Classic French Cuisine at East Ridgewood Avenue

Latour could be called a classic French restaurant with an American edge. The interior has a certain stylish elegance than seems natural, not affected, and owner Michael Latour credits his sister for the décor.

When Latour first opened its doors 11 years ago, there were a few problems at the front of the house, all of them attributable to a French maitre’d who treated all customers as if they were intruders rather than guests.

We kept going back because of the food, and when Latour remedied the maitre’d situation, we gave some friends a gift certificate to prove to them that if they went back, they would get better treatment. Latour has become their place to go for celebrating an occasion.  It is the only French restaurant in Ridgewood, and Latour (who is half French and half Italian) represents his paternal, ancestral country well.

On our last visit, my partner started with the escargot a la bourguignonne, snails in puff pastry with spinach and a red wine and leek reduction. It was a beautiful presentation that tasted as good as it looked. It was a bargain at $12. Next he chose a French classic, a white bean cassoulet with duck and lamb sausage that had a bit of a spicy edge.  

I started with Latour’s frisee salad, which I can never resist. It is a blend of the white, milder part of the plant, nearest the root, plus blue cheese, apples and hazelnuts in an apple cider vinaigrette, which work perfectly together.

“Only the white part is any good,” Latour said. (But peasant that I am, I buy it and eat the green part too.)

For the entrée, I went for the Beef Wellington because I have not had it for many years. The French call it filet de boeuf en croûte, and the English, after the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, created their own version of it and renamed it after their war hero.  

Latour calls it Beef Wellington on his menu, but he has his own unique take on the dish. Instead of wrapping the filet in puff pastry, he treats it more like hamburger, putting the filet, paté foie gras, and mushroom duxelle, between two pieces of puff pastry. This allows the kitchen to control individual portions, cooking the meat to order for each customer.

I have, however, had individually made small Beef Wellingtons totally encased in pastry. Latour’s version is probably better for the waistline—the bottom crust just soggy enough after a while to keep me from eating it all.

He has a tasting menu that we recommend for first timers who want to take a break from Italian and try a smaller portion of everything French. In the years we have been going there, we have never seen children dining at Latour and while the space is not particularly small, we think it would be hard to accommodate very young children. The atmosphere is perfect, however, for an intimate, anniversary celebration.

Latour graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island, which is well-known for its culinary arts program, and began his career at the Jockey Club in New York, then moved on to the Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons. They gave him a chance to cook for celebrities, ranging from Jacqueline Onassis to Warren Beatty, before he opened his own place in Ridgewood.

“To me, I have fulfilled my dream,” Latour said. And Latour’s filled my partner’s dream of an excellent cheese plate for dessert. Latour had listed it as an appetizer but my partner’s heritage is English and he wanted the cheese plate for dessert –three excellent cheeses and a scoop of perfectly cubed potato salad.

Food: Excellent

Service: Excellent

Entrée Price Range: $27-$32

Atmosphere: Welcoming

BYOB

Credit Cards Accepted