| I normally dislike dining in empty restaurants. Without other patrons they feel devoid of ambience. However, when my friend and I visited JoJo Bistro Parisien (917 - 17th Avenue, S.W.; phone 245-2382) the other night, it mattered little that we were the solitary dining party.
Plush red chairs, happy French music, romantic lighting and superb Provençale cuisine transported us to a bistro in Paris, leaving 17th Avenue S.W. far behind. With little to do, Morocco-born owner Mohamed Guelli told his staff, including his manager, daughter Nabila, not to come in, and so that evening he played host, waiter and chef in a most charming and relaxing manner. I must admit, I was prepared to encounter some snobbery at the French restaurant, but Guelli more than happily answered our questions about the menu.
What did people say when they saw the snail speeding down the street? Hey, look at that "s" car go! Yes, for appetizers my friend Alli and I shared piping hot escargots in a garlic-flavoured burgundy sauce ($9) that was bread-dipping good, as well as a rather oily spinach salad with goat cheese and thin slices of smoked tuna which had been substituted for pancetta ($9.50).
For her entrée, Alli ordered halibut in a creamy white wine and lemon sauce ($22) sharply and pleasingly contrasted with a scattering of capers. My entrée was to die for: succulent pieces of duck with blackcurrant berries and Calvados ($25). I’ve previously faulted restaurant staff for not inquiring about the meal after the first few bites, but while Guelli didn’t check up on us, I think it’s because he knew everything was perfect. (He’s been running JoJo Bistro for 11 years, after all.) Indeed, not a crumb, droplet of sauce or carrot julienne was left on our plates.
Guelli spent some time at our table and we enjoyed chatting with him. Perhaps it was the attention we received, the delicious French cuisine or the Chilean Cono Sur cab ($30), but for once I can honestly say that I was happy to have the whole restaurant to ourselves.
There are no new dishes at JoJo Bistro, but still popular are the mussel soup with saffron ($7), lapin à la moutarde ($23), and petit cassoulet ($27) of spicy sausage, confit de canard and lamb chop served on white beans. However, the restaurant’s interior has undergone some changes, with an open kitchen, Italian marble bar, newly stained and sanded dinner tables and freshly painted burgundy walls. Its 1903 Electra espresso machine from Italy is a beautiful objet d’art. So, of course we ordered two cappuccinos and the heavenly profiteroles.
In two weeks, Guelli will be opening a new Mediterranean restaurant in the former Trocadero location in Marda Loop. If the cuisine, atmosphere and hospitality are anything like JoJo Bistro then it's destined for success. |
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