Located right beside Oprah's Harpo Studios, and right in the heart of the daunting Randolph St. strand lies La Sardine, owner Jean Claude Poilevey's back to basics (what about French is basic) French bistor/cafe/whatever the fuck they call restaurants.
The ambiance is homey, and unlike other restaurants in the area there isn't an exposed brick in the place. Dark colors, big windows, and comfortable seating (especially the booths) denote a nice but all together too loud ambiance. I heard/said "what?" or "excuse me?" about a thousand times during the meal.
Luckily for you the ambiance is the worst part about this place, and its not all that bad. The food, however, is fan-fucking-tastic. Whether it's the mind melting (Gruyeres melting- haha) orgasm-in-a-bowl Onion Soup, the recently legalized fois-gras (seared; an amazing preparation), the incomprehensibly good theres-no-way-this-is-good-for-you salads (I had the special, a squab salad that almost gave me a brain annuerism), or any of the slew of old-school French entrees, your gonna be extremely pleased. I'm a sucker for sweetbreads, and the staff delivered with an interesting combination of veal sweetbreads (Thymus gland of veal), tender potato gnocchi, and a mustard based sauce that was incredible. The table next to us ordered the "Bouillabaisse "Jean Claude," and upon the arrival of the dish, four people at my own table ordered it. Huge chunks of lobster, muscles, squid, and fish (god knows what else) heaped on a
plate with a tasty broth enhanced with rouille (see right).And then....epiphany, two different types of souffle: chocolate with a cream sauce, and Grand Marnier with a strawberry sauce. This dish was recommended by a friend of mine, and, well, earth shattering is not good enough to describe it. Just savory and sweet enough, the souffle doesn't collapse under the weight of the sauce (amazing). This dish takes some time to prepare, so do yourself a favor and order it with you meal, you know you want it anyway. You don't even have to look at the dessert menu.
Couple nitpicks however. It's a French restaurant and I couldn't order Ciroc (my fave French grape vodka) and had to settle for Chopin (my fave polish potato vodka, seems sacreligious). The wine list is excellent however, and the servers are glad to help pair vino with your dishes. Drinks are a little pricey, but there are worse rip offs in the neighborhood, and the bartender knows how to poor a good dirty (with fucking awesome blue chees olives).
All in all, the menu is excellent. The entrees are right at the 20-24$ range, with the apps and salads coming in at about 10$. There is a fixed price three course menu for 25$ on Tuesdays and 22$ everyday for lunch that represents an economical solution.
Ultimately La Sardine is a some-frills French restaurant that presents no nonsense French dishes with subtlety. The reliance on fresh produce is obvious, and the dishes are not heavy on pretentiousness. One of the best French experiences I've had in the city, yet the ambiance is a bit of a letdown.
My Meal: French Onion Soup, Squab Salad with simple vinaigrette, Sweetbreads with Gnocchi, Both Souffles
Fox-O-Meter
Food: 9 force fed livers outta 10 (everything was great)
Ambiance: 6 What did you say? out of 10 (loud, fucking loud)
Service: 7 can I have another tini out of 10 (attentive and helpful)
Drink: 7 If I ordered wine from Poland you woulda stared at me like an idiot outta 10 (good wine and booze, beer is questionable if non-existent)
http://www.lasardine.com/index.html
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