It’s no secret that I am a big fan of our hometown hotel, The Southern in Covington. It celebrated its 10th anniversary at the beginning of June, and the celebration continues with events throughout the year. One of my favorite of these is French Fridays, which started March 1st with no end in sight.
It is so pleasant to hang out in the casual glamour that is the Southern, and to listen to the talented Joe Tusa tickle the ivories from the grand piano in the corner where the bar spills into the lobby. It is hopping in there, with waiters attending to every table with professionalism and competence. Such a thing is not a given these days. The kitchen is on, the wait staff is on, and a good time is had by all.
What draws people to this lovely way to end the week is a great deal. French wines (House Cab and Chardonnay) are $5 for a generous pour, French Champagne and Rosé are also $5, as are French 75s. French fries that are housecut and terrific are also only $5.
Each week these staple offers are accompanied by two other menu items that are regular price. There is a savory dish of some sort (often a sandwich) and a dessert.
We went on opening day and it was a madhouse Even with rain there were plenty of people (including us of course) who wiped chairs and sat outside. The waiters were impressively handling the crush of demands from tables of large parties, all there to partake in this great deal.
Of all the times we have gone to this event, I think the food was the best that first day. That’s not to say it hasn’t been great subsequently, but the kitchen was impressive to keep up with the crush on the first day of this deal. Everything came out hot, and quickly.
We had the fries of course, which has been a Southern Hotel staple since the days of Oxlot. The Gloriette has not skipped a beat on this. Housecut, hot, and crispy, these are some of the best out there, even with volume like this.
On this first French Friday, they started with a Crouque Monsieur and a goat cheese salad with a light French vinaigrette dressing.
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The salad was escarole greens with some nuts studded throughout and a generous duo of goat cheese patties encrusted with breadcrumbs and deep-fried golden brown. This was refreshing and light with the goat cheese medallion lending a welcome creamy sharpness to the greens. Some cracked pepper finished it off beautifully.
I always love a Croque Monsieur and get it whenever I see it. A ham and cheese sandwich on country bread, there are slight variations each time I see it. This one had the han and Gruyere inside but also more cheese and herbs on the outside. I’m sure this one at The Gloriette followed the classic recipe including mustard, nutmeg and Bechamel as well as Parmesan cheese, but it was the Gruyere which was most pronounced, as expected. It oozed melted cheese and satisfied on every level.
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The fries here are outstanding. They never disappoint. Crispy, golden brown, and greaseless, they are everything you want in fries. We got two orders because they are irresistible. I didn’t have the heart to ask for aioli from these waiters that were being called in all directions, and executing it flawlessly.
We did not have a French 75 on this table, but there was a Cab, Champagne, and a glass of Rosé. Everything about this experience was delightful, and we knew we would become regulars.
It wasn’t long before we returned again. Even if we might forget about it each Friday little French flags fly outside the door of The Gloriette, and a little blackboard sits on the sidewalk with the menu for the day.
When we went again there was a French Dip on the menu and a smoked fish dip. Tom is a fan of smoked fish dips, and I like them too but not as faithfully as he does. This was consumed by him mostly, and he loved it.
We did not order fries because the sandwich came with fries. The major difference between a French Dip Sandwich and our roast beef poor boy is that the gravy is a jus with The French Dip, and you dip the sliced roast beef sandwich in the dip with each bite. This was a nice version of a French Dip, on a dense bread accompanied by a large portion of salty (a good thing to me) and richly flavored jus. We loved this sandwich.
The next time we stopped in on Friday, a fig jam with prosciutto and Chevre was set atop crostini and served with sprigs of greens. Even though I am not a fan of prosciutto, it was a nice mouthful of food.
And of course, we got at least one plate of fries, but the star of this visit was a chicken stew. It was not especially spicy but really flavorful, and loaded with shreds of chicken. I could have had a few more bowls of this. (I didn’t, for the record.)
We also got the fries of course. And this time we got dessert. It was a vanilla verrine. I’ve only seen these at Bottega Louie in Los Angeles, my favorite restaurant anywhere. These are served in an interesting plastic cup that is tall and wider at the top. It has some custard in layers and tapioca pearls. It’s very pretty, but to my taste too, well, vanilla. Tom loved it.
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On our most recent trip there, we had trouble getting a seat, so we started in the lobby at the only duo table left. Fortunately, the table we like best in the bar closest to Joe Tusa became available and we moved there.
Our waitress was hustling to serve us anyway, but I was glad to shorten her trips. We didn’t need the fries this time, and we didn’t want a sandwich, so we just got the appetizer for the day, which was Boulettes de Pommes, or potato croquettes. And we got the dessert again, which was a peach cake called Gâteau Peach Gentilly.
The potato croquettes came in a Rosa sauce. They were so cheesy it was hard to eat them. The coasting was nice and they were crispy fried on the outside. But they were just ordinary without much flavor.
The cake, on the other hand, was spectacular. Light and fluffy white cake had a bit of peach jam in the middle, and a luscious buttercream frosting piped decoratively on top. This was as beautiful as it was delicious. Freeze-dried peach slices were artfully assembled on top as a garnish.
We had a very generous pour of the house Cab for this. And it was a lovely little evening snack. We left before Joe Tusa finished his last set, but we’ll be back to French Fridays as long as they keep having them.
