Life's a Picnic: Beaujolais Bistro

One of my golden rules has always been “trust your first impression”. If I had followed that thought I would have missed out on a charming little French Restaurant. Beaujolais Bistro is located about half a block away from the Reno Riverwalk. Across the street the old Comstock Hotel Casino is being converted to luxury condominiums. If my attention had been diverted I would have missed the menu posted outside the nondescript brick building. Noticed I did. The menu looked good and well priced so we decided to return for lunch later that day. We picked up Mom; she loves to explore new places.

As soon as we walked through the entrance we were charmed by the blonde wood bar and furniture. The brick walls were hung with colorful pictures depicting French themes. The hostess greeted us with a smile and treated us like old friends. We were seated at a premium table with a view of all the activity. In L.A. I would have had to drop a twenty on the maitre’d to get this table. Menus appeared, water and warm French bread followed.

Mom choose the quiche and salad. Wife April thought the Roasted Chicken Salad with fresh herbs and Dijon dressing sounded good and diet like. I opted for the charcuterie plate.

The resulting dishes were better yet than their descriptions. Mom’s quiche was of the crustless variety with crab and goat cheese, more like a flan. It came with a lightly dressed mesclum salad. Real men would eat this quiche too. April’s salad was grand. OK, chef how do you get the chicken so moist? The charcuterie plate made my day. Two pates and saucissson sec served with croutons,tapenade, and a beet tartare. Never had a beet tartare, so I asked about it. The beets were roasted I was told. Tartare cooked? Go figure, it was magnificent no matter the oxymoron. Pack me up pint to go please! Who says you can’t get an upscale meal in Reno? Not me, enjoy it.