Bon Vie bistro

As expressed in this video, I had high hopes for the croque madame I ordered at this large, gorgeous restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. It was the first I had ever had outside of Paris, so I was curious to see how faithful the midwestern interpretation would be to the French original.

I was disappointed. The bread wasn’t the Poilâne I’m used to, and the edges were quite hard to cut through and chew. The hollandaise on top wasn’t smooth and silky as one would expect. Finally, the yolk of the fried egg was a little too well done for my liking.

Still, it wasn’t that bad. The frites more than made up for it, as did the wonderful mini-baguette, served warm from the oven with excellent French butter.