The French Market
Croquettes De Branade. Fancy French way of saying “fish balls.” $9.
We don’t go out a lot these days. Not sure if you heard, but there is a global pandemic that is turning the lives of all human beings into a colossal garbage bin. So we prefer to stay in our cul-de-sac cocoon most of the time, but occasionally venture to a restaurant with safe, outdoor seating. And we have a new favorite.
The French Market in Prairie Village, KS, is operated by the Quillec family, who also run the uber-bougie, Café Provence, located around the corner from The French Market. Once a year in early February, my childhood friend, KK (her initials), and I meet at Café Provence on a Monday night to celebrate our birthdays with fancy French food and soufflé. KK and I have birthdays exactly one week apart and we have been celebrating together since 6th grade when our moms let us rent out a pool at a hotel for a boy/girl swim party. The following year when we became teenagers, we hosted an epic “Woodstock” themed bash at a shelter house of a town park. We thought we were the hottest stuff. But I will save those stories for another day.
So I had only ever been to Café Provence with KK but thought my husband and I deserved a fancy night out since we have done so little dining during the pandemic. Of course Cafe Provence patio dining was booked up for the night, but noticed a link on their webpage for The French Market. So I perused the menu online and found the pictures to be oh so charming and fit for a cute little date night. If Café Provence is the Chanel suit-wearing matriarch of the family, then The French Market is her younger sister in Celine sunglasses - effortless and cool.
Our first visit was for a happy hour when it was seriously boob-sweat weather. It was hard to look cute sipping a cocktail when I would have to constantly wipe beads of sweat off my face, eliminating all my makeup. But last week we had an unseasonable cool streak, so it felt right to try dining al fresco again at this quaint Parisian-inspired café.
It’s a seat-yourself situation for outside dining. The tables were appropriately spaced for safe social distancing and all servers were correctly wearing masks. I carry all pandemic essentials with me in my handbag, so I took the extra precaution of wiping down the table with my own Clorox wipes and of course sanitizing our hands throughout the meal.
Pandemic dining essentials.
We were promptly greeted by our server and we made it known that we were ready to drink. I prefer to order cocktails at restaurants because I can pour my own glass of wine at home, but I am less fluent in mixology. So I opted for the FM 75, which is a variation of the classic French 75 drink. At $12 it featured botanical gin, sparkling wine, and lemon verbena. This was sort of like drinking a super-classy lemonade out of a champagne flute and it was oh so refreshing. My only complaint was that the lemon garnish still had seeds, so they floated around in the drink and I had to maneuver around them so I didn’t choke or have to spit them out in my napkin. That wouldn’t be a good date-night look.
Lovely and refreshing, so long as I didn’t inhale the seeds.
AJ just wants beer. There was a solid selection, but he opted for a familiar KC favorite, Tank 7 by Boulevard Brewing Co. Nothing earth shaking about this beer, it’s just a reliable friend when you need it.
Hello, old friend.
We were later getting to the restaurant than I wanted (because AJ works too damn much) so I was hungry and fussy and needed food ASAP. The only special on the menu that night was Panzenella - a bread and tomato salad that featured grilled peaches, red onion, peppers and cucumbers as well. It was a spot-on starter for an August dining experience. AJ said he didn’t want anything to start, and I told him when I ordered that I wasn’t going to give him any of it.
Oh gee, guess who ended up with a bite despite claiming he didn’t need a starter dish. Luckily I am so flexible and accommodating.
The real star of the night was the soup du jour - a Carrot Curry soup AJ ordered. It had the texture of whipped cream and AJ described it as a “lick the bowl clean” kind of soup. The curry was not overwhelming, it just provided a nice pepper taste in the back of your throat. A bowl of this orange loveliness was $9. Fair price for something I wanted to dip all the food in.
Looks like mustard, tastes like heaven.
My main course was Croquettes De Brandade, which is a fancy way of saying “Fried Salty Fish Balls.” The menu was sort of vague in the description - salted cod, potato, saffron aioli. But what came out was kind of like a kick-ass hush puppy. It was perfectly fried and the saffron aioli was the real game changer of the dish. There were 3 fish balls in my order and the aioli was just the right amount to complement but not overwhelm the delicate insides of the cod ball. It would not have been enough as a meal alone, but after my Panzanella it was the right amount of food to fill me up but not be so stuffed that I lost the buzz from my second glass of FM 75.
Fish Balls!
AJ had the Crab Cake Slider to accompany his soup and it was similar in texture to the Croquettes De Brandade. The kitchen did not skimp on the crab like some restaurants, who prefer to water down the cake with so much breading and other filler that it could be any sub-par shellfish you are eating. It was small, but again, when paired with the soup du jour it was a fitting meal.
The people watching here is top notch, too. The neighborhood is full of perfectly maintained Cape Cod style homes (that all look like the cover of a glossy magazine with a title like “How To Wear Vineyard Vines Clothing When You Are Not On Your Yacht) and is near Mission Hills, where all the pro athletes and muckety mucks of KC reside. The parking lot is full of cars from Tesla to Mazaratti to vintage roadsters. Our Subaru looks a little out of place, but hey, my money is just as good as the Yuppies in the Porsche SUV beside us. The majority of the diners seemed to be affluent couples in their 70s, and also a few younger professional types. It feels like the kind of place you could easily spot a local celebrity, which is my most favorite spotting.
The market inside stays very busy with customers popping in for a baguette and assorted cheeses. There is also a grab-and-go refrigerated section with salads and other delights including cassoulet, marinated beets, daube stew, and paté, as well as fresh baked croissants and cookies. This would be an ideal spot to grab a picnic lunch for a date at one of the parks nearby, if I was at a stage in my relationship where impromptu romantic dates were still a thing.
I don’t think I will do any sort of star-rating system because I don’t have a method of measurement yet. But The French Market deserves your patronage as a locally-owned business that uses high-quality ingredients and perfect cooking technique. The service is solid and the breezy European atmosphere makes you momentarily forget about the butthole year we are living through.
