Django

Visited 5/23/08 (first Friday open)

Django (located in the Hotel Ft. Des Moines at 210 10th Street in Des Moines, taking the place of Bistro 43) is a restaurant that claims to be All French – No Attitude. Do not let the fact that it is a French restaurant deter you. This is the type of French cooking you get at a home in France (I speak from experience). Despite the fancy sounding names of the dishes, I assure you that everyone should be able to find something inside their comfort zone (although well to the delicious side of your comfort zone). They do have onion rings & French fries after all.

The ambiance of the restaurant is very much a French brasserie. Dark woods, leathers & brass abound. It really transported me to France. The menu is also pretty authentic Brasserie fare. These are solid basic dishes, nothing over-thought or too experimental. These dishes have been gracing French tables for hundreds of years. The prices are not what one imagines when thinking of French food either. I found the prices to be very inline with the quality of the food & the portions. Even a bargain!

Let me start by saying, we visited Django in their first week open. Any restaurant will have issues during their first week as they work out the kinks. The kinks here were minimal. The only issue that we really encountered was with the Cassoulet. Cassoulet is a pretty simple dish that can be likened to French chili. It is a base of white beans with an assortment of meat (traditionally a good assortment) cooked for a long time. This version has sausage, bacon, and duck leg. The beans unfortunately were underdone. The meat was delicious, the seasoning was delicious, the beans, a bit on the crunchy side. When brought to the attention of the waiter, they graciously threw a free dessert our way. However in my opinion, when trying to build a reputation, and half of the dish is basically inedible (albeit the inexpensive portion of the dish), the dish really should have been comped.

We sampled the foie gras and lobster & crab cake appetizers. I am a big fan of foie gras, and I know it is not for everyone. If you are going to sample this for the first time, may I suggest you do so somewhere else. I have had better foie gras, and larger portions for this price than I did this evening (notably at Le Fou Frog in Kansas City and at a place called Ave in LA). It was ok, but I personally don’t like to spend $12 on a small portion of “OK”. The lobster & crab cakes were tasty, although standard restaurant fare from what I could tell. The next time I definitely plan to sample the frog legs.

For entreés we ordered the aforementioned Cassoulet, Moules Frites (sautéed mussels with a giant side of fresh fries) and the Bouillabaisse. The mussels & the fries were delicious, large portions of both. The mussels were served in a cast iron pot and you had a choice when ordering of 3 or 4 different sauces. I believe we tried one that involved white wine & cream & it was very tasty and very fresh. The Bouillabaisse also came in a cast iron pot. It was absolutely delicious, a big hit with everyone at the table. And as is tradition was a jumble of shrimp, fish, scallops, mussels & topped with a crusty baguette. Hearty fare.

Looking around at other tables I saw many other delicious looking dishes. I can’t wait to try the Tuna Niçoise and the Coquilles (scallops) St. Jacques.

Being a French restaurant there was a good selection of wines at average prices. We had a nice Cotes du Rhone, a light French red wine.

We sampled two desserts, a dark chocolate cake served with hazelnut ice cream and a custard with berries baked inside topped with vanilla. They were both good, but given the French penchant for dessert & pastries, I expected more. Hopefully they will be expanding their dessert menu to include many tarts.

Over all, very good for the first week out. I will definitely be going back & have high expectations for their future. This may just be my new go-to celebration restaurant.

See their menu: http://www.djangodesmoines.com/Django_Dinner.pdf
Visit their site: http://www.djangodesmoines.com/