Sunday, May 23, 2010

Petite Chou

To celebrate 11 years of marriage, FLOE was determined to make it to a nice brunch on a rare Saturday morning off together.  Planning some time at Holliday Park afterwards, we settled on Petit Chou in Broadripple.  Our enthusiasm was so great that we made it there just after 8am. One to avoid a wait later, and two to get an early start on a day that promised to be uncomfortably humid after midday.  (As it was very early, and neither of us was quite awake, no pics were taken...sorry, we spaced it.)

Upon arrival we made a mistake of picking a table towards the rear of the restaurant.  After we were seated, we were informed that we should get our own coffee up front.  Fred hopped up, avoiding 2 supporting beams on the way, to get some for us.  While we enjoyed the 4 coffee options, we were very much annoyed at the extra-small cups.  Several times we had to interrupt not only our meal but other diners' by navigating our way to the front of the restaurant coming uncomfortably close to their tables due to the columns in the walkway.  Due to the tight quarters you feel other guests sway sideways in their seats as you go around the columns.  We kind of enjoy being served at a sit-down restaurant.  It's fine to be able to get your own, but being expected to is another thing altogether.  The server made it abundantly clear that she was above getting you coffee.  Most of this could be avoided simply by providing decent sized coffee cups!!  

Service was slow, even though there was plenty of waitstaff and open tables available.  Highchairs and boosters were available and we saw that they allowed pets outside (even providing water for a thirsty canine diner).


Libby ordered the The Overachiever -- a specialty omelet with bacon, cheddar, sour cream and horseradish with side of roasted potatoes and two large slices of brioche.  She also order a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, which never came but was on the bill.  When we asked to have it removed, the waitress claimed it was in Ozzy's water container, which we assured her was not the case.  Lovely.  Thankfully Libby's food was good.  The omelet was well cooked, with a nice balance of ingredients.  Even kind of fluffy.  The roasted potatoes were crispy, but unseasoned so she resorted to table salt.  The toasted brioche was excellent, especially covered in the sweat cream butter.

Fred ordered the broken yolk sandwich with bacon and fresh fruit on the side.  Although the menu stated that the eggs would be served runny unless otherwise requested, his were way overcooked.  Instead of a yummy yolk running out the sides, he had a very hard yolk and crisped edges on the whites.  This meal was what we would expect at Denny's.  As a matter of fact, a Moon Over My Hammy's is better.

Ozzy requested a toasted bagel with butter which he enjoyed.


http://www.cafepatachou.com/ (Petite Chou is part of the Cafe Patachou chain of local eateries.)

Wrap Up
Price-$$$-$$$$, Very expensive for breakfast or dinner, but lunch prices seem reasonable.
Atmosphere-*, Did we mention the columns?
Service-*, If I want a sh!tty attitude from my waitress, I'll go to Ed Debevic's.  Also, Zest does the get-your-own coffee thing right.  While you wait you can get your own, but once seated, they refill your (nicely sized!) mug...


Overall
Fred - D-, This should have been so good.  I really wanted to love this place and was excited to come back for dinner sometime to try the duck fat frittes.  But I don't think I want to give them any more of my money.

Libby - C, My food was admittedly much better than Fred's.  But the experience as a whole was tainted by the poor service.  A successful dining experience takes more than decent food.  I will not return to a place that does not want my business.
Ozzy-B+, Enjoyed his bagel and had many other food options.
Estelle-B+, High-chairs were available and she wasn't out of place.



Petite Chou on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

Austin said...

My wife and I go to the Petite Chou up at Clay Terrace frequently. I'd at least give that a try before giving up on the whole "Petite Chou chain." It is nice to only drive to Broadripple for breakfast, as we live in the area, but the North location is worth the drive. The Overachiever is my favorite as well and I've been known to recreate it at home frequently. Sorry to hear about the bad service. At least you can still hit the Cafe P. as another option in Broadripple.

Fred, Libby, Ozzy and Estelle(Stella) said...

Austin, we would love to give another location a go...it really should have been spectacular.

Thanks, FLOE

Anonymous said...

I love this place! I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. In regards to the poles, those are support beams...there really is nothing they can do about that and old building is an old building. I don't think it is fair to judge a place by one experience. Before telling people how awful it is maybe you should give it another shot.

Fred, Libby, Ozzy and Estelle(Stella) said...

Hello!
We realize the support beams have to be there, but our biggest beef was the service issue. It was a Sunday, at breakfast, and it should have been one of their top performances. The waitress blew us off and the set up for the folks in the back was ridiculous. If the place weren't as expensive as it is, another go would be an option. It goes both ways. We have given stellar reviews to many places based on one experience. When it comes to dining out in this economy, first impressions can make or break a place.
Thanks for your comments!
FLOE

Fred, Libby, Ozzy and Estelle(Stella) said...

Sorry, I mispoke, a Saturday morning. :)

Anonymous said...

Frequent customers there and always have a great experience. It goes to show that sometimes your expectations may not match reality without making the place bad. I have read some of your reviews and found common ground on some but not all. One visit only makes for a one time experience.