New Bistro in Glen Park - L'Petit Laurent - Report

My wife and I checked out the new bistro that opened yesterday in Glen Park - L'Petit Laurent - right on the corner of Diamond and Chenery, a few doors down from Chenery Park. They still have a fair amount of work to do on the exterior, so it seemed odd that they'd be open. But the place has a good amount of charm, some excellent food, and an excellent deal going on right now. From Sunday to Thursday, between 5:30- 7:00pm, they offer a prix fixe 3 course meal for $19.99. We each chose this option, each had a drink, and a bottle of perrier. With tax and tip, our meal was $76. Not cheap, but very good value for what was provided.

The prix fixe will change weekly. Options today for a starter were a cream of asparagus soup and an endive salad with blue cheese and walnuts. Soup was truly outstanding - it had a rich flavor that suggested to me their chef knows how to roast soup bones and use them well. The salad was Ok, but not as good. It had a nice, small amount of blue cheese (I hate the huge chunks often provided) and was very lightly dressed in a good way. But it lacked punch.

For entrees, we each had one of the two options - roast pork loin with carmelized fruit and mashed potatoes (was supposed to be asparus flan instead of potatoes- but given that this is their second day, they can be forgiven!). This was wonderful. The pork was cooked perfectly and the combination of flavors was quite nice. Size of entree felt just right for us - ample but not "large".

I had grilled mahi mahi served with lentils and a tarragon cream sauce. The fish was cooked to perfection and arrived piping hot. It was buttery, flaky and fabulous. The lentils were also wonderful, and included nice hunks of bacon. The cream sauce, of course, was great. One small observation - entrees arrived with small leaves of mixed greens artfully arranged on top. I suspect that they may not have had the herbs they'd normally use arrive given how new they are. Other slightly odd touches like this were there too - non matching silver ware, but this is a neighborhood place. (on that note, they have a very large changing table in their bathroom- a clear signal of being fmily friendly) on only their second night.

The desserts included in the prix fixe are great - they'll include anything they serve. I had fruit cocktail (low point of the meal - they should remove it from the menu - it wasn't canned - just uninspiring) and my wife had wonderful profiteroles - prepared with ice cream in between freshly baked cookies and fabulous chocolate sauce. We saw great looking tarts and creme brulee go to nearby tables (oh - this place is *tiny* - would be hard if you can't deal with dining in close quarters)

I noticed several other items I am excited to try next time - escargot, and oysters on the half shell. They also had a very accessible wine list with many fine options that are affordable. Also for beer lovers - they have chimay on tap.

service was very warm and efficient from start to finish. I think this place will very nicely compliment the growing restaurant scene in GP!