The enduring charm of the family bistro.
Other bistros come and go, food fads come and go, but for the past thirty two years, Jacques Bistro du Parc (originally Jacques’ Omelettes) has remained the same with some judicious tweaking. The restaurant, a second floor walk-up on Cumberland Street, is a small L-shaped room seating thirty; prints of French life line the steepish stair case, and the décor is reassuringly unchanging. The owners Jacques and Martine Sorin haven’t changed, he supervises the kitchen, she covers front of house. The menu hasn’t changed much either. You won’t find Nouvelle Cuisine here – Jacques is a family place the kind of place which used to be found all over France, a basic menu of familiar favourites. I can recommend the unapologetically rich snails in garlic butter, fragrant mussels in white wine sauce, a little lunchtime steak with homemade frites, onion soup but of course, a tart salad of endives, watercress and tomatoes.
For lunch I have an omelette – what else? This is the one place where I can be sure I’ll get the real thing, a little miracle of softness, the classic fine herbes $14.25 or as I decide today, a creamy mushroom and cheese $15.50. I sigh. Why is it that a good omelette,that is to say, slightly undercooked, is so difficult to find in Toronto? Pasta, as central to Italian eating as the omelette is to the French, is a relative snap. Undercooked pasta – al dente – may be found in non-Italian restaurants. But a properly cooked omelette is scarce as hen’s teeth. I can’t work out why because omelettes are so easy to cook and they’re so nutritious – an egg has the highest quality protein of any food. But perhaps it is still tarnished by junk science which frightened eaters into thinking eggs inevitably led to heart attacks. Whatever, I know after disappointing experiences that the average omelette is hard and dry (overcooked perhaps due to another health scare, salmonella) and at some fast food places, an omelette may emerge as a solid yellow brick.
We try a smooth quiche $13.95 with a load of ultra fresh salad. My omelette comes with a few fresh vegetables, a beautifully cooked little turnip but the broccoli is hard. Service is prompt, the baguette fresh, the wines are under $10 a glass.
Dinner is busy plus. We have to wait for our reservation. We sit by the tiny bar amid the coats listening to the happy sounds of contented eaters, and Mme Sorin makes it special by bringing over a glass of wine. We learn how the restaurant is driven by the audiences at the local Cumberland movieplex. Great business when a French movie is playing – the greatest business, she says reverently, when The Queen had its long run. Otherwise her steady customers are empty nesters in the new condos. But summer? No tourists. The Sorins then go back to their hometown, Montpellier in the South of France.
For the first time I try the house pate, chicken liver, pork and veal $11.95, there’s enough of this rich, coarse country food for a whole meal. It comes with cornichohns, tiny pickles. I order sweetbreads sautéed with mushrooms, apples and flamed with Calvados.$26. 95 Rather than whole medallions, the sweetbreads are chopped up and the sauce is knockout unctuous. Sauteed rainbow trout $24.50 comes with baby shrimp and mushrooms. Good but oh the hard veg again.
We see a gleaming Tarte Tatin $8.95 on the counter. This turns out to be a house version using chunks of apple. Raspberry tart is elegant if a tad heavy. I wish they had a dessert list because now I see egg whites floating on custard on a neighbour’s plate. My fave. Oeufs a la neige. Floating Island says our charming waiter with the Massey College tie. We have an exchange of views about what and what is not oeufs a la neige. He turns out to be the Sorins’ son, studying French literature, just subbing tonight. It’s a family kind of place alright.
**Jacques Bistro du Parc 126A Cumberland St 416-961-1893 No Wheelchair access. No Music. Dinner for 2, food plus tax $85 Lunch:$50
