Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Le Mouton Noir's new patio menu includes this tomato-basil tarte, made with layers of phyllo, tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese, accented with basil oil.
Le Mouton Noir offers new spring patio menu
By Suzanne Cristallo
Remaining dynamic in the restaurant business is partly the ability to recognize who one's customers are and to anticipate their changing appetites. Karen and Jeff Breslow are doing just that. The pair own Le Mouton Noir in Saratoga, an intimate French eatery that, since Easter, has been offering an alternative approach to dining out. The Breslows call it "Franco-Thai Under the Stars," and it quite literally is served "out" on their heated patio, and will be part of a special menu through June.
"We have much younger diners than in the past with more adventurous palates," Karen observes. She says many of the folks who used to be their "regulars" have moved away: "They've cashed out and moved out of state."
In their place are late evening diners who want something light and fun after a concert or the theater, and "tasters" who like experimenting with a variety of appetizers.
"So, we decided on a spring patio menu in the tapa-style with no entree course, per se," she explains. "Just appetizers with soup or salad."
Chef Seth Fiertl, who has been with the Breslows for a year, has joined creative forces with pastry chef Fran Kanaley to invent the new menu. "They are both artists and have worked together for 10 years," Karen says, adding that when they have a new dish to introduce, they actually sketch in color how it will be presented. Color is a predominant culinary consideration.
Flower pots filled with hand-sliced fruit and vegetables that have been fried greet diners at each table. "They look like Technicolor potato chips," Karen smiles.
Among the appetizers, which run from $7 to $19 on the patio menu, are shrimp, chicken and vegetables coated in panko--fine bread crumbs that give a crunchy consistency--then sautéed, grilled and served skewered with lemon grass, a Thai herb that adds a sour lemon flavor and fragrance. "Seth's presentations are phenomenal," Karen says. "Where the skewers are usually served on sticky rice, his are on vanilla-scented rice. It smells really good around here."
Among the salads are seafood and fresh Dungeness crab, along with crisp pineapple and ginger-glazed quail atop an Asian salad. French onion soup is a standard.
The patio menu can also be served inside the restaurant in cooler weather. The regular a la carte entree menu is available, as well. Entrees start at $14 for the house-smoked duck.
"We do a lot of corporate entertaining and have taken a clue [for the menu] from their tastes," Karen notes. One example is the $14 ahi tuna wrapped in daikon--the oriental white radish shaved thin--and served with radish sprouts.
What the Breslows have noticed about the change in their customer base seems verified by the Yellow Pages salesman who came to see them. "He said that the residential section of the phone book is 40 percent new, reflecting a big turn-over in population," Karen says. "We find that all of those new people are using us more for nontraditional gatherings [as opposed to birthdays and anniversaries], like going out in large groups when friends visit, instead of staying home," she says.
"People are out there building their own families," she adds. And Karen is right there to give them a proper start. "We do wedding receptions," she says. "And in the event the couple can't get a minister in time for the event, I'll even marry them," she chuckles, noting she is an official Universal Life Church minister.
Le Mouton Noir, 14560 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Dinner served Mon.-Fri beginning at 6 p.m., Sat. at 5:30 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. 408.867.7017.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
