Bizou, by definition, means "little kisses" in French. After our dinner on Monday night, however, we have determined that Bizou also defines a delicious meal and enjoyable dining experience.
Bizou is conveniently located on the Downtown Mall right across from the movie theater. It is a fairly small, quaint restaurant with only 15 tables/booths. Upon entering the restaurant, you encounter a long bar, behind which all of the wonderful food is prepared. The dining area is in the rear. The booths are painted in a bold red and each booth is accompanied by a jukebox mounted to the wall. Movie posters decorate the upper wall, and the overhead music is mostly classic rock. Upon hearing Bruce Springsteen, we knew this place was a keeper.
Even though the menus were only one sheet of paper, they offered an extensive, descriptive list of original options for dinner. Many of the appetizers and entrees were seafood selections. Therefore, we decided to make it a seafood-themed night. They offered 13 different appetizers; we ordered two.
First we tried the mussels with white wine, parsley and tomato ($7.95). The mussels were incredibly tender, almost melting in your mouth. They were garnished with parmesan cheese and tomatoes and also accompanied by crispy pieces of bread, reminiscent of bagel chips, so after the delicious mussels were gone we still had tomatoes and parmesan cheese to have with bread. It was a generous portion that would be ideal to share between two people.
We also got Fried calamari with a salad of julienne vegetables and honey-soy vinaigrette ($6.95). The calamari was breaded in cornmeal and rested on the salad. It was crispy but not at all tough. The mixture of the two with the vinaigrette dressing was impeccable. The honey-soy vinaigrette was unique and we both agreed that we had never tasted anything like it. There were also little bits of peanuts dispersed throughout the salad that completed its unique taste.
We ordered two of the four seafood items from the entrée list. First, we selected the pan-roasted salmon with spinach coulis, julienne vegetables and shoestring potatoes ($16.95). I was pleasantly surprised with the warm spinach coulis after despising spinach as a child. The Bizou chefs had a technique that made the spinach coulis and julienne vegetables delicious and it accompanied the salmon well. The salmon rested on a green sauce which, we discovered after asking, was a pureed spinach sauce. It was salty and went nicely with the salmon. The shoestring potatoes were average, reminding us of intertwined potato sticks. Surprisingly, we enjoyed the spinach coulis much more as a side than the shoestring potatoes.
Our second entree was the grilled tuna with roasted potatoes, asparagus, morels and red wine sauce ($17.50). The tuna is cooked medium rare unless otherwise requested. There were three cubes of tuna and the meal seemed to be prepared as a steak would be prepared; however, we determined the tuna was healthier. The potatoes and asparagus were appropriately spiced and accompanied the tuna well.
The desserts at Bizou sounded amazing and even though we had to take half of my salmon to go, we could not resist the temptation. First we ordered the chocolate mousse ($4.95). There was little element of surprise in this dessert. Little can go wrong with chocolate mousse. It was thick and very rich and a nice-sized portion. We also ordered the homemade banana bread with vanilla ice cream and praline sauce ($4.95). The mixture of warm bread with a crunch crust and two small scoops of ice cream drizzled in praline sauce was a great combination. The mixture of hot/cold is always appreciated in a dessert. This dessert would also be great to split between two people.
Bizou is a fairly small, compact restaurant, but this quaintness emits feelings of familiarity and comfort rather than seeming overcrowded. The dress and atmosphere was casual and there were two larger parties making the restaurant loud, but in an enjoyable way. Both our appetizers and dinner came out promptly; however, our dessert order was a bit delayed.
Although we adhered to a seafood-themed meal, Bizou has many other options of unique dinners and appetizers. They offer different, unusual selections but seem to have a way to make the meal come together perfectly, both in presentation and taste. We wholeheartedly recommend Bizou to all who wish for a meal with a gourmet touch but mixed with a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere.
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