Happy Anniversary to Bill and me! We’ve made it 8 fabulous years and look forward to many many more. We enjoy thinking back to our early years and thinking about how different our lives were in the beginning and how we have learned so much since then, both in terms of being married and experiencing more of this wonderful world in which we live.
For our anniversary, we decided to spend the day in Annapolis and finish up the day with dinner at L’Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls. It has been on my ‘want to try’ list for a bit, so I’m happy to say I can cross that one off the list.
The location of the restaurant, for those of you who are not local, is buried in Great Falls in a tiny little country looking building, surrounded by McMansions in every direction on curvy little no-shoulder roads. The area really is beautiful and the homes vary so much in architecture that it’s a shame to have to wiz by them and not really get to enjoy their splendor. Maybe another time!
The inside of Chez Francois reminded me a bit of the Bavarian Inn style restaurants in Frankenmuth back home in Michigan - highly adorned with knickknacks and paintings of country villages on the walls. A very ‘country’ feel as opposed to the sleek interiors of most of the elegant restaurants we have dined at. Our server was from northern France and was in the US studying Business at Montgomery College for the past three years. We were pleased to have an authentic sounding server for the evening, because after all, “but-tar” with a rolled r, just sounds way cooler than boring “butter.”
We started our meal with cottage cheese and garlic bread (huh), followed by a sampler piece of quiche, a mushroom crepe for our starter, the Roquefort salad, and Filet Mignon for the main course. Bill had a medley of beef tips, lamb, veal, and lobster. We finished our meal with Grand Marnier soufflé’s - piping hot from the oven.
So how ‘was’ the food, you ask? Well… it was really delicious, wonderful mushrooms, extremely tender Filet, perfectly done Soufflés, etc. But, I can’t say it was the best I’ve ever had. The food tasted fresh and was definitely tasty, but it didn’t have that “oh my goodness, this is heavenly!” taste to it. In fact, for lunch we had gone to Caroll’s Creek in Annapolis and Bill and I had Rockfish and scallops and we were blown away. I just didn’t feel like the food at Chez Francois blew me away and I was really hoping to be in sensation-heaven after each bite. However, to be fair, I’m not much of a standard meat and potatoes girl. I like steak: Filet and I like it with sauce: Béarnaise or blue cheese please– I don’t want something that tastes like roast. So in fairness, I think a true steak-and-potatoes lover might have appreciated it more. Also in fairness, the restaurant definitely had a unique ambiance with the country inn feel and people all around were having a good time. That definitely added to the plus side. Additionally, this restaurant knew what it was (little French country inn) and everything aligned with that self-understanding.
Ok, so will we return? I’d have to say it might be a while. To this day, one of my all time favorite meals from the area was at Lightfoot in Leesburg and I can’t help but compare more of my meals to that one, especially when I have Filet. I think it was a truly wonderful experience and I’m very pleased that we did finally go and try it out. It’s just personally, not my bag baby. Cheers for now…
View Photos of Annapolis/Dinner