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(Le Rescatore)
By John Tanasychuk
When I told my friends we were going to a French restaurant, I'm sure they conjured up a picture of elegance and good
taste. And somehow, five years after it opened, Boca Raton's Le Rescatore is still -- more or less -- up to the task.
The restaurant is set on the first floor of a wooden building in the Wharfside complex. Its front porch gives it a Main
Street USA feel. You could say the inside looks like a dollhouse with wallpaper seeming to cover every available surface and
enough furniture for a dining room double its size. There's room for 38 inside, another 22 outside. The mismatched tablecloths
give it a cozy feel, free of the pretension one sometimes find with things French.
We're actually able to kibitz en Francais with the hostess. I'm sure that alone is worth a trip to Le Rescatore for those
who miss speaking their language, native or learned.
We decide to sit on the front porch, trying to squeeze another evening outdoors before humidity takes over. The smokers
in my group are delighted, somehow feeling more French 'cause they can indulge their habit.
Go with the fixed price dinners at Le Rescatore. They cost $26.50 Tuesday and Wednesday, $35.50 Thursday through Saturday.
The price includes soup or appetizer of the day or house salad, a choice of entree and a choice of dessert. The wine list
is a no-fuss well-priced affair.
The presentation, like the decor, isn't so much elegant as homey. So homey that it sometimes seems that the kitchen might
be tiring from the grind of putting out the same dishes month after month after month. It's not that the dishes lack flavor,
but they're sloppily plated. Pureed vegetables that accompany entrees aren't set on each plate with precision, but thrown
on willy-nilly. I can't decide if somehow it's an attempt to give the appearance of "more?" Because servings are
decidedly large for a French restaurant. Service is not quite French, but friendly just the same.
You might start with a terrine of two salmons ($11.95), fresh Norwegian and smoked salmon sandwiched around goat cheese.
Or duck terrine ($11.50) served with pearl onions and cornichons. There's almost too much wine in the onion soup ($10.50),
but it's served with just the right amount of melted cheese -- not so much that you have to wait for it to cool down in order
to eat. Meaty escargots ($11.95) are prepared brilliantly, served between layers of puff pastry. Only one appetizer was truly
disappointing: New Zealand green mussels Provencal ($9.99). The mussels were rubbery and overcooked. The sauce was cold.
Jacques and Marie Bagot own Le Rescatore. She's originally from Haiti and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. She spent
13 years as a guidance and family counselor with Broward County schools. Jacques is originally from Normandy and owned a restaurant
by the same name for 17 years in Versailles.
Unlike traditional French cuisine, Chef Jacques relies less on cream and butter and more on olive oil and herbs, making
it a very popular restaurant among Boca's older snowbirds. Trout Almandine ($19.99) ends up tasting a bit thinner than the
classic preparation. A seafood- filled crepe ($19.50) is full of salmon and tilapia and a nice but not overly cloying creamy
sauce. Short ribs, part of the prix fixe special, are prepared in a special pickle sauce. They taste vinegary, but are fork
tender. Coq au vin ($21.50) is so intensely flavored that it almost doesn't taste like chicken. Who knew that Burgundy could
transform chicken to game? Filet mignon ($35.50) is beautifully cooked and served with a rich sauce of portabellas, morels
and truffles.
Desserts are much more tightly executed than the savory side of the menu, from perfect tarte tatin au Calvados ($8.99)
to an authentic creme brulee ($6.99) in which the taste of egg comes out loud and clear. Allow 30 minutes for the kitchen
to prepare a Grand Marnier or chocolate souffle ($12.50).
Out of season, Le Rescatore isn't so busy. That's probably because those older seasonal residents still remember when
French was the epitome of fine dining. These days, the Italian chain that opened nearby is packing in the shorts-wearing public.
That foot traffic could be good for Le Rescatore.
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