Fleur de Lys

[lizziee]

Fleur de Lys in San Francisco has been closed for 11 months due to an electrical fire. It is reopening on August 12.

See their web site for information, menus etc.

http://www.fleurdelyssf.com/news/news_frameset.html

[ngatti]

Dinner at Fleur de Lys

I think that a cook/chef and certainly a serious dining avocateur need to build a resume of serious restaurants that one has eaten in. At the very least it gives credibility to culinary opinions. Apart from the sensory pleasures that the immediate meal affords us, the educational values that the persistence of various memories place within the realm of our experiences add depth and training to our palates. Fleur de Lys is a restaurant that deserves to have a place on this diner’s list of extraordinary meals.

My wife and I arrived about twenty minutes early for our 8:30 reservation on a recent Tuesday evening. The attention to detail starts with the subdued implicitly warm and friendly welcome from the young lady greeting guests as they arrive. The restaurant is quiet considering that it's full. The small bar is filled with attractive people of various ages enjoying serious desserts or having a drink. Mickey: Fleur de Lys’ omnipresent major-domo offers us a seat in the small cocktail area along with a glass of wine. My wife declines the wine in favor of a glass of water (the reason being anticipation of much wine during the evening); I accept the offer of a glass of champagne. A glass of champagne works for me as an aperitif before my much-anticipated meal.

We are seated within about ten minutes at what I thought was one of the best tables in the house. It offered good views of the dining room. And what a dining room it is. There is a main dining area with a smaller room off the rear. I noticed another small room near the entrance to restaurant off the bar's cocktail area. All tables were filled or were soon about to be. The dining room is hushed with conversation taking place in low tones. A beautiful tent parachutes over the main dining room. Impeccably polished mirrors on all the walls give the impression of space. Tasteful arabesques run along the walls. The decor evokes a sumptuousness that acts as counterpoint to the subtly elegant food that is about to arrive.

Mickey hands us menus and the wine list and offers us a bottle of water. We choose the Pellegrino. It arrives promptly along with the first amuse: a demitasse spoon of intensely flavored shredded Lobster with summer truffle. We study the menus and see that the prices are arranged by courses. My wife is going to have three courses and I’m trying to decide whether four or five. I want the wine pairings, my wife wants to order wines by the glass. At this point Mickey saves the day. He offers us a special tasting menu prepared by Hubert Keller along with wine pairings. We both gratefully accept and menus and wine list are whisked away. I note here that the tasting menu does not appear as a menu offering, but the many dishes that were sampled came from the ala carte menu. An excellent way to sample a wide array of Keller’s cooking.

Our young cheerful English waiter is attentive and informative. He along with the young lady who plays the role of assistant Maitre’D/hostess/dining room troubleshooter; offer knowledgeable help wherever needed.

Another amuse arrives. This is a perfectly cooked warm oyster. It seems to be poached until just done and placed back into the shell with some lobster stock. The shell nestled in a pile of white and black rock salt. A great bite, a great tease, for by this time, my appetite has been truly whetted. The first courses arrive. For me a small bowl of chilled cauliflower vichyssoise with a dollop of caviar in the center. Another larger spoon of the shredded lobster comes with it. I’m instructed to swirl this into the soup just before eating it. All is set in a square plate filled with what looked like poppy seed: quite a dramatic presentation. My wife’s first course was over the top! This was a small baking casserole with its lid sealed with a line of pastry. When the hostess broke the seal and lifted the lid, we were greeted with the most complex and intriguing aromas. Inside was a stew of oxtail, foie gras, fingerling potato, and summer truffle, all in a rich jus. On the side of the plate was a small seeded brioche bun with a slice of seared foie gras within. Now my wife doesn’t like foie gras, so after she took an obligatory bite or two, I felt that to that be polite, I should finish the dish for her. This course was served with a Trimbach. My apologies for the lack of wine descriptions; as a rank amateur when it comes to wine, I tend to put myself in the hands of the sommelier.

A fish course was next. Mine was wild Pacific Salmon wrapped in Radicchio, with cannelloni beans and a Banyuls sauce. My wife had the cod over heirloom tomatoes with crème fraiche mashed potatoes and horseradish sauce. Fresh fish artfully, imaginatively, and properly cooked and presented. The fish was served with a Solex Chard.

We were then served an intermezzo. I again apologize as it was white and none too sweet, but I forget the flavor. I paid as much attention to it as it took to note that the flavor was not cloying and that the dish worked as the palate cleanser it was meant to be.

The meat course was next. My wife was served the seared lamb loin with a lamb boudin blanc; a white sausage with flecks of lamb meat wrapped in some lettuce at the one end. Garnish was artfully displayed asparagus and a very rich lamb sauce. I had a seared magret, served at about medium rare to medium, with a red wine glaze and orzo risotto: all very elegant. Perfectly trimmed, seared, cooked and presented. The reductions were flavorful without any trace of thickeners. All flavors were clean. If memory serves, I was also served an angliotti with my dish. I repeat that there were no miscues. All flavors and portions were balanced and clean. We had a Cab with this course.

Cheeses were next. Small rectangular marble serviers were presented to each of us with a fan of figs at one end and a similar fan of asian pear at the other. The board for two was then placed at the center of the table. There were four cheeses of which I remember only three: the reblochon as it’s one of my favorites. The camembert as it rminded me of a Plotnicki thread, and a small glass bell jar of a mild creamy goat cheese in olive oil and herbs, along with some small pink dried berries. The goat cheese was the hit. Something keeps telling me that the fourth was a Comte, but I really don’t remember. Thin slices of fig bread and some champagne grapes complete the setting: a standout cheese board amongst many that were sampled on this trip.

Desserts complete the meal. My nectarine clafouti with pistachio Ice cream and a teardrop stick of pulled sugar. My wife’s vacherin with dried cherry ice cream. At this point dessert was anticlimactic. They were good, but as a diabetic, I sampled them, but tend not to view them as the high point of my meal. There was nothing here that caused me to react in the way that I had to the foie gras course. Don’t get me wrong, as they were tasty and well presented. Desserts aren’t the high point of my meal, just one aspect of it. The meal was completed with good coffee, friandises and mignardises: a tower of truffles, candies, small madeleines, and other cookies and pastries. I like this sort of thing better then dessert. All were well executed, but at this point we certainly couldn’t finish them.

On the way out we met Hubert Keller and exchanged a pleasantry or two with him and Mickey about some mutual friends. We were presented with a small gift of Fleur de Lys notepaper, which we thought was a nice favor. We declined the offer of calling us a cab and strolled the three blocks back to our hotel.

This meal ranks with our best. It wasn’t just the food. It was the holistic restaurant/dining experience. This one will be difficult to beat, though we shouldn’t think of it in those terms. It was a memorable meal. We don’t do this often, about once a year. This one goes in the scrapbook along with French laundry and Alain Ducasse, Paris.

One caveat. If you do this, bring money…lots of it.

Thanks for listening

Nick

[lizziee]

Nick,

Thank you for a memorable report. This is what fine dining is all about and I am so glad that Fleur de Lys is living up to its stated purpose. Obviously, this is a four star restaurant that deserves to be one; it seems that the chef and the staff work hard at maintaining this level.

There has been so much discussion on e-gullet re old dining vs new, avante garde cuisine a la Adria, the decline of french cuisine etc,, that it is refreshing to see a top notch restaurant deliver on all counts - service, cuisine, ambience.

We will be there tomorrow night for dinner, before an extended trip to France, and I only hope that our meals in France can equal the Fleur de Lys experience.

Nick, thank you again for a well-written review.

[southern girl]

Nick, what a wonderful review. You make me want to hop on a plane and head straight to Fleur de Lys....

[Robert Nesta Marley]

thank you so much for taking the time out throughout your trip to share your experiences with us.....i appreciate it & am glad to hear the service was all it's supposed to be.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Good work Mr. Nick. Next time you're going to have to take me with you. Who is this Mrs. Nick person anyway?

[robert brown]

Nick, that was a marvelous report. Coming from a real pro, I am going to have to visit Fleur de Lys whenever I am next in SF. I'm a Type-B with Type-2, so I don't worry about it.

[ngatti]

Good work Mr. Nick. Next time you're going to have to take me with you. Who is this Mrs. Nick person anyway?

Really! Imagine..."I don't like foie gras"???!??

I guess love really does conquer all.

Nick

[Bux]

Really!  Imagine..."I don't like foie gras"???!??

Really. It boggles the imagination. I'll just have to take your word for it. A wife who doesn't eat her foie gras--a match made in heaven. My wife won't even share her dessert, not even when she's on a diet. In fact, her idea of a diet is eating half of my dessert rather than ordering her own.

[Wilfrid]

Yes, that opening stew sounded ravishing. A tasty meal altogether.

[cabrales]

I am uncertain whether this has already been reported, but the James Beard Calendar newsletter for October 2002 notes that H Keller is opening a large brasserie on Townsend Street near Second Street.

[lizziee]

Before we left for France, we had to fly to San Francisco to catch a flight to Paris. There are no more nonstops on United from LA.

We decided to eat at Fleur de Lys the night before.

Nick's description of the decor, the ambiance and the service is perfect and needs no additional notes from me. Enough to say that Fleur de Lys is what fine dining is all about--elegant surroundings, correct, but warm and genuine service and perfect, well-balanced food. Locals use Fleur de Lys as a special occasion restaurant--one table was celebrating their big "40", another an anniversary, plus assorted other birthdays around the room. People dress accordingly--most men were in suits and ties and the women were elegantly attired.

As usual, we never saw a menu--we just told Chef Hubert Keller to go ahead with the special tasting he had prepared; he was including a couple of new dishes that he wanted to try out.

First amuse--English pea soup puree with mushroom and a swirl of creme fraiche. Intense pea soup flavor served elegantly in small demi-tasse cups on black onyx plates with a rice paper placemat under the cup.

Second amuse--malpeque oyster with a lobster butter sauce with tiny pieces of lobster and a touch of pepper. Absolutely extraordinary.

1st course:

Me: A tasting of foie gras--3 preparations--

a. terrine

b. smoked duck gelee

c. seared foie gras rolled in pistachio and chilled, served with "flower pot" brioche [brioche baked in tiny flower pots]

My husband: Crispy sweet breads with sea urchin on top with white and green asparagus tops in a lemon butter sauce--very sophisticated and unusual blending of flavors that worked.

2nd course:

Me--porcini dusted skate wing with squid ink pasta, rock shrimp "meat ball", and little neck clams.

My husband--monkfish wrapped in serrano ham with an artichoke flan and sliced mission figs served with oxtail jus. The meat/fish combination was perfectly balanced.

3rd course:

Me-braised lamb cheek wrapped in cabbage + lamb loin with fried garbanzo beans.

My husband--squab with foie gras and truffles, a ravoli stuffed with squab leg confit.

4th course:

Fromage--served on a plate (marble)set in the middle of the table

tete de noir, camembert, roblochon, montrachet marinated in olive oil w/pepper corns and garlic served with thinly sliced fig bread (Nick's description is better than mine.)

5th course:

Dry guiness ice cream, baba with molasses spice infusion sauce, nectarine claufouti with pistachio ice cream.

Expresso with madeleines, chocolate truffles, small pastries

Wines:

We arrived at the table to find a 1997 Arrowood Cabernet as a gift from a friend. What an extraordinary gift!

We began with Nicholas Feullate 1er cru Brut Rose--delightful, "easy" champagne.

99 Domain Schzumberger Grand Cru Kessler Alsatian Gwertztraminer--not at all cloying--clean, fresh flavor, excellent with the foie gras and the 2nd course. [just a glass each]

99 Domaine LaRoche, 1er cru Chablis, Les Vaudery--delightful.

Then the Arrowood--excellent, full bodied, perfect with the lamb, squab and cheese

For those looking for a true culinary experience in a relaxed, conversation possible room with gracious not hovering service, Fleur de Lys is a must reservation.

[marcus]

lizziee -- Considering your glowing revue of Fleur de Lys, how does it really compare from a food perspective to Auberge de L'Ill and Boyer with which it seems to have the most in common based on your France write ups. Also, what about Ducasse.

[lizziee]

Marcus,

That is an excellent and thought-provoking question.

At L'Arnsbourg, Auberge de l'lle, Boyer etc., we were unknown customers and we received extraordinary service and food. In France, because there are no turns at the finest restaurants, you can count on the finest. You have 40 people in the kitchen, 25 in the front serving maybe 40 customers. That doesn't happen in the States. Most of the time the designation of a restaurant as a Michelin 3* guarantees a 3* experience to everyone regardless of who you are and whether you are a regular or not.

In the States, this has not been our experience. We have cultivated relationships with great chefs and restaurateurs so we are "positioned" to receive the 3* treatment when it is available.

We don't expect extras or being catered to, but the chef/owners know we have experienced the best cuisine and occasionally (and it is only occasionally) we have a meal in the USA that is equal to those that are "routine" in France.

Regarding Fleur de Lys, I know that anyone who walked in the door would be treated graciously and receive wonderful food and great service.

But, will everyone experience what Nick and I had? It is very difficult to say. Will they have two different preparations for each course? I don't know. They know us. They know our tastes. They are well aware of our willingness to try everything and our enthusiasm for fine wine and food. Economics dictate that they must do 2 turns a night. They certainly never rush anyone out the door, but there will be the 6:00 reservation and the 9:00 reservation with a couple of 8:00s for regulars.

The bottom line is that world class dining is rare in the USA. The great chefs in the States have a completely different set of problems from the chefs in France.

If American consumers in numbers were willing to spend $ 120+ per person for food alone and the American wait staff became more professional, many of the very, very top chefs in the USA could produce at the Michelin 2 and 3 star level. So far, this has not happened.

We have had endless discussions on e-gullet how to get a world class meal. I think Steven Shaw and others have articulated this far better than me when they talk about the interactive experience.

[Beachfan]

I've been to Fleur de Lys 5 times over 8 years. I've always been impressed by their ability to tailor the tasting menu to the individual tastes. The first time I went, there was one vegetarian, two no - meat fish lovers and an omnivore. We got 3 different tasting menus, each course different. Something like 24 amazing and unique dishes, almost all 10s with a 9 there intermintently.

They've taken their tailoring to the next level. They will do Atkins, vegan, just about anything with notice.

[Beachfan]

I've been looking foward to this dinner for a couple of months. Two things were threatening - war and my diet (not necessarily in order).

While I wasn't exactly jumping for joy on the cab over, I had a great first day in SF and didn't want my life to stop. A word to the Maitre d' on diet and that's all was needed.

In case you didn't know, Chef Keller will gladly accomodate any diet. Advertised on the web site too. Zero carb, Dean Ornisch, vegan, you name it. This is on top of a long standing reputation of being the number one restaurant for vegetarians dining with non - vegetarians. Along with Grey Kunz of Lespinasse, he was the first witha formal vegetarian tasting menu. Even more amazing, you can have a table of 6 with 6 different dietary restrictions, you'll get 6 tasting menus, no problemo!

So we ordered one veg (ovo- lacto), one fish (no meat); both low-fat, but not zero fat. And what ensued was fabulous. While I've had meals where every course was a 10 (this had a few 9s) , none of them left me with such a healthy feeling (except Roxanne's).

There's much discussion about the supreme cuisine, but not much about the supreme chef. Perhaps the ability to address and preferences (dietary/health needs or the opposite) and still maintain top notch excellence should be the criterion. The new iron chef contest.

Enough philosophy - here' s the food.

Starter

Trademark carrot - cardoman gellee, with lobster-truffle salad (nicoise olive for my wife). Outstanding. I thought the truffle might have been a little more redolent, but no matter. Great amuse.

First

Melon balls in Sauterne sauce, white canneloni bean puree on toast (served side by side)

While I thought the Sauterne was hard to discern, the combination of the puree and the melons was extremely inspired. Who else would have thought of that combination. Excellent.

Seconds

Brandade with truffles, calamari layered with piquillo peppers in lobster gelee.

Chestnut soup with apple brunoise and red onion confit.

The brandade was a 10 and the calamari/piquillo creation was one of the best zero fat dishes ever. But the chestnut soup was fabulous, just fabulous (and if you don't have any dietary restrictions, the dish has fois gras in it!).

First Entrees

Japanese eggplant stuffed with sardinian couscous,with beluga lentils on piperade and piquillo pepper jus

Maryland striped bass with pretzel crust, red cabbage, apple jus and cinnamon oil

Wow!Wow! Wow! The bass is the dish of the year so far! Whatever you think of the combinations, they work. And How!! Succelent bass, contrasting textures flavors, bright and savory.

Surpirsingly, I liked the eggplant more than my wife. Perhaps it works best in a smaller portion. She liked it a lot, I loved it!

Second entrees

Alsatian potato stew

PumpKin seed crusted monkfish, spinach , cranberry verjus and pumpkin gnocchi.

Even though monkfish is not a favorite, the dish was very, very good. The combination of the spinach, monkfish, cranberry verjus (and pumpkin oil) was unique, harmonious, complementary and delicious. And the pumpkin gnocchi were out of this world. I may get a bowl of that next time I'm there.

The Alsatian potato stew was fabulous. I'm pretty sure it had truffle oil in it. It happens to me at least one course at these restaurants, my wife's dish sounds sort of humble and winds up trumping everything else on the table. Not a complex dish, but put a very big smile on our faces.

Dessert

Green Apple, Raspberry, Passion Fruit and Chocolate Sorbet on crisp popcorn with fresh fruit. All but the Green Apple exceptional, Green apple very good. My wife had my popcorn tablets (pretty rare, almost all the overage flows from her to me).

Wine

William Selyem Riverblock 1996; Sandeman Ruby port.

BTW, a very BYO friendly place.

PS I just love the room, with a tented brocade like canopy, fabulous floral centerpiece, the romance flows for us here.

Enough for tonight.

Peace.

[cabrales]

Japanese eggplant stuffed with sardinian couscous,with beluga lentils on piperade and piquillo pepper jus... Surpirsingly, I liked the eggplant more than my wife.  Perhaps it works best in a smaller portion.  She liked it a lot, I loved it!

Beachfan -- I sampled the eggplant dish recently.

-- Japanese Eggplant stuffed with Sardinian Couscous, and beluga lentils, on piperade and piquillo pepper jus (from the Vegetarian Feast degustation menu; substituted at my request for a fish course on the non-veggie menu), paired with a Mersault, Chateau de Mersault 1998 (one of the poorest Mersaults I have sampled -- too acidic).

An interesting dish, with a single specimen of eggplant the length of my outstretched hand stuffed with bulbous couscous (had a slight tapioca aspect), cooked down lentils (that reminded me of preserved vegetables in Chinese cuisine -- the type sometimes paired with pork or duck), black raisins (that were not noticeably sweet) and other small bits of veggie. Not bad, but not memorable.

Eggplant was (as Japanese eggplant tends to be) supple, but the temperature was definitely not as warm as it should have been. The pepper saucing was interesting, manifesting itself as a bright-ish orange sauce interspersed with green herb oil from time to time.

I do not believe this dish worked for me -- the components just didn't work well together. It was interesting, but not necessarily with a favorable connotation.

[MaxH]

I put this in a separate topic (it came up in another restaurant's thread and also refers to the recent SF high-end restaurants article).

I like the list.  I am still wondeering why I'm the only one on here who likes Fleur de Lys  though. 

←

Not the only one, Carlsbad, as you can see here. (I have been posting on FDL's history on other sites and defended the place on another (Squires's wine site) and have posted since 1995 or earlier (BARG), but can't be everywhere. Also, haven't dined at FDL in some time so lack a current diner's perspective. But I did encounter Hubert Keller here and there and gave an anecdote in the linked thread above. )

For most of the last 25 or 30 years if you mentioned a chef "Keller" in the Bay Area, it was likely Hubert Keller from Alsace, who has been cooking continuously in SF all that time, doing guest appearances, teaching classes, etc. I took one of his classes last decade and saw the energy and the spark of simple classy European cooking roots of the sort that Elizabeth David and Richard Olney celibrate in English. Below are Sesser and Unterman in their book on San Francisco restaurants, on Hubert Keller in his earlier Sutter 500. (By the way when that book of reviews came out in 1986, it was still possible for the authors to refer to a Francophone from Alsace as "M. Keller" with the reasonable expectation that people would get it. Today a 30-year-old co-worker with a Stanford graduate education puzzles over the "M." and "Mme." in Patricia Highsmith's "Ripley" novels set in France. Does no one read anything anymore?)

48 words from Sesser and Unterman on Keller's old venue Sutter 500:

"Hubert Keller is a three-star chef trapped in a one-star restaurant. He needs a room, a maître d’, a consistently professional waiting staff and a wine list to match his talent and his intensity. Despite these drawbacks, the food here is a fine as any in the city."

ISBN 0877013780, 1986. From review in the SF Chronicle. (Sesser and Unterman were I believe the longest-running SF-Chron restaurant critics of the last half century, succeeding Seymour Whitelaw in the late 1970s and preceding the current critic.)

[Andy Lynes]

I had the very great privilege to spend an hour or so in the company of Chef Keller during a whirlwind 36 hour tour of San Francisco earlier this year. I caught him between lunch and dinner services and I had further appointments that day and so was unable to enjoy a meal in the restaurant. I found him to be incredibly hospitable, charming and wise about his trade in way that only those that have survived earthquakes and dot com bubble bursts can be.

I was only able to use a sentence from Hubert in my published piece about the restaurant scene in SF, but it was used as a large-font quote in the final layout which underlined the intelligence of the statement. To paraphrase - and bear in mind that many would consider Fleur de Lys a formal restaurant - Keller said that a smile from a waiter was more important than knowing to serve from the left and clear from the right. With that simple statement Keller articulated the much vaunted ideal of "professional but informal" service in way that no other chef or restaurateur that I have spoken to has managed to do before or since.

[Carlsbad]

I guess I'm not alone after all.

[fiftydollars]

FDL rocks! I'm a big fan of "The Other Keller."

Though it can be a little cozy in the diningroom. There are some tables that really should be taken out. In the wrong table it can feel like you're sitting on someone's lap. Add that canopy and it really feels luxurious... sort of like the back seat of an old cadillac or what I would imagine it would be like inside a really nice coffin.

And from what I gather it takes a lot to get on HK's VIP list, but it has its benefits... Once when I was exiting, I spotted big bad Willie Brown, impeccably dressed, getting out of a limo full of smokin' hot ladies. When he entered, he was almost immediately greeted by a glass of wine (red).

[MaxH]

FDL rocks! I'm a big fan of "The Other Keller."

Now to be serious for a moment, that idiom truly is ambiguous, viewed from a long focus. It might even be a little bit of a test phrase or shibboleth. With due respect for both, if you tested it out you could find "The Other Keller" implying one thing to newer SF diners abuzz about what's current and hip, but something else to longterm locals who are used to SF's traditional "Keller."

Once when I was exiting, I spotted big bad Willie Brown, impeccably dressed, getting out of a limo full of smokin' hot ladies. When he entered, he was almost immediately greeted by a glass of wine (red).

Yes, that's the sort of thing you see in SF proper (in contrast to its suburbs) and it is a good vignette of both of them: the restaurant, and Willie Brown.

[Busboy]

I had the very great privilege to spend an hour or so in the company of Chef Keller during a whirlwind 36 hour tour of San Francisco earlier this year. I caught him between lunch and dinner services and I had further appointments that day and so was unable to enjoy a meal in the restaurant. I found him to be incredibly hospitable, charming and wise about his trade in way that only those that have survived earthquakes and dot com bubble bursts can be.

I was only able to use a sentence from Hubert in my published piece about the restaurant scene in SF, but it was used as a large-font quote in the final layout which underlined the intelligence of the statement. To paraphrase - and bear in mind that many would consider Fleur de Lys a formal restaurant - Keller said that a smile from a waiter was more important than knowing to serve from the left and clear from the right.  With that simple statement Keller articulated the much vaunted ideal of "professional but informal" service in way that no other chef or restaurateur that I have spoken to has managed to do before or since.

←

I had a very good meal at FDL a few years ago. The details of the meal itself are blurry -- I'd spent 15 or so hours trying to get fron DC to SF and endured a cancelled flight, a changed airport, a botched ticket exchange, a delayed second flight, lost luggage (not mine, but I could hardly leave the airport with my travelling companion waiting alone for her insulin)...and I may have done some drinking.

Appropos of Andy's/Hubert's quote, though, I do remember a server taking the time to write down a food/walking tour of the city that I followed on the day between conference end and flight home that I'd given myself to see the city. It was a wonderful end to a hideous day.

[comilona]

I went to Fleur de Lys for my birthday a few months back, and I was disapointed. The food itself was excellent and the room is beautiful - but they had big problems with both the timing of the courses and their sizes. Our first three courses came one after the other one with hardly any time to breathe between them - no sooner where we done with a course (and these are small dishes, it doesn't take long to eat them) that the dishes were cleared and the following course brought to the table. I felt like they were rushing us out. The last courses were brought at a much more leisury pace, and finally we were able to relax a bit.

The menu was also quite badly balanced. The "food" courses were all quite small, so that by the end of the main course we were still appreciatively hungry. However the cheese course and the dessert course were simply enormous. I like cheese & dessert as much as the next person, but when I go to a place like Fleur de Lys, it's for the food.

I frankly don't understand how a restaurant that has been on business for so long hasn't gotten things like this right.

Anyway, my review of the experience is at my website: http://www.marga.org/food/rest/fleur.html

[melkor]

I apparently am alone in thinking the room at Fleur de Lys is decorated like a funeral home. Aside from the feeling that you are dining in a casket, I've been most unimpressed with their wine service and stemware. The highlight of the last meal I had there was an incredibly delicious cauliflower soup that was buried between completely unremarkable courses.