Eat Out Much?

I love introducing a newcomer to one of my favorite restaurants and tonight's was Bistro Bobette.

I got there on time and was greeted by two of the same crew I'd left just last night at Balliceaux.

Accommodating their wishes to be marked, I said hello to them and the chef.

Lipstick prints all around.

Enjoying a glass of Mas de la Dame Rose, I became acquainted with a Richmond transplant with a long history in fine dining.

He had stumbled on Bobette a few days after it opened and continues to walk to it weekly to satisfy his foodie needs.

Along with the Welshman from last night, I had superb company to keep me occupied until my friend belatedly showed up.

As my grandmother used to say, "You can choose to be early or choose to be late."

Enough said.

Our evening's raison d'etre was his message to me of, "How 'bout some offal tomorrow? You have to have guts to eat offal."

Corny jokes aside, I'm the wrong person to challenge on organ eating and that's how we'd ended up at Bobette, always a sure bet for the leftover bits of an animal.

Brains, cheeks, liver, yea, they got 'em.

After he got settled in with a Hendrick's martini, we asked for the country pate and cornichon with pickled onion and celery remoulade, the seared duck foie gras with mango tatin and a balsamic rosemary reduction and the evening's unlisted special of sweetbreads with morels and asparagus (ah, spring!).

To wash down such a rich course of innards, we chose the Château d'Orschwihr Riesling Bollenberg,which turned out to be a perfect match for so much rich food. 

Or perhaps so much rich food just made us think so.

As we enjoyed our organ meats, we chatted with our transplant neighbor (from Jacksonville, ugh!) who had been systematically eating his way through Richmond restaurants since officially moving here. 

I didn't agree with a lot of his opinions, but respected his newcomer's thoughts on our restaurants.

It was fascinating to compare his first take on places I have been eating at for ages. 

Before long we segued into music and the sound of the Dave Matthews Band in the 90s. 

Talk about memories.

As much as we were scarfing down our offal, we needed one more delicacy and opted for another of the evening's specials, the fried soft-shell crab with morels and asparagus.

Chef Francis prefers the smaller soft shells (they release their liquids more quickly and fry up faster) and they were exquisite. 

That's twice now I've had soft shells this season and I hope many more are to come.

We finished with blood orange wine shared by a friend and its delicate flavor and sweetness were as good as dessert. 

After the richness of our meal, anything more would have been overkill.

When all was said and done, my friend had to admit that his first visit to Bobette had been stellar. 

He's a hard sell and devoted to the old-school restaurants (mostly the ones I avoid), but even he had to admit that this was the real deal.

We walked out to the strains of a sax player blowing hard on the corner. 

He was amazed to hear such a thing, but then, he was amazed to learn that there was offal in Richmond.

Some people need to get out more. 

I don't think I'm one of them.