Restaurant Week Dinner c/o Bistro St. Tropez

For my second outing for restaurant week, I met up with BC for dinner at Bistro St. Tropez. I arrived a bit early and was seated at the bar to wait for BC and our table. It was a good view of 30th Street Station and the river, which was funny because it was sort of like the zoom version of the view LW and I had at our restaurant week meal the week before. When I sat down - and during the entirety of the ten or so minutes I sat there - I was the only actual patron at the bar. It was brightly lit, with the residue of the neon lights up against the western window further messing with the bright lights of the bar that seemed to come from everywhere. It was, shall we say, difficult for me to get decent photos, especially once we were seated by the window. Anyways. When I sat down I asked the bartender if they had any signature cocktail that had champagne or sparkling wine in it. He didn't know off the top of his head, but another server/FOH dude quickly said yes and pointed me in the right direction. I can't tell you the name of the cocktail because I can't find that menu on their website. But it involved champagne, aperol and a cherry. How could I not like it? The other bartender be

As with other restaurant weeks, we had a few different choices for three courses. So basically it was a menu prix fixe.  The restaurant also started all meals with a watermelon gazpacho, which was quite good and compelling. BC and I both reached and struggled to find the exact words/spices we were picking up. But had an enjoyable back and forth in the process. My main pick up was cumin...but there were a few others. It was interesting, but also just plain good.

This was BC's tart-type starter, which involved goat cheese, cornichons, a poached eggs and about a million other ingredients I can't recall.

I tried the sausage etc. stuffed calamari. I need to find a description of it in order to tell you how it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. While I did eat it and happily, I can't say this was really a dish I'd rave about or recommend.

BC's duck with lentils and other things, was much more of a hit. I took a bite and the meat itself was nicely prepared, delicate, and tender.

My main course was scallops. I'm not overly useful about the details.

I ended my meal with the creme brulee.

And a decaf capucinno.

It was good to catch up with BC, and the view we had - having been seated right by the window - was quite nice. There was a problem with the temperature of the room itself. When we were first there, it was quite warm, and then at some point we both wanted to take out wraps or jackets. Definitely drafty by the window. Nothing so impressed me that this would be a destination for a second venture at full menu prices, but it was quite busy and yet the food came out in a timely fashion and our server was anything but surly; she kept telling us how much she'd be enjoying herself if she wasn't working.