The New BRG Star

Last night we returned to our new favorite restaurant, Feliciana in downtown Covington. Tom and I had a lot of conversations about what makes people return again and again to certain places. He always felt it was the food but to me, (and most others, I think) it is a combination of things. I am maybe a little more susceptible to the way a place makes me “feel.” And Feliciana makes me feel delighted.

I love the physical footprint. Both ML and I talked about that last night. She said, as we sat in a completely different section of the “L” shaped room, “I like the way this place is laid out." The entire dining room from all angles focuses on the bar, which is most interesting. Exactly. The bar at Feliciana is a focal point. It is enormous and curves throughout the large dining room. With few exceptions, all tables have booth seating, as the outer walls are used for that.

I love watching the interesting clientele, the waiters dressed like servers in Paris bistros, and mostly the lighting. All together the scene is mesmerizing. On the radio show I said that I have to find something to eat on the menu at Feliciana, but there is plenty there for me to eat, and I haven’t had a thing I didn’t love.

On the last visit, we sat far away from the bar, and got a different view of the room. It resembled a busy Parisian bistro, though not as dense with people. I think it’s the lighting. We didn’t get nearly the amount of food that we did last time, because the reservation was so late it was almost past our bedtime. But it was Thursday and we had to go back for the Short Ribs Bourguignon. And I got the Chicken Paillard. This time we skipped the pâté but still couldn’t resist the housemade sourdough bread service. And we got the Potatoes Dauphinois as a side. We almost got it last time but there was already too much food coming to the table. 

Before anything  we ordered arrived, we had an Amuse-bouche of tuna rillettes in a tiny pie crust. I inquired about the way the tuna was cooked. As part of my reptile and raw seafood paranoia, heat must be applied to seafood for me to eat it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, acid “cooks” seafood, but I want heat. I was assured that the tuna had been poached in olive oil. While this wouldn’t have been something I ordered, I liked it. 

We each also had a glass of Pierre Sparr Cremant D’Alsace Brut Rosé. This was so delicious we will definitely get some of this again.

They also brought out a taste of Alain's Soupe de Crabe which I asked about. I felt it might be less of a cream soup and more of a broth, like maybe a Bouillabaisse. Oh geez! Was this deliciouis! It was intensely flavorful from the Rouille and had a great consistency without using the crutch of cream. Next time I just may get this and some bread and make that a meal. Spectacular!

The bread I would get for this is their housemade sourdough. The sourdough is soft and warm with a good crust. It’s not as chewy as I usually like sourdough, but this is just a quibble. We will likely always get that.

ML’s Bourguignon was even better this time, to me at least. The short ribs are exactly the same intense flavor and just as tender as the other two times we have had this sublime dish. But I haven't been a fan of the Pommes Aligot before. This cheesy potatoes dish was too pureed for my taste. This time maybe they seemed to have set more but they were more like a regular mashed potatoes with an umami taste. Incredible. I stole a few too many bites of this.

Good thing my companion had the Potatoes Dauphinois to occupy her. These too were fantastic, with Gruyère cheese and cream baked till crusty on top. Some liberties were taken here, because onions were part of this dish. Not that we minded.

My Paillard was not a Paillard as I understand it. This was a totally original version of the dish. It was pan-seared, had no discernable crust, and it had olives on it. Also, it was not pounded thin. Although this was not what I was expecting at all, I still loved it. This version was much healthier than the regular ones. It did have as an accompaniment that delectable little salad with lemony French vinaigrette that I see a lot in this house. But this little salad! I love this salad. Very simple, the salad is butter lettuce with a leaf of radicchio. Bitter greens and sliced beets were added here.

The chicken was an Airline breast, pounded a little but not much, and cooked to chicken perfection. It was tender but fully-cooked. This sweet spot is not easy to achieve, or so it seems to me. I loved the olive assortment scattered on top. Underneath was a bed of white beans, which I associate with cassoulet rather than Paillard, but they were delicious.

It was nearing 9pm which is definitely past my bedtime. We tore ourselves away from this captivating scene till next time. Like next week.