Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Jeff Breslow is co-owner of Le Mouton Noir. The Saratoga restaurant recently re-opened after an eight-month closing for repairs after a fire.
Le Mouton Noir reopens and reclaims gourmet reputation
By Suzanne Cristallo
Owners of Le Mouton Noir, the longtime Saratoga restaurant serving California cuisine with a French accent, have two extra reasons to celebrate during this holiday season.
The first reason: The 144-year-old Victorian on Big Basin Way that has housed the restaurant for 22 years recently reopened after a fire last December, which kept it closed for eight months. The state-of-the-art kitchen that operates under new chef Tom Donnelly of New York is again pleasing patrons.
"We're having two large parties here a night," says Karen Breslow, who co-owns the restaurant with her husband, Jeff. She adds that the restaurant traditionally has been a place where local residents want to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and weddings.
The old house, which has been redone in soft, harvest tones, originally was a carriage house and later was reportedly a venue for loggers taking care of their "social needs." It became a dress shop and an antique shop before becoming a restaurant in 1977.
The second reason for celebration came several weeks ago when Le Mouton Noir was named among California's 40 top restaurants in the most recent Zagat Survey, a closely watched national review of restaurants. It is a position the eatery has held in the past, but when the Breslows bought out previous owner Don Durante three years ago, they were considered a new restaurant and were required to go through the long process of evaluation needed to regain eligibility for rating.
"You're scored every year, but can't become eligible until you've maintained a high standard for some time," Karen explains.
The classic dishes regular patrons have ordered for years remain on the menu. This includes Duck a la Mouton Noir, a dish that lives on because Elvira Durante, mother of the previous owner and originator of the dish--now in her 90s--has trained staff to carry out her recipe.
Locally grown ostrich, wild boar and venison appeal to tastes that require a "sense of adventure," according to Karen. They join favorites such as the creatively named Rack of Mountain Meadow Lamb--Dijon roasted with a garlic peppercorn crust--and Black Angus Beef--filet mignon with a gorgonzola demi-glacé.
The Breslows pride themselves on their food being "a la minute"--absolutely fresh and everything made from scratch as it is ordered. "Nothing is taken out of a refrigerator in a prepared state," Karen emphasizes, adding that it takes six people to put out a plate from chef to server. Lunches will be served in addition to dinners for the holiday season (beginning Dec. 6).
Karen, 46, a Mountain View native, and Jeff, 53, a New Yorker, met when he was a school principal and she was a speech therapist at Crittenden Middle School in Mountain View. When Jeff retired, he decided to start another career in the restaurant business, in which his family had worked for years.
Le Mouton Noir, 14560 Big Basin Way, Saratoga. Open daily for lunch in December only, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner daily, 5:30-9:30 p.m. 408.867.7017.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
