By Kathy Chin Leong
Imagine preparing all day for a party of 60. You are buying the groceries, chopping the ingredients, braising and broiling, greeting your guests, conversing and serving them throughout the night. There’s mirth and laughter, and the wine is flowing. By the time the last partygoer has waved farewell and you’ve washed and dried the last dish, it is midnight. You flop onto your bed just in time to do it all over again the next day. And for the next 30 years.
This is the story of Chef Philippe Gardelle and his wife, Ellen Gardelle. They opened Chapeau! as a neighborhood bistro with the emphasis on traditional French cuisine in 1996. Like the Boston bar in the Cheers television show of the 80s, Chapeau! instantly offers hospitality and familiarity with all its guests from the moment you step in to the second you pay the check. Just try not to be charmed by Philippe and Ellen. It’s impossible.
Located in the Inner Richmond on Clement Street, well known by foodies, Chapeau! features only enough tables to seat 49 guests and perhaps twelve more at the bar. It is open for dinner nightly with the exception of Monday and Tuesday when the owners need time to recoup their energy.
On a recent Friday night, the place is packed with customers here for several reasons. A string of regulars, it seems, are huddled at the long bar discussing the events of the day. In the dining room, two older couples are meeting each other for a time of catching up. In the back of the bistro, a party of eight to ten millennials are celebrating a birthday. The rest of the guests are comfortably seated at wooden tables topped with white tablecloths and candles. White walls, soft mint pillars, plus a few plants and knick-knacks on n simple shelving tell me that the owners are sticking to the basics. No floor-to-ceiling mural of the Eiffel Tower or a floral wall with neon signage for an Instagram pic. It is a French bistro, after all, with the ambiance and feel of a late-night bistro in Paris.
I appreciate how you get served a paper menu, a relic these days. We are not having to pull out our cell phones to scan a QR code. On the menu is French comfort food – French onion soup, escargots, and filet mignon. You can choose from the à la carte section, but many prefer the $75 three-course or the $92 four-course tasting menu that offers you choices for the appetizer, the entrée, and the dessert. The fourth course is the tasting of the fish/seafood of the day.
If you want to test drive the restaurant on a less busy night, go on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday. Then you can take advantage of the two-course tasting for $52 and the three-course for $62. Diners here consistently rave about the food, and we concur with their cheers. After our party of three sat down, each person received a hot roll and butter to begin the evening.
The French onion soup possessed the perfect amount of savoriness and was not overly salted. I loved the generous blanket of cheese that pulled away with stringiness as I scooped up a spoonful. The aromatic broth was hearty and fresh, truly homemade. The crouton that sopped up the soup was a crowning touch, and among the three of us, we commented that the soup was so satisfying it could have been the meal.
Next came a ceramic bowl where a luscious, large scallop nested, not undercooked, not overcooked – perfectly tamed in a bouillabaisse sauce. Dressed with tomato and fennel, the scallop was scarfed up in two bites. My branzino meuniere was floated on a bed of spinach, and browned delicately in butter. My sister’s tender filet mignon on Swiss chard and a demi glaze tantalized the whole table, and she shared her medium-rare slices, which we inhaled with gusto.
Finishing the night was dessert. We dove into the warm chocolate fondant, the crème brulee with the quintessential, crackly sugared top, and the refreshing trio of raspberry, mango, and lime sorbets. There was something fitting for everyone’s palate. Each item was not too sweet and proportioned to share. In classic French form, you can also order the cheese plate as your finale.
Do note that the place does get loud and boisterous as customers have a grand old time. Also, the food takes time to come out. When we arrived at 6:30 for our reservation, we did not depart until 9:30. It is like dining in Europe, where people linger long over their tables.
Throughout the night, the owners were attentive and engaging. Ellen told us how much she loved sharing her beginnings with customers. She shook hands with me, my sister, and my 86-year-old mother. As the tale goes, they opened their first location in the neighborhood, and in 2009, found the current space that had more room to grow. When we complimented her on how she went from guest to guest to see how they were enjoying the food, she told us that these conversations are what keep her cup full.
And when Philippe came to greet us between opening bottles of wine and talking to guests, he firmly held Mom’s hand and told her how much she reminded him of his mother-in-law, whom he loved so dearly. Philippe even showed us the jade ring she gave him to wear before she passed.
When we were about to depart, Philippe walked us out the door and stressed, “You came as guests, but now you are family. You must return, any time!” He knows that in this day and age, when folks are of opposing opinions on so many topics, people need a place for refuge and respite. With old-fashioned hospitality and great French comfort food, Philippe and Ellen know how to throw a great party, and hopefully will do so for the next thirty years.
- For details, go to www.chapeausf.com
