du Glace Bistro and Patisserie

After the demise of Restaurant du Village I wondered where we could go locally for decent French food (aside from Brasserie Pip/Copper Beech in Ivoryton, from where the Chef/Owners at du Glace have come). I had been reading about du Glace on Chowhound and other places, wondered why it had not yet been Yelped, and then the place was recently written up in the CT section of the Times, so we knew it was time to go.

We went on a slow weekday night. I have to wonder if, given the setting and feel of the place, "Brasserie" might be more appropriate than "Bistro", but these appellations are so broad (and so frequently misapplied) they have all but lost their meaning. du Glace aspires, I think, to be more Bistro than Brasserie, in that they intelligently scale themselves to their neighborhood; they seem to desire local, frequent diners as opposed to those would come for a once-in-a-while splurge. Given the local competition (the aforementioned Copper Beech and River Tavern in nearby Chester) it strikes me as a smart strategy.

The menu is typical French fare: Steak Frites, Mussels, a white french onion soup, along with some surprising French Victorian favorites such as frog's legs and escargot. I have to wonder how popular these latter two are. Somewhere, Escoffier's ghost approves their inclusion.

I was nonplussed with the apparent substitution of gougeres for bread; better I suppose to err on the side of caution with a good gougere and omit some uninteresting bread, something I had read in earlier reviews. Much has been made of the adjacent patissierie, but beyond the cheese puff I have yet to sample their work. That, of course, will not last.

Going in for the $25 prix fixe, I stuck to the basics: FOS, salad, steak frites and creme bruleé. Susan had the fish. All were good, if somewhat unremarkable, but at $25 one can hardly complain. The cream based FOS was a pleasant turn on the usual. The frites were good, though I was surprised our waitress offered ketchup, rather than say, aioli or the traditional mayonnaise.

We had scanned the bar on the way in and did not spot any Hendricks. Thus informed, we deferred on cocktails, sticking to wines by the glass. The wine list is modest, though all things considered, a decent number of offerings by the glass, including "house" reds and whites.

Service was a touch slow, but it was just the one waitress, us, two 2-tops and a 3-top.

The verdict? We'll be back. Their Coq au Vin, Cassoulet and Sweetbreads bear further investigation. Look for an update.