Bistro Patois - Habersham Marketplace - Beaufort, SC
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 11:22AM
picture courtesy of riann mihiylov photography
Bastille Day Celebration at Bistro Patois
First Course – Vichyssoise – Cousserges Chardonnay
Second Course – Moules de Provencal – Hughes Picpoul de Pinet
Third Course – Petite Lamb Rack Chop with Ratatouille – Segries Cote due Rhone Red and Segries Lirac
Fourth Course – Oeufs a la Neige Au Citron – Ch Hallet Sauternes
Walking into Bistro Patois feels like you’ve walked into a restaurant that was picked up from the left bank of the Seine, flown over and deposited in Habersham Marketplace in Beaufort. There’s an immediate feeling of “mais oui!” My son, Luke, and I drove to Beaufort for French fare (far easier than hopping on a plane plus it’s a pleasant drive). When we sat down at our table, a nice corner booth, we looked at each other, nodded our heads, and gave a discreet whatever it’s called knuckle punchy thing golfers do.
Bistro Patois, is a curious name. There is nothing ‘patois’ about the place. It’s just a year old but you would never be able to tell. It has calmness about it, suitably proper that makes you think...“we have been around forever.” It’s small, I think I counted fifteen tables inside and the chance to eat out side if it’s not bucketing down with rain like it was for us on Bastille Day – which didn’t matter one bit.
Chef Penn pillages, in the nicest possible way, the local markets for his menu ingredients. His philosophy? Simple is better. With fourteen years experience under his toque blanche, he’s calm and caring about his restaurant and food and that clearly comes through. I guess that’s the one un-French thing about Bistro Patois...no crazy temperamental chef like Skinner from the movie Ratatouille.
We had a set menu – paired with lovely wines, which I will get to later. I glanced at the menu proper; it’s definitely up-scale bistro fare. I guess it could be categorized, if there was such a thing, as a Gastro- Bistro. It’s expanded beyond bog-standard bistro fare – steak, chips/fries, pate, gherkins, but it’s all there, including raclette! Their Country Table Lunch Buffet will be expanded later this month to Wednesdays through Saturdays. A lovely day out – especially on Fridays when the Habersham farmer’s market is in full swing. Well worth the drive from Hilton Head. My hint, when you go, is to know if you think you are going the wrong way? You are so going the right way. You head down a road well signed to Habersham Market and all of a sudden POP it opens up to a small village on the left– I liken it to the little village in Palmetto Bluff.
Bistro Patois is a sister restaurant to Plums and Saltus in Beaufort – for those who are completely unfamiliar with the surrounding area – it is nowhere near either of them. What I mean, is that Patois is not in downtown Beaufort, it's approximately 10 miles away. The Bistro Patois website is comprehensive and informative – there’s really no need for me to go into anything other than that here.
The restaurant itself is charming. I was beguiled by the crystal chandelier in the middle of the ceiling (well where else would it be Sally?). It is truly pretty as is the atmosphere calm and classy.
picture courtesy of riann mihiylov photography
Let me get back to our meal. Our first course was vichyssoise – a potato and leek soup served cold. It was traditional and tasty.
Moules de Provencal was next on the menu. I love mussels and never make them since I never seem to be able to get them clean enough. I’m sorry to say that some restaurants have the same problem, that and over cooking them so they resemble little rocks – and well the sauce...can be hit or miss. Not this time. The moules were tender and sweet – not over cooked and chewy. The tomato based sauce was a nice change from the sometimes watery and bland mariniere. At this point Luke and I asked for more bread – mopping allowed with moules. Not one bit of that sauce was going to be left.
Next was Petite Lamb Rack Chop with Ratatouille. The lamb, again, was cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth – very pink. The ratatouille served as a bed for the lamb. The usual stewy ratatouille was replaced with a tasty version that wasn’t runny and had a little bite to it. You could actually taste and recognize all the vegetables rather than being over powered by too many peppers, or the whole thing drowned in tomato sauce. The dish was so different from every other ordinary slap it on the side of a plate ratatouille norm that I asked chef Penn for the recipe and will post it here in a few days.
Our dessert, Oeufs a la Neige Au Citron was just a miracle – it was humid and rainy outside and they were fluffy and light! I’m still shaking my head on how he accomplished that meringue miracle. Also, he didn’t poach them, so they weren’t runny; he baked them to a lovely golden color.
Now, I don’t profess to know a lot about wines. I like my grape juice and usually in the form of chardonnay. However, I have to say that Henri Gabriel from Advintage was a straight talking juice pusher kind of dude who made sense. We could actually follow what he had to say since pretentious wine-ing was not his style. Our standout favorites were the Huges Picpoul de Pinet – it really popped with the moules. It was crisp, tart and would be great with just about any seafood. This bottle was so enjoyable and affordable that I bought a case of it. Nice price point too: about $10.00. With the lamb – the Sergries Lirac stood out a lovely blend of primarily Grenache, Syrah, and a couple of other grapes whose names I don’t remember. Anyway, I bought a case of that, too. Price point: around $20.00, a poor man’s Chataunauf.
Bistro Patois is one for the short list. Don’t let the drive put you off if you’re coming from the Island. The food alone is worth it plus it’s a nice change of scene. Driving from Bluffton it’s a hop skip and a jump. From Beaufort, well it’s a doddle. As I mentioned, next time, I’ll make a day of it. I’ll pillage the farmer’s market myself on a Friday hang around the village and grab an early bistro dinner.
Chef Penn and moi
21A-1 Market Street
Habersham
843 379 2207
Hours: Dinner - Tuesday through Saturday 4:30-10:00pm
Lunch - Wednesday through Saturday 11:00am-2:30pm
Reader Comments (1)
you made my mouth water! sounds like a nice day/night trip for us!