Joelle's Bistro serves fine French feast

Thursday, May 03, 2007

By Yolanda Wright

Contributing writer

A smiling gentleman opens the restaurant door and greets us with "Bonjour," and someone appears to whisk away our coats. The gentleman kisses my hand and leads us to a comfy parlor where we're seated in front of a fireplace, served with complimentary flutes of champagne and offered menus to look at while we wait for friends to join us for dinner.

Forget daydreams. We've just entered Joelle's French Bistro, a magic culinary kingdom in a white farmhouse that used to be a bed and breakfast three miles north of the village of Skaneateles.

In early March, new owners, the French-born husband-and-wife team of Alain Castel and Joelle Bollinger, who were both raised in Africa, opened their eclectic eight-table bistro with classic French food with an occasional Moroccan twist.

Chef Joelle and maitre'd Alain also brought a touch of Manhattan to Upstate New York from their Country Cafe in Soho. Their remarkably friendly, attentive staff was flawless when four of us enjoyed multiple international treats on a recent Friday evening.

Pink tablecloths cover patterned ones in burgundy damask in the dining room, and tables are also topped with olive oil, candles and stemmed goblets.

Joelle's menu offers 13 hot and cold appetizers ($6.75 to $15.50) and 14 entrees ($17.50 to $32.50) which include coq au vin, steak au poivre, braised sweetbread casserole, rack of lamb, vegetable couscous, fresh mussels in the shell, roasted mahi-mahi, bouillabaisse, grilled tiger shrimps and sea scallops and more.

The welcome with chilled champagne began in the parlor or at the table for all diners, and we added a bottle of Dom. de la Batardiere Muscadet ($24) from the Loire Valley to our dinner choices. Hot, crusty bread led to four fine appetizers.

Beef carpaccio ($9.50) covered a handsome plate with paper-thin slices of raw beef decorated with pesto, salad and lacy squares of fried shredded Parmesan cheese.

Classic escargots a la Bourguignone ($9) filled the pockets of hot garlic-basil-butter sauce that seasoned the tender snails, and a warm oysters casserole ($10.25) was a hit with champagne sabayon and diced vegetables.

Star of the evening was the delicious homemade duck foie gras terrine ($15.50), which one of our friends insisted was as silky as butter. The generous piece was accompanied by poached fig in ice wine and thin slices of bold spice bread that tasted of ginger.

Stealing the entree limelight, Moroccan veal tagine with dry fruits ($24.75) arrived hiding the spicy simmered stew in a clay cooking vessel with a tall pointed lid. After its dramatic removal, the lid revealed a centerpiece of steamed couscous surrounded by veal and vegetables.

Haddock with a harissa-olive-pesto crust ($25.50) was a stand-out with the fiery Tunisian sauce adding a big kick to the moist fish which was served with coriander sauce, a risotto cake and creamy carrots.

Grilled marinated tuna ($26.50), a splendid medium-rare, was served with sun-dried tomato pesto, crisp polenta, grilled eggplant and homemade smoked eggplant puree. The combination was wonderful.

A Maple Leaf duck duo ($27.50) was doubly grand, with crisp leg of house-made duck confit and sliced roasted breast meat with rich pomegranate sauce. Even mashed potatoes and fresh green broccoli tasted good.

Homemade desserts held their own, too. Warm tarte tatin ($6.50), creme brulee with a tableside bourbon flambe ($7), a large, silky creme caramel ($6) and a chocolate extravaganza ($9.50) showing off four tiny artistic tastes and presentations made perfect finales. Coffee cost $2.50. It doesn't get better than this.

The bistro has big plans for outdoor dining this summer, and its owners were hoping for the arrival of an outdoor sign when we visited.

Yolanda Wright's weekly Dining Out review is based on an unannounced, anonymous visit. A chronological archive of reviews from the last six months is available on www.syracuse.com/dining/.

                           The New York Post .

HOT TIP  "Touristy" in Central New York means something entirely different than it might elsewhere; 

still, if you want to get away from the action for an evening, drive three miles north of town to      

   Joelle's French Bistro, 

one of the best restaurants in the area. (4423 State Street Rd).   

This article was taken from the 100 best places  around Manhattan,

        Skaneateles was No. 39 ..................