Shmaltz butter – that sounds really great!
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That person be telling the truth. This gorgeousness at Petit Trois is straight out of Jacques Pepin’s school of French country mastery… No frill, no fuss - Just straight up smashmouth superb French execution from the kitchen:
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$3? I thought it was “free”. And yes it’s fucking great.
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The sourdough bread at Simone was just perfection - perfect crust, perfect crumb, perfect flavor. The whipped butter had a delicious tang and was a huge portion – my dining companion took it home (I didn’t want to be tempted the next morning, but if you were feeling decadent that butter would have been insane the next morning on a homemade muffin).
I have not had the baguette and Normandy butter at Republique nor the Bing and cultured butter and honey at Majordomo, so I can’t compare. But the Simone sourdough bread is definitely a different animal from either your classic baguette or from a bing. Different texture, different flavor.
The closest I can come to compare with what I am seeing is apparently the new restaurant trend of selling bread and butter is the $7 bread and butter I recently had at the over-hyped La Mercerie in NYC. I ordered it at La Mercerie because I thought, “wow it must be special if they are putting it on the menu for $7” and it was not. Just some ordinary baguette and a butter that I actually found nauseating.
Not sure who developed the sourdough bread recipe at Simone – the waiter gave some kind of explanation, but I didn’t pay attention – but with that same person, I can’t imagine that the restaurant couldn’t produce greatness on its dessert menu, unless bread-making is a completely different skill set than dessert (perhaps in my naïveté, I think baking is baking). I hated the one dessert I did try at Simone.
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Now I really want to go to Petit Trois. Do they take reservations at the one on Highland? If not, what is the wait situation, particularly for weekend lunch?
Fair disclosure: The baguette photo and omelette photos are from Petit Trois Le Valley, not Highland. BUT the PT Highland kitchen is just as solid. Seating is brasserie-style (no reservations).
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Me too. They even give me extra to take home with my leftovers sometimes.
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I slightly prefer the baguette at Republique but both are definitely in the upper echelon of breads in the city.
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Just quoting the official price on the Petit Trois menu, in case one orders extra bread a la carte…
The omelette is super amazing!
And I thought the bread and butter was “free,” too…but it’s been quite a while since I’ve been to Petit Trois. They offered it to us when we sat down at the counter. I don’t remember seeing it on the bill when I paid.
I’m not sure I can pick a winner between Petit Trois and Republique…I adore the bread service at both.
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I see it now. Looks like it’s $3 with some jam for breakfast and brunch and “free” at lunch and dinner.
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Hi @Omotesando,
Simone doesn’t bake their own bread. They buy it from Bub & Grandma’s Bread (which is very good and found at many shops around town).
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It is a completely different skill, IMHO. Dough and batter are two very different things.
Have not been to Petit Trois, but I thought Farmshop had a very good omelet.
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Good intel! I would’ve at first guessed that chef Largey might be inclined to use Manresa Bread, given her tenure at Manresa. Manresa Bread, btw, makes a great levain that’s perfect for my Sunday toast - just some butter on the pan and finish with Maldon salt, or spread some grilled black Mission figs on top, or add some Fatted Calf 5-spice lamb bacon. I digress…
For some reason I was hoping for a menu that leaned more rustic or classic French, less “Californian.” I’ll still probably give this a try next time.
Is Nina on the soundtrack? I picture “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” playing while I would sip on Armagnac, old Grand Marnier, or some Dagueneau (Les Jardins de Babylone) after a mille feuille or some caneles.
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Yikes the thing I liked the best at Simone didn’t even come from the restaurant’s kitchen.
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In Simone’s defense, they did probably heat it up for you.
And they probably had to slice it too. Hmm this reminds me of another dish costing $10.
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See that, @CiaoBob?! Aren’t you glad I talked you out of ordering that item on the menu?! 
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oh and there was a nice little surprise of an undisclosed, mandatory 4% “service charge” tacked on to the bill.
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But I don’t regret ordering it or paying $10 for the bread because of all the things I ate, it was the only thing I would want a second time.
The waiter did mention Bub & Grandmas, but I wasn’t paying a lot of attention and was not familiar with that vendor, so I naively thought that was who they sourced the flour from or something. I knew they couldn’t have been producing their own flour. In retrospect, however, it would be a very unusual restaurant kitchen that was equipped for breadmaking.
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