Bar Jules

I was scheduled to find out about my graduate school prospects on January 18, and Colin, Eleanor, and I made plans for dinner that night. It would either be a celebration one or an "Eh, who needs 'em?" one. It turned out be an "Eh, who needs 'em?" night, which started with glasses of vodka-cranberry juice and Ghostbusters on VH1. By the time the movie was over and I was slightly drunk, we made our way down the hill to eat at Bar Jules, the new restaurant that took over the Don't Call it Frisco laundry mat.

It was a small space with an even smaller menu. As we waited outside with Scott with our bottle of wine bought from the liquor store on Hayes and Buchanan (Bar Jules doesn't have it's liquor license yet), we decided we wanted one of everything on the menu. The friendly hostess with a foreign accent kept us abreast of our table's readiness for us. When we were seated inside and asked if we needed more time, Colin stepped up, "We want everything, please." Easy enough. But, they ran out of squid, so we could only get almost everything.

They started us off with some fried peanuts, which was a nice touch but which I felt would have been more apt in a bar. The two salads--one carrot and one arugula--came out next. The carrot salad was was flavored with cummin and had a creamy dressing on it. The flavor was interesting but the viscous, white sauce had a texture that wasn't too appealing to me. The arugula salad was light and refreshing with some sweet beets and cheese, but it seemed like any other arugula salad (arugula seems to be the salad green of the season). The barely soup was hearty and rich without being overpowering, and they gave us two bowls though we only ordered one (yay for generosity!).

As for entrees, we had the strip steak with blue cheese and the fish (I can't remember what fish it was but it was a white flesh one) with citrus. The steak was well cooked, tender and all melt-in-your-mouth delicious, but the cheese was too strong. I rubbed the cheese off my piece of meat and could still only taste cheese, and Eleanor opted for a piece that touched no cheese (a smart move on her part). I remember that the fish was good but nothing more.

For dessert, we had the quatro leches cake and a slice of the chocolate one. The adorable waitress informed us of that the quatro leches cake soaks in cream, milk, condensed milk, and evaoprated milk for two days. The density of the cake was proof of that. Despite the cake's heft, it was light and buttery. The chocolate one was good and not too sweet.

I like the idea of Bar Jules. I like the small space, the small, constantly changing menu. I like the friendly servers. I like that the banquette is at a decent height for the table and doesn't make one feel shorter/taller than those seated in a chair. I like that it's two blocks away from my house. It has the possibility for greatness, but the food isn't quite great yet. Good, yes. But, not great.