corlise website, I talked to my hippy friend who said “ask for the meat, meat, with a side of meat dish….they have it.” I would not think that this French bistro would be catered to a meat lover like myself but sure enough, there was a entree just for me.

le veau goute
veal new york, veal sausage, veal sweetbread
potato dumpling, carrot 26.

I’m in heaven with my all meat entree. The medium rare veal went well with the potato dumplings. The best part was taking a little slice of all three veals for each bite. Yummy. There was not a scrap left on any of our plates especially this one.

The wife and I had a good chuckle over the name before I ordered it. With the combo of the all meat entree and Chef Logan’s love of salt, le veau goute was quickly turned into le veau gout. My father in law has many gold sayings like “I’m gonna slosh this down real quick” in reference to his can of BER (cheap beer, so cheap they don’t waste the extra ink on a second E) and my favorite via text message at inappropriate hours of the evening while he’s kickin it at his local bar … “my gout’s acting up…too many hot dogs and pretzels today.” I have very little understanding of the gout but I think it has something to do with too much meat, salt, beer, and lack of movement. I’m days away from calling the MD.

All in all, the dinner was insanely good and I will be going back to try the duck. I have some constructive criticism for Chef Logan that I hope this is taken as constructive.

First, I’d love to hear some French music or something to make the restaurant a little warmer. The restaurant is nice, I just think the ambiance could be upgraded a bit.

Second, I would like the idiot’s guide to the menu. I’ve said it time and time again that I’m just your regular guy. So when faced with this French menu, it can be a little intimidating. We had to ask quite a few questions so we knew what exactly we were ordering and what to expect. Our waitress was so helpful and polite. She gladly answered our questions and gave her recommendations. We felt very comfortable asking about anything. At one point I asked “What about frogs”…do you know what she answered? (total Portland joke from back in the day)

Finally, I would like a wine pairing or recommendation for each entree. I didn’t recognize many of the wines on the menu but I’m not really a wine guy. The wine shelf/cellar in my house contains mostly Costco red wines. They’re my favorite. So when presented with the wine list I’m out of my element. I’d love to see a recommendation on a wine that will go well with each entree especially from a certified Sommelier by the International Sommelier Guild as Chef Logan is.

Obviously the wines that Chef Logan is stocking his shelves with are good, he knows what he’s talking about. So all I need is for him to tell me which wine to sip on while I shovel fork full after fork full of food into my gullet.

For all of the above we only spent $73. That’s a great deal for a great dinner out at a fine dining establishment in downtown Bend Oregon. When you get two starters, a salad and two entrees with this quality and for this price, you’re doing alright. For the money I felt the portions were spot on and I’d gladly revisit bistro corlise.

On top of all that, you get to dine in Central Oregon at a fine dining restaurant rubbing elbows with locals wearing cowboy boots…seriously, that happened. Cowboy boots + fine dining French bistro = True Bend Oregon Dining.

bistro corlise
916 NW Wall St.
Bend OR 97701
http://www.bistrocorlise.com/

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