This is was the ADR I was most worried about. DS started taking French at the start of the school year. When we went in October we were looking for some different places to eat and when DS saw Chefs de France he decided he would like to eat there. I have never had any French food, there's just no place in Kingsport Tennessee to get it. But we think it's important to eat at some of the places DS wants to eat at, so I made an ADR. Also I had read a lot of negative reviews about Chefs too.
We checked in about 15 minutes before our ADR, and didn't get seated until just a few minutes after. We were seated all the way in the back of the restaurant, the good thing abou that was we were next to the dessert prep area. So our server comes by and takes our drink orders and drops off a loaf of bread and butter for us.
Bread and Butter
We all liked the bread and especially the butter. It was just a small loaf of French bread, possibly a bagette, that hard on outside but very soft and chewy on the inside. The butter was wonderful, I don't know what was different about it than any other butter, but it was good. It was richer and creamier, but not a sweet butter.
Duo of Roasted Duck Breast and Confit Leg of Duck
I debated for a while on what to get. The Mac n cheese sounded good but I'm southern so Mac n cheese is a vegetable not a main entree. I finally decided on the duck. I was very nervous about making it my meal. I have never had duck before. Once again, there's just no place that serves it in East Tennessee. But if I decided I wanted to try something I couldn't get at home, so I just went went it. I ended up liking it very much. The breast is similar to dark meat chicken, but not as greasy. The leg meat was good too. It didn't have a poultry texture, it had the texture of steak but didn't taste like steak. The sauce on the plate was good but I don't remember much about it. The mashed sweet potatoes were just mashed sweet potatoes, nothing special. I actually thought they could use a little salt. I had never tried patty pan squash before. I thought it was just OK. I only at a couple of pieces of it because I was so full, but I thought it was a little tart. Kind of like how a green tomato is tart. Overall I liked this meal quite a bit. I would consider getting it again but there are other things on the menu I would like to try to.
Grilled Tenderloin of Beef
DH got the beef. He said it was very good, cooked exactly as medium well. The green beens were good and done, so they may be too done for some. He liked the potato gratin too but thought the cheese that was in it was a little strong. Not like it was too much cheese, just like they had used a strong flavored cheese, if that makes sense. He thought all his veggies needed a little salt. He also said the gravy was real good, it was like just a beef gravy.
Beef Short Ribs
DS ordered this. It looked like beef stroganoff to me and inexperienced eye. I didn't try a bite but DH did. He said it was good and DS enjoyed it.
Puff Choix with Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce
This was my dessert. I had read much about this on the Dis so I had to get it. Overall I liked it. It was basically a big cream puff but with ice cream in place of cream. It was good but not outstanding.
Chocolate Mousse
DS ordered the mousse. He said it was good. It came with a peice of some kind of cake dipped in chocolate.
Sorbets
DH had the sorbets. THere was coconut, mango, and we think guava but we're not sure about the guava. The coconut and mango was very good but the guava had a whang to it that nobody cared for. There's a small piece of sweet bread that came with it. DH said it tasted like a small piece of cake, like a scoop of cake batter poured out in a pan and baked that way.
Overall Thoughts and Opinions This was the surprise meal of the trip. Even though we were reluctant to try it, everyone enjoyed their meal. Service was excellent and the food was too. I'm not too sure how authentic it is, but we enjoyed the food anyway. I'm glad we tried it. I don't know if it's a must do now, but I would definitely eat here again.