When I try to think of how to describe Angele, I can only come up with nice.  Yes, it’s nice.  As a French bistro perched on the Napa River in the town of Napa, it’s a bit brighter and more modern/angular than a traditional bistro. Apparently, it used to be a boathouse, which lives on in its bare beam A-frame ceiling; there is also outdoor terrace seating in appropriate weather. The food is rather traditional French bistro-like, but with some twists thrown in. We went there on a Friday night, and it seems like a convivial place for groups or friends to come together after work, but it’s also manages to be suitable for an intimate dinner for two.

Complimentary Chickpeas with Cumin were served at the very beginning, along with bread. They were either deep fried or roasted. They were ok, but they weren’t as crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle as they should have been; I think they’d been sitting out too long. I’ve roasted them before, and I know they go soft very fast.

But no matter — after I’d had three and Chad had had one, our appetizer arrived, and the server got flustered trying to find table space and ended up whisking away the chickpeas. Ah, well.

For our appetizer, we shared the “Pâté de Campagne” Country Style Pâté served with Toast, Celery Root Salad. This was two triangle of a delicious chunky pate, and the celery and cornichon were a good match. I took a picture after we’d started eating, and we’d already dug in too vigorously to produce a postable the pic.

The star of the meal was the Macaroni Gratin side dish. Made with Gruyere cheese, it was so tangy and nutty, but also perfectly textured. The top managed to be crusty and chewy, and the inside had macaroni noodles that were just coated enough with a type of bechamel dish. I liked how it contained a spectrum of strength of the gruyere flavor. And the smell was intoxicating. It was served in a burning hot ramekin that remained hot until the end of our main course.

I got the “Loup Sauvage” Wild Striped Bass, Artichokes, Mushrooms, Barigoule Sauce. It was nicely crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and the vegetables were a pleasant earthy match.

Chad got the “Noisette D’Agneau” Colorado Lamb Sirloin with Fava Bean Ragoût “Panisse”, Lamb Jus. The lamb was cooked just right and was juicy, but the real star was the sauce; such a deep, just slightly sweet flavor. The only disappointment were the overly starchy large fava beans.

For dessert, we shared the Rhubarb Pain Perdu. If I hadn’t been so full, I would have wished that I’d had it all to myself. I liked how it was soft and creamy on the inside with just a slightly crisp phyllo exterior, and the rhubarb was a tart little punch. I think it was buttermilk ice cream with this, which just made it all the better.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 18th, 2006 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Napa Valley, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.