Barbette

Barbette is one of those places that I've always wanted to go. Every time we pass by it, I think, "Oh, we should really try that place." But when the time came that Mark and I wanted to go to lunch or dinner somewhere, I always forgot about Barbette. So on Saturday, Mark surprised me by taking me out to lunch there.

Barbette is located on Lake Street in Uptown, only about 3 blocks or so from Lake Calhoun. It has a very eclectic and bohemian feel - mosaics on the walls and table tops, two large countertop areas for intimate dining with strangers, local music playing on the sound system, a very laid-back staff. It isn't too large inside; it probably seats about 70 or so comfortably. The chef uses organic and local ingredients as much as possible.

The lunch/brunch menu was very small, but Mark and I both found dishes that we thought sounded good. I had the Croque Madame, which is basically a grilled tomato and Gruyere cheese sandwich, and Mark had the avocado chicken sandwich, which is - you guessed it - a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado. Both lunch entrees were served with a small green salad. We paired that with a Mimosa for me and a beer for Mark.

The lunch was very good. My sandwich was the best grilled cheese I've had in a long time. And I don't eat chicken, so I didn't taste Mark's, but he said that it was delicious as well. The green salad had a very bitter vinaigrette on it, so neither of us ate much of that.

We ate slowly and lingered for a while after we finished our lunch. It was that kind of afternoon - sunny and bright, but still too chilly to do much outdoors. A perfect day to be laid-back and lazy. And the staff had no problems with our hanging about; I think that they expect their patrons to hang out a bit after the meal and just enjoy the drinks and the music.

Overall, I liked Barbette. It was a little pricey; about $40 for the two of us for lunch. But then again, Mark did have two beers, and I had that Mimosa, so that made it a bit more expensive than a normal lunch would have been. But the food was good, the environment was friendly and relaxed, and the day was beautiful. It was quite a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.