This small, cozyrestaurant offers a menu with its heart in France, along with occasionalItalian touches that appear in the form of risotto or house-made tagliatellepasta. The bar focuses on wine, and daily specials are listed on chalkboards. Burgundy linen tablecloths are topped with butcher paper,and it’s not unusual to see customers dining alone.
Engel formerlyworked as executive chef at the popular Hotel Metro. His new endeavor is alsopopular; if anything, it might be too popular. Even Monday dinners at PasticheBistro are fully booked. There is another option, however, as the bistro isopen for lunch. Though the menu is smaller, the entrees are cheaper. Also,diners will find items such as crepes and quiche that are absent from thedinner menu.
The lunch specialstypically include a soup of the day, a quiche, a crepe and perhaps a salad orentrée. The daily soup specials tend to be thoughtful preparations. A cream ofmushroom soup ($3.95) came with chicken and asparagus. The intense mushroomflavor dominated the chicken, but the asparagus provided welcome bursts offlavor. The regular menu also offers quiche Lorraine ($9.95), which arrives asa thick slice and is served with a side salad, and a classic onion soup toppedwith a crouton, Gruyere cheese and chopped parsley. The onion soup’s broth islight on salt and the onions are sweet. Perhaps more importantly, Gruyere issimply superior in flavor to Swiss cheese.
In summertime,salads can often serve as an entire lunch. The salad Nicoise ($10.50) is aclassic preparation with potato, tomato, hard-boiled egg, capers, small blackNicoise olives and plenty of green beans. The tuna comes in small pieces, thevinaigrette is made with red wine, and choice white anchovy filets crown thesalad. The green beans, or haricots verts, also form a salad of their own($5.95), made with an assortment of salad greens, some tomatoes and a profusionof toasted hazelnuts, topped with a sturdy crouton spread with creamy chevre.The dressing is of cr%uFFFDme fraiche with red wine vinaigrette. The vinegar is insuch scant supply that it is unnoticeable, and the salad overall lacks spark.
Things improve withthe entrees. Lamb navarin ($8.95) consists of boneless pieces of meat braisedinto tenderness. There also are haricots verts, potatoes, carrots, onions andfresh peas. The flavor of wine is everywhere. At dinner this same item is$15.95. An entree not found on the dinner menu is tagliatelle with ducklingragu ($10.95). This is homemade pasta with duck meat that is cooked until it isliterally falling apart. It’s a delicious dish, though some may view it asbetter fare for a wintry day. For something a bit lighter, try the crepes. A specialof chicken salad crepes ($8.50) came as a pair, the thin crepes speckled withground black pepper and the chicken salad made with onion, celery andmayonnaise. Salad is included on the plate in this decent summery dish.
Lunch prices aregenerally friendly, with one notable exception: potato batonettes with garlicmayonnaise ($6.50). This is potato frites served in a pint beer glass linedwith paper. While the frites are properly prepared and the mayonnaise isaddictive, the price seems excessive for such a small serving.
The wine list is notlarge (20-plus choices), but it is a thoughtful list again aimed toward France. Themost expensive bottle is just under $50.
The kitchen hasthings timed perfectly. Even when the bistro is full, everything arrives at theproper intervals. A lunch in less than an hour is entirely possible. Be sure tomake a dinner visit as well. This is when you’ll find escargot, tagliatellemade with shrimp and scallops, and classic steak frites. The Pastiche Bistro isa very welcome addition to Milwaukeedining.
Pastiche Bistro
3001 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
(414) 482-1446
$$-$$$
Credit Cards: MC, VS
Handicap Accessible
pastichebistro.com
