La Belle Epoque
253 S.E. 5th Ave. ???561/272-5800
Delray Beach
On the Gold Coast there are reports of 50% declines in sales and customer counts, but at Delray Beach's superb 2 1/2-year-old La Belle Epoque, there's been no such drop-off. Sales, however, have merely been flat despite the ultra French name, perhaps because the owners, chef Stephane Gfeller and wife manager/maitre d' Florence, are not French but Swiss -- who, after all, did win this year's America's Cup.
The couple have introduced a bistro section, which has helped hold sales steady. Billed as a place "where one can enjoy a simple, everyday 'cuisine familiale,' at heart-warming prices in a casual atmosphere," the bistro has six entrees, each with an excellent house salad. Angel hair pasta with escargot and shallot sprinkled, lightly roasted garlic in a white wine sauce is $14, as is the deboned rainbow trout "meuniere" presented with boiled potatoes and baby leaf spinach. The traditional beef stew, known as beef "Bourguignon" and served with potatoes and seasonal veggies, is $17; a "Paillard" of grilled chicken breast "Provencal" comes with wild rice and sauteed broccoli, $15; and a classic "Wiener Schnitzel" served with French fries, (not freedom fries), $19.50.
There are also five appetizers from $5.50 to $9, including a couple of standouts from the regular menu -- the harvest of wonderful wild mushrooms with puff pastry and tiny spears of fresh green asparagus; roasted beets with dry-aged goat cheese and memorable walnut vinaigrette; and Belgium endive with pear and Roquefort salad.
Other area restaurants, including two headliners free of the Francophobia plague, have also made adjustments to tempt diners who are suddenly concerned about disposable income, now and in the future.
Boulevard Grille
514 Via de Palmas ???561/391-7734
Boca Raton
Boca Raton's Boulevard Grille introduced a special Blvd. Grille menu in March -- "Casual Menu, Casual Prices; Not So Casual Service or Quality." Owner Marco Muñoz and his excellent chef, Morris Sipelvogel, for years the distinguished top toque at the Casa DeRosa restaurant in Glen Cove, N.Y., define that as a classic saltimbocca served on a lentil-based ragout, pan-seared yellow tail snapper with kalamata mashed potatoes and fennel-spiked orange salad; Hawaiian sesame-coated ahi tuna with a traditional Thai peanut sauce, Asian slaw and gingered Basmati rice; and a 10-ounce prime dry-aged New York strip steak served with Cajun-flavored steak fries, mixed vegetables and a peppercorn sauce enlivened with Southern Comfort, $24 to $27.
There are other prime steaks and chops on the regular menu, eight of them priced from $20 for a 14-ounce pork chop or baby back ribs "Nueva Havana," meaning a Cuban marinade, to $35 for a center-cut, 14-ounce veal chop and $36 for a bone-in, 16-ounce center-cut filet mignon, making the Grille a reliable competitor to Morton's and Ruth's Chris.
But Grille or Grill, Boulevard or Blvd., the appetizers are outstanding, especially the dramatically presented tuna tartar, the fried calamari, pan-roasted crab cakes or roasted eggplant cakes and one of the best spinach salads for miles around, $8 to $10, and Marco is a master maitre d' aided greatly by the professionalism of such special waiters as Joel and Keith.
La Villetta Ristorante Italiano
4351 N. Federal Highway ???561/362-8403
Boca Raton
Salvatore "Sal" Sellitto has a similarly competent crew at the 10-year-old La Villetta Ristorante Italiano. He also has co-owner and chef Maria Costanza, native of Caserta, Italy, and wife of noted chef Angelo Mirra, with whom she worked as a team in Basel, Switzerland, and then Montreal, where they had three Italian restaurants, one of which is still operating -- Casa Cacciatore -- under the management of Maria's son-in-law and daughter. Another Casa Cacciatore was opened in Pompano Beach -- in 1985 -- with Sal, and seven years later they moved to Boca, adding an inviting lounge alongside in November 2001. Live entertainment on the weekends keeps the Casa jumping.
The nonstop menu has all the classics, prepared expertly by the experienced Maria in a kitchen that can be seen through a window that offers all the advantages of confidence in cleanliness and order but does not distract from the smooth and easy flow of service in a rather elegantly appointed room. Maria's pastas are all handmade, and everything that comes out of her kitchen reflects the many years of experience, especially her veal creations, notably the "Costoletta alla Maria," a veal chop sauteed with white wine, garlic and fresh rosemary, and the veal chop prepared the good old shoemaker way -- "scarpariello," meaning with Italian sausage, black olives, peperoncini and balsamic vinegar. Another of her specialties is the "Pesce al Naturale," a whole fish baked in sea salt and deboned expertly tableside. The cost depends on the going rate at the market, but the other entrees -- there are 26 -- range from $17.95 to $38.95. Pastas are $14.95 to $19.95 with half portions available, and the 10 starters range from $9.95 for Maria's heart-happy grilled veggies to $15.95 for shrimp sauteed in champagne with garlic and sweet peas.
Those are the same prices from last year, despite the increases in food costs of 3% to 5% -- and despite the drop in customer count of 15% and an overall decline in sales of 30%. Income from the bar and lounge, which increased 20%, helped soften the blow, but neither Maria nor Sal is thinking of tacking on a trattoria to their grand ristorante with simplified, lower-cost menu. However, they are starting what they call Executive Hour, a 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. two-for-one time at the bar. All top brands and no well drinks, plus something special in the way of hors d'oeuvres from Maria.
That should help balance the books a bit. La Villetta, like Boulevard Grille and La Belle Epoque, is too good to lose.