la.foodblogging

It’s that time of year again… Pellegrino is doing its annual Dine Out event. For those who are unfamiliar with Dine Out, participating restaurants offer a 3-course meal for lunch at $25 and dinner at $35. I have to say, I think I get more out of this than the charity. The charity - Share Our Strength - receives $1 for ever Dine Out meal ordered. This event benefits me personally because it gives me a chance to try restaurants I normally don’t go to because of the cost. For instance, I had heard good things about Bistro 45 for years, and as a lunch and dinner participant of Dine Out, I thought this would be a great opportunity to try the place out.

The atmosphere at Bistro 45 was exactly what I expected. I found the ambiance pleasant and comfortable. The design is very art deco and cozy. The staff was very friendly, courteous, and professional. The only thing that surprised me was that there was no mention at all about the Dine Out event. A few years ago, when I went to a Dine Out restaurant, there were little table advertisements promoting the event. When asked what we wanted to drink, I mentioned that we were there for Dine Out, which in addition to a 3-course meal, includes a complimentary bottle of Pellegrino. Our host then took away our menu and came back with the prix fixe menu. In my opinion, the participating restaurants should give customers both sets of menus, giving the opportunity of which menu to order from.

First Course
You get a choice between the Soup du Jour or the House Salad. My guest and I each chose something different. The soup today was Cauliflower Parmesan. There were a few thin slices of cauliflower florets in the soup. There is no doubt that parmesan was a key ingredient in the soup. The overall flavor of the soup was good, but it was way too salty. I was very grateful for the bread basket and the Pellegrino that helped me through this first course.

My guest went with the House Salad. She loved the mushrooms and shaved parmesan that came with her salad. I took one look at the salad and said it looked quite oily. She agreed that this was the case. She also appreciated the bread basket, as she used the bread to help absorb the vinaigrette in her salad. She was less impressed with the roasted pearl onions.

Main Course
I ordered the Ravioli du Chef - which today was filled with duck confit. This was a dish that probably worked better in theory than in practice. Duck confit is actually one of my favorite dishes, though I do not order it often because I find most restaurants don’t make it right. Many restaurants wind up putting out either a really greasy duck confit or an extremely dry one. My lunch today fell in the latter category. I thought eating the duck with the sauce - I’m guessing some sort of red wine and balsamic vinegar reduction - would help, but it actually made the situation slightly worse for me. The sauce was saltier than my soup! On the plus side, the orange slices and fig that accompanied my ravioli tasted super sweet in contrast. I finished my ravioli - after dabbing off as much of the sauce as I can onto the sides of the plate - with the help, again, of the Pellegrino and picking out the fruit between bites.

My guest selected the Citrus Marinated Free Range Chicken Breast. The chicken was served on top of a bed of green lentils and chopped carrots. Next to the chicken was roasted garlic. I sampled a bite of the chicken and the citrus flavor was definitely there. I could be wrong, but I strongly suspect orange was the main base of the marinade. Unlike my duck confit, the chicken breast was not dry at all. The roasted garlic was sweet. The sauce that came with the chicken was unfortunately also too salty.

Dessert
If you go to the Dine Out site, the participating restaurants have their prix fixe menus listed. I noticed immediately when I was handed the menu that there was a slight change. The dessert - instead of choosing from the dessert tray as advertised on the website - is now an assortment of three desserts: chocolate opera cake, carrot cake, and lemon tart. This didn’t bother me at all. The chocolate opera cake was very very rich. This is a must for any chocolate lover. Order coffee with this one. I’m glad I did. The lemon tart was, well, tart. It was simple and delightful. I am admittedly biased against carrot cakes. They have never been one of my favorites. Despite that, I can say that the carrot cake in this dessert assortment was good. The cake was moist with a good flavor balance of carrots and cinnamon. I’m not quite sure which type of nut was used - I’m guessing pecan - but it created a nice texture contrast to the soft cake.

So I can’t say I was thrilled with the meal at Bistro 45. Still, let’s do some math. By trying this place out for Dine Out, my guest and I each paid $25 plus tax and tip. Here’s how much our meal would have cost had we ordered from the regular menu:

Bowl of Soup: $7.45
Ravioli du Chef: $18.45
Dessert: $8.45
Total: $34.35

House Salad: $11.45
Chicken: $20.45
Dessert: $8.45
Total: $40.35

Paying $50 plus tax and tip is a lot better than paying $74.70. Los Angeles Magazine says “the food [at Bistro 45] keeps everyone happy.” I don’t agree as I thought the food was pretty mediocre, but I’m happy I didn’t pay full price for it.

Dine Out Los Angeles is happening at participating restaurants Sunday through Thursday until August 30, 2007.

Bistro 45
45 Mentor Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 795-2478
Lunch: Tuesdays-Fridays, 11:30am-2pm
Dinner: Tuesdays-Thursdays, 6pm-9pm; Fridays-Saturdays, 6pm-9:30pm; Sundays, 5pm-9pm

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By Pauline (see more of her posts).