Petite Chou- Revisit

I eat at the chous a lot for lunch, but I often forget about going to Petite Chou for dinner. The other night we were looking for something other than our usual haunts with the kids, and we all agreed to go.

I was excited to hear (on a Thursday) that they still had some of the duck fat fried chicken, but then when the server told me it would be 30 minutes to get it, I decided to pass on it. My kids are pretty good restaurant diners, but that might push it a bit.  So I decided to go with the crab cake appetizer ($8.95), and hubby got the Bastille Day burger that we shared ($15.95).

I generally do not order crab cakes at restaurants because I am very particular about them, but I really enjoy the crab cakes at Petite Chou. They are pretty thin and made up mainly of crab, with not a lot of filler. The outside is seared so the edges are crisp and they don’t have that overly bready texture like some do. My favorite part was the side salad they serve with it, which is made up of greens, thinly sliced apples and shaved fennel and is served with a very mustardy vinaigrette-type dressing. It is definitely more of an appetizer size (just one cake) but they serve it as an entrée as well (there are two and with an egg on top).

The Bastille burger is a thick patty topped with blue cheese, jowl bacon and pickled red onions. Although it may have been a little more cooked than I would have liked (and asked for), it was still very tender. You can tell they are using a good quality of beef. I loved the flavors of the toppings, but then again those are some of my favorite things. You get tanginess from the onions and the cheese and an extra layer of rich saltiness from the bacon. The burgers come with fries, which are really good—some of the better fries around for sure. They’re cooked fairly dark and served with a Dijon/mayo mix that I really enjoy.

We also all shared a side of the Gruyere mac and cheese with bacon ($6.95). This was also really tasty. I really like the earthy, salty flavor of Gruyere, and it was also still very smooth and creamy. The large chunks of bacon mixed in were great too, although honestly, I think it would be good either way. Hubby really liked the mac and cheese and ate the majority of it.

They have a nice kids’ menu as well, with some different things than the usual. My son had the cheese omelette with toast and my daughter the kid’s burger. They both seemed happy enough, although the patty on the kids’ burger was much smaller than the adult version, which is fine, but the bun was the same, which was weird (and too much bread).

My kids and I split a chocolate crepe (just a crepe with chocolate ganache). It was exactly what they wanted--and the chocolate was quite rich and tasty.

It’s one of the few French restaurants we have (as I have said a million times, what’s up with that?) and it’s a good option for dinner. 

Petite Chou

823 Westfield Blvd

Indy 46220

317/259-0765

www.cafepatachou.com