A Spectacular Lunch - more Frenchy stuff

Ahh, free lunch. As you can see, above, I am writing about food again. Thanks to Yelp!, I found a cafe called "Le Cafe de Paris", (it's on Capitol Street, Cathi) a generic, cheesy name for a french bistro in Boise. BUT, I loved it. However, in order to tell this story, I have to tell you about my second favorite meal ever. In fact, it may not have been my second favorite meal ever, but it was certainly a formative meal for me. Back when Amy supported me by the sweat of her brow, she won a sales contest. Typically, the prize was a week in fabulous Hawaii. Of course, the year she won, the prize was a week in fabulous Scottsdale - only two and a half hours away. Still, it was really nice. I took the week off of school and had fun while she attended enough meetings to prevent the government from taxing her prize.

One fateful night, we were given $200 in American Express travelers checks to go to dinner. We went to Christopher's in Scottsdale. I had only recently begun to learn of the existence of serious friggin' food. The waiter asked us if we wanted an appetizer.

"Do you have, like, cool cheeses?" I asked.

"Uh, yes. What type would you like?"

"Umm, can I have an assortment? Could you make a plate of some good ones?

A short while later, he returned with a plate that had a sampling of about six different cheeses. It was delicious. The ladies ordered lobster, but one of the ladies thought her lobster was too tough. The waiter took it to the chef and had it turned into a cottonpicking Lobster Risotto! I ate it. I also ate dessert. I ate a lot that week.

Anywho, now let's talk about Le Cafe de Paris. I liked it. The menu seemed legit. The reviews I read agreed. I was on the fence about what to order, until I saw the "Fromage" section. It was $3 an ounce. I was eating for free, but didn't want to get greedy. They had 5 kinds of cheeses, I ordered 4. I was given an ounce each of Fourme d'Amber, Tomme de Pyrenees, Brie Charmant and another I can't remember. The one in the upper left, was a soft cheese, not too strong, but stronger than the brie right below it. The cheese got slightly harder as it approached the rind. It was rich and delicious. The brie was, a brie. Delicious, and I have no complaints. The next was a blue-ish cheese. Kind of strong, but excellent with the apples. The last was one I don't know what it was. It was reminiscent of a slightly sharp cheddar, not too dry, but not soft. It didn't linger, but had a definite flavor.

As you can see, I left no man behind. Of course, Yelp! reviewers were also very high on this bistro's desserts. I couldn't not find out if they were correct. I ordered the "Melissa." A spongy crust, white chocolate mousse, raspberry mousse, white chocolate mousse and chocolate. That is ganache on the plate. It was great. I ate every bit.

The food was, overall, delicious and simple. It was the kind of place that, after your meal, you feel refreshed, optimistic and fulfilled. I felt that if I stayed, I would start talking to strangers and making friends. I want to go back.