French Connection's formula stands test of time

I cannot remember a time when French Connection wasn't part of the downtown scene. With the exception of Veranda (and, of course the slightly more distant Farmer's Market), I don't think there's a city restaurant that's been around here as long as I have - just six months shy of 30 years.

French, as it's known to long timers, has been serving comforting quiches, crepes and other breakfast and lunch fare by day and equally soothing liquid libations at night, for decades.

The only real change has been the atmosphere, which got a major upgrade a couple of years ago when the owners of the building renovated it from top to bottom. The result was that French Connection has a lovely open, contemporary feel and a kitchen capable of producing grilled and fried items. (OK – there’s one more change: with the advent of the bigger kitchen, the servers’ shirts have changed. Where they once read: “Chipsfruitorpasta,” the previously available side dishes, they now read “Chipsfruitpasta – or fries.”) 

On a recent weekday night, we moseyed into the sleepy River District and easily found a parking spot in front of the new Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center, just a stone’s throw from the restaurant. (For the record, parking is plen-tiful most weekday evenings when most of the restaurants also have available seats.)

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN French Connection's exterior got a wellearned sprucing up a couple of years ago when the building was renovated.

As usual, there were several customers seated at the roomy bar, chatting amiably with the bartender and one another.

We took a table near the fireplace beneath the watchful gaze of one of two colorful giant frogs that are mounted on either end of the room. Along the Jackson Street side of the building are large windows framed with strings of tiny white lights. With the warm glow of the mustard-colored walls and oldies tunes playing softly in the background, it’s a pleasant place to catch a casual dinner.

We started with glasses of Cline Contra Costa zinfandel, which had lots of cherry notes with a spicy edge. It was a nice accompaniment to the spinach and artichoke dip appetizer, which was more than enough for two to share. The large bowl of dip was warm and cheesy with lots of spinach in it. I couldn’t detect the artichokes, but perhaps they were finely chopped. It came with red, blue and yellow tortilla chips, which served as excellent scoops.

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN Grilled mahi mahi with garlic smashed potatoes and fresh zucchini is one of the features of the expanded dinner menu.

My dinner companion ordered a salad that never came, but entrees showed up before long so he didn’t bother reminding our server about it.

He had grilled mahi with smashed garlic potatoes and the day’s vegetable, which was a mix of zucchini and yellow squash. It was a good sized portion of fish that had been nicely grilled. It was simply prepared and a little sauce would have masked the fact that the edges were a little overcooked. The potatoes possessed a mild garlic flavor and the squash was lightly seasoned, if just a shade more done than I like.

I ordered a grilled ribeye, which was properly grilled, moist and tender. It appeared to have been lightly salted and peppered just before it was served, bringing out the meat's natural flavors. I ordered beans and rice with it, which was a zesty combo of yellow rice and red beans.

 

PHOTO KAREN FELDMAN Bartender Sam Bortnicker deftly mixes up a cocktail at the popular watering hole. po

For dessert, we turned to an old French Connection standard: the chocolate crepe. The thin, warm pancake was stuffed with vanilla ice cream, topped with a generous portion of chocolate syrup and finished off with two large mounds of whipped cream. It was more than enough for two to share and we both found it satisfying.

With the exception of the missed salad, service was good. The woman who took care of us also handled the bar without undue strain. She stopped over to make sure each course was satisfactory and cleared and delivered courses in a timely fashion.

If it's been a while since you've had a meal at French Connection, think about it the next time you want good, reasonably priced fare served in pleasant surroundings. It's an old, reliable downtown friend and no one can have too many of those.