Highlights:
Early Bird Special, 5:30-8:00 every night
Romantic view of the Schuylkill
Drawbacks:
Dishes loaded with garnishes, and accompaniments often come up short on flavor.
Bistro St. Tropez has the endearing tackiness and audacious prices of the French town, but not its edifying bistro fare. The $30 three-course prix fixe menu, for those willing to dine between 5:30 and 8 p.m., is nonetheless a bargain by this restaurant's standards. There are three appetizers to choose from, as well as two main courses, each priced at $24.95 a la carte, and two desserts.
For starters, the woeful gallette de crab ($8.95 on the regular menu) was girdled by a sweet and sour chili coulis and, topped with a baby's fistful of diced vegetables, it had the blandness of an egg-white omelet. Its garnishes failed to compensate flavor-wise, and the coulis was unjustifiably aqueous.
The Rascasse (potato goat cheese striped bass filet, wilted Boston lettuce, carrot mousse, tomato caper coulis) was a bargain with the prix fixe menu, as it costs a whopping $24.95 a la carte. However, the watery fish, its awkward olive crust and the carrot mousse were inharmonious. I tried another main course off the a la carte menu, the seared duck breast with creamed potatoes, wilted greens and roasted cranberry sauce ($21.95), which was substantially better. The breast itself was tender, flavorful and cooked to a precise medium-rare. But once again, there were too many meaningless and underwhelming accompaniments. The potatoes and the berries were strange and uncomfortable bedfellows, and stewed lentils made the dish even more desultory.
Desserts were better, yet chagrining in their smallness. The Lilliputian raspberry tart was easily the best thing we were served; its moist and buttery crust was just firm enough to provide some backbone to the pastry cream, which was smooth and not overly gelatinous. The Grand Marnier souffle was bouncy but one-dimensional. It had none of the gravitas that such a dessert should have, but the accompanying raspberry coulis was flawless, and a reminder that this kitchen can do simple things well, if it doesn't get carried away.
Bistro St. Tropez should strive to be truer to its name by serving more coherent bistro fare. There is nothing really wrong with the preparation of the dishes, they are just fatally ill-conceived.
