Andres Bistro & Bar
Vesta Coffee
French Baguette with Vermont Butter
House Baked Pastries – Butter Croissant, Pain au Chocolat, Almond Danish, Raspberry Streudel, Apricot-Cream Pastry with Vermont Butter, Strawberry and Yuzu-Apricot Jam
Beignets – Powdered Sugar
Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon – a Rasher
Charcuterie Board – Duck Rillette, Speck, Andre’s Signature Liver and Pistachio Pate with Eggplant Caviar, Fig Jam, House Mustard, Onions and Pickles
Vegetable Quiche – Red Pepper, Spinach, Goat Cheese served with Green Salad
Andre’s Burger – Imported Swiss Cheese, Red Onion Marmalade, Truffle Mayonnaise, Seasoned French Fries
Smoked Salmon Benedict – House Smoked Salmon, Poached Eggs, Hollandaise with Breakfast Potatoes and Sauteed Onions
Croque Madame – Country Ham, Gruyere Cheese, Bechamel Sauce, Fried Egg, Seasoned Fries
Lobster Roll – Maine Lobster, Fine Herbs, Toasted Roll with Duck Fat Fries
Belgian Waffles – Liege-style with Maple Cream, Macerated Berries, Pure Maple Syrup
Chicken & Waffles – Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Brussels-style Waffle, Country Gravy
Waiting two weeks before returning to assess Brunch, bringing one from an outstanding Dinner plus her son and another local French restaurant owner to a four-top banquet that would eventually need a sideboard, dining during the off-hour of 2:00pm on Saturday found Andres Bistro & Bar sparsely populated and brightly bathed in sunlight, the music turned down and the food equally delicious.
Serving the weekend’s favorite meal both Saturday and Sunday from ten o’clock to 3:30pm, a brief Happy Hour then bridging 150 minutes into a Dinner menu that begins at half-past four, Andre’s early offerings see several plates from weekday Lunch as well as a few Dinner favorites joined by Eggs, Pastries and Griddles, the Coffee from DTLV’s Vesta available as Espresso, Lattes or via bottomless mug.
Ordering a la carte with additional items sent out from a tight kitchen where Marty Red DeLeon Lopez and Jon VanHusen could clearly be seen working as the door flopped open, it was after brief greetings from several familiar faces that the feast got underway, House Baked Pastries from Tammy Alana highlighted by Raspberry Streudel and an Apricot-Cream Danish that resembled Sunny-side Eggs while the oilless Beignets were lighter than those in New Orleans with about a half-cup less Powdered Sugar dusted on top.
Happily indulging in more Carbohydrates, the Warm Baguette on par with that at Bardot and upgraded by way of lightly salted Butter plus two types of Housemade Jam, savories started out with six slices of smoky-sweet Bacon cooked just shy of crisp plus a daily trio of Charcuterie, the imported Speck just fine but far more flavor found in the creamy Rillettes and Chef Rochat’s Liver-forward Pistachio and Pork Pate.
Unfortunately unable to smoke Salmon in-house, those folks at the Health Department always happy to ruin a good time, Andre’s Smoked Salmon Benedict nonetheless hits all the right notes with soft-poached Eggs atop toasted English Muffins, the sliced Potatoes and Sauteed Onions a very worthy addition that finds favor with even those who generally ignore them, a similar statement applicable to either the Duck Fat or Seasoned French Fries served with Sandwiches.
Offering two styles of Quiche, the Vegetable version this-week featuring Red Bell Peppers, Spinach and Goat Cheese in a high, fluffy Custard on an all-Butter Crust with a clean edge, Andre’s Burger offers a good grind on a soft Roll with all the standard fixings upgraded, the Cheese a sharp imported Swiss with Onions reduced to Marmalade and Mayonnaise Truffled.
Stuffing a toasted Roll with generous chunks of Lobster and serving up Ham and Cheese on medium-thick Brioche beneath creamy Bechamel plus a golden Egg, a mound of the aforementioned French Fries served with each, Brunch concluded in two completely different styles of Waffle, the thinner one topped with a brined Chicken Breast coated in Batter and bathed in peppery Country Gravy while the “Belgian Waffles” are the only freshly-made Liege-style versions served at a proper Restaurant in Sin City, and every bit as good as those found overseas with pockets of Pearl Sugar caramelized beneath Macerated Berries and Maple Cream.
FOUR AND HALF STARS: Shedding the traditional French concept just a touch at Brunch as well as Dinner, though certainly no more so than Bardot, Bouchon or Mon Ami Gabi, Andre’s Bistro & Bar shows no signs of cutting corners or dumbing things down for those choosing to visit mid-day as opposed to night, the music lower and sunlight plentiful with prices just a fraction of the great restaurants targeting tourists to the East.
RECOMMENDED: Belgian Waffles, Beignets, Charcuterie Board, Smoked Salmon Benedict, Croque Madame, Breakfast Potatoes.
AVOID: Shrinking the size renders both the Butter Croissant and Pain Au Chocolat a bit dry compared to larger versions. Lunch/Brunch Dessert menu lacks compared to dinner.
TIP: The Happy Hour Menu offers $1 off Draught or Bottled Beers and cuts two bucks from Cocktails or Wine by the Glass, approximately a dozen plates also offered at a noteworthy discount, including the $7 Burger which is essentially fast-food price for quality not found at Shake Shack, Five Guys or In-n-Out.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
https://www.andresbistroandbar.com/
