In the last few years I’ve developed a real fondness for French food and San Diego has been a great place to get some French food when the mood strikes.  Mille Fleurs offers up a number of solid reasons to want to eat there (critical acclaim, a ton of “best of” list shout outs) but the real sealer was knowing that Janet Jackson lives right near it.  Janet Jackson!

Mille Fleur (Mee-yay flewer) is located in the impossibly swanky neighborhood of Ranch Santa Fe.  It’s located among some crazy prime canyon-side real estate.  Huge, palatial homes that say less “San Diego living” and more “Stately Wayne Manor”.  This place is probably where Batman gets his French take out.  I wanted to take more time to drive down the hill and see the houses but I didn’t pass the credit check.  At least my dining companions and I got a really good dinner out of it.

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Amy-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

Harry-Wise guy, master of the grill, loves camping for some reason

Notice how I mastered the “Bending over to tie your shoes” pose. Next stop, America’s Next Top Model.

The nearly empty restaurant boasted things you don’t see all the time; lovely countryside views, softly piped in techno music and very friendly French employees.  The girls wasted no time in ordering a cocktail before dinner.  Amy had the Pousse Rapiere.  “Brut” Champagne, Orange Curacao and an Orange Twist.  She described the drink as “sweet and lovely”.  Aimee ordered the “French Kiss”; Grey Goose Vodka, St. Germaine, Crème De Frambois and Float Of Champagne.  She said the drink was delicious.  Before our main meals, we were all served a refreshing vinegar-based salad with gorgonzola, walnuts and strawberries.  It was a small but effective palette cleanser.  

For starters, I had the Chino’s Farm Cauliflower Tasting.  Cauliflower prepared 3 ways: Pan-Fried in Bread Crumbs, in Verjus Dressing and Cauliflower Velouté (Soup).  This is where the whole “Farm-to-table” thing Mille Fleurs does really shines.  The fried and dressed Cauliflower were okay, if under-seasoned,  but the main star was the soup.  It was perfect.   Amy ordered a whole bowl of it and she also loved it.

The prissy version of Red Lobster’s “Ultimate Sampler”

For main courses, Harry ordered the Venison, which came with Spaetzle.  Yeah, you read that right… It was then that our server told us that the head chef for Mille Fleur is German!  PLOT. TWIST.  Not that it made a difference to any of us, it was just unexpected.  Harry said the Venison was “Amazing.  Very delicious”.  Aimee enjoyed the Spaetzle with her dinner as well; Pan seared Duck with a blackberry sauce, pecan potato pancake and brussels sprouts.  Her dinner was met with mixed reviews.  While she found the duck to be perfect, crispy and medium rare with a delicious sauce, the brussels sprouts were under seasoned and unnecessary to the dish.

My dinner was Lamb with garlic confit and cous cous and it was beautifully cooked.  Melt in your mouth confit and the cous cous was perfectly light and fluffy.  Really strong showing on the main course here.

The key word here being she “HAD” a little lamb…

Amy ordered the vegetable ravioli with Gruyere, caramelized onions and chives.  While she loved the Gruyere, Amy found herself wishing the filling of the ravioli was as delicious as the toppings.  Also unimpressive to Amy were the vegetables.  While this ordinarily might seem unimportant when you consider this place has it’s own farm, that viewpoint takes on a bit more weight.

There was no way I wasn’t having dessert at a French restaurant.  I ordered the Pavlova.  For those unaware, Pavlova is basically a giant meringue.  Still confused?  Imagine a GIANT Lucky Charms Marshmallow.  That’s what it tastes like.  Topped with lemon curd and a medley of Fresh Berries and Lavender Chantilly, this dish is not for the faint of heart.  Zingy, tangy, crispy and SUPER sugary.  It’s sized for sharing but I was in it to win it.  and by “it”, I mean the shakes and a eye twitch that I still can’t stop.

Big ups to this place on the presentation, the food was super pretty.

Amy had the Rhubarb Pie a la mode with Irish Cream Sauce.  She loved the pie.  great crust and straight up, unaffected rhubarb, which is a rarity.  The ice cream was fantastic and the irish cream sauce was great.  She also ordered a glass of Canadian Ice Apple Wine, which was super sweet but well paired with muted sweetness of the pie.

Aimee ordered the Mignardise Cookie Plate: an impressive array of homemade mini pastries and chocolates.  While Aimee herself is more prone to a softer cookie than the kinds presented in this dish, she said the chocolate was top notch.

Overall we found this dining experience to be a positive one.  While not everything was a home run, this was a really nice place.  It ain’t cheap so set aside some cash and wear your cleanest pair of sweatpants (I’m kidding, put on some slacks you God damned yocals).  The atmosphere is really great and the service was terrific.  As we were leaving, under what I was sure was some glucose-induced hallucination, I heard the thumping baseline of Wild Cherry’s 1976 classic “Play That Funky Music”.  Indeed, I was not imagining this.  At night the front half of Mille Fleurs becomes a piano bar dance party where middle aged wealthy folks dance the dances of yesteryear and use $100 bills instead of toilet paper or something.  I’m imagining this of course.  This joint is way classier than my imagination.

Further reading http://www.millefleurs.com/