Salade de Fruits

After my last foray into affordable French cuisine at Les Faux Bourgeois, it left me wanting more. After all, how can you beat eating French food for the price of eating at Milestone's? (actually in some cases less) So I actually set aside some time today to make it out to Salade de Fruits. This tiny French cafe is situated in the French Cultural Centre on West 7th near Granville. It is so small that most of their tables spill out into the foyer of the cultural centre. Joining me for lunch today was Vandelay, who has been to Salade de Fruits a number of times. The prices at Salade de Fruits are so reasonable that you really could come here anytime for a meal. TS from [eating club] vancouver had gone just a few days earlier and wanted me to credit her with the first picture (so there, you get credit). Being an experienced foodie, TS really enjoyed her meal at Salade de Fruits and if she says it's good; then it's good!

Looking over the menu, I had my sights set on only one dish - Moules et Frites (Mussels and Fries). I've heard that this is one of the best dishes here and since I love both mussels and fries, it was a no-brainer. Vandelay had the Steak au Gingembre with Pomme Frites (Ginger Steak and Fries). The mussels came out steaming hot in a HUGE pot (hey, that rhymes...). There was a very generous portion of big mussels sitting in a light; yet flavourful broth. From what I could taste, it appeared the broth consisted of white wine, cream, butter, garlic and scallions. The mussels were cooked perfectly. The sweet, plump mussel meat was perfectly accented by the light broth. In addition, the ample portion of frites came on a separate plate with mayo. The fries were very hot and crispy. A perfect compliment in terms of texture to the soft, plump mussels.

Vandelay asked for his steak to be rare and I was ecstatic. Why was I ecstatic? Well, finally someone who is not asking for a piece of meat to be killed when it's already dead. I know it's all personal taste, but why would you have a beautiful piece of meat cooked until it resembles charcoal? It's like eating Ahi Tuna fully cooked or lobster cooked until it's like rubber. If you're gonna eat steak that way, then I suggest you save your money and eat something else. Now that I have offended all the people who eat their steak well done, I should move on... Vandelay's steak was cooked perfectly. He asked for rare, he got rare (but it wasn't bloody rare, which is good). There was plenty of meat flavour in the steak; however, it was a bit on the tougher side. I guess you're not expecting much when the steak, frites and salad only costs $10.99.

Despite the filling meal (remember, this is only lunch), we decided on a few desserts. I ordered the Pear Tart and Vandelay had the Creme Brulee. The Creme Brulee was a bit different in that it was chocolate flavoured. It was almost mousse-like. It was still very good, despite being different. The Pear Tart was excellent, it was not overly sweet. This allowed the delicate flavour of the pear to shine in this dish. Moreover, the pear still retained some of its firmness; thus the tart was not mushy. The service was very good, the servers were very helpful and always available. I still can't get over the amount of good food we got for the price. I will definitely be back for more visits in the near future.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good portions
- Food tastes good

The Bad:
- Parking is hard to find
- Limited amount of seats

Cafe Salade de Fruits
1555 West 7th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
604-714-5987
www.saladedefruits.com

Business Hours:
11:30am - 2:30pm, 5:00pm - 9:00pm (Tue - Fri)
10:00am - 2:30pm, 5:00pm - 9:00pm (Sat)