Left Bank

RESTAURANT TYPE = French
LOCATION: chain (Menlo Park, Santana Row)
RATING: 3.5-4 stars (good)
COST: $ (moderate)

The Lowdown:
Left Bank has dramatically improved their menu during 2006. Before 2005, Left Bank had a pretty decent menu - my favorite was the duck. But during 2005 the food drastically declined - several dishes were removed - what was left was primarily meat dishes such as pork, beef, & chicken. In fact, I was so disappointed I had vowed to stop eating at Left Bank since there wasn't anything that I loved on the menu anymore.

Dish Recommendations:
Good news is that they drastically revamped their menu in 2006!

For appetizers, the French Onion soup has gotten way better. In the past, there was too much cheese, tons of onions, very little soup, and a couple of crouton-like crackers on top. This time it was just right in terms of balance. The fondue is always good too - the cheese taste is on the stronger side so if that's not what you like you may want to pass. The salads are all pretty standard fare. The salad lyonnaise is good but I'm a little sad that they got rid of another salad that had palm hearts and I think spinach, tomatoes, and some sort of vinegarette.

Duck is back on the menu in TWO dishes for dinner - a cassoulet which boasts braised duck and pork confit, sausage, white beans, garlic-tomato sauce, and a seared duck breast with a frisee salad, leg confit, and quince compote. The rib eye and shortribs (from the old menu) are also quite good.

For dessert, I'd recommend the profiteroles, creme brulee, or sorbet. FYI - there is a difference between the desserts and petit desserts. For one, you can definitely split anything on the dessert menu as the portions are quite large. My sorbet had 2 very large scoops of sorbet with 2 palmiers. My friend had the profiteroles and likewise had 3 large pastries filled with ice cream. The good thing is that the chocolate comes on the side so it doesn't get cold in the meantime. Creme brulee has always been decent at Left Bank. They used to have a creme brulee trio with coffee, lemon, and normal I think. They only have plain now but it is still good.

Other things to note:
Reservations recommended. Santana Row parking is more difficult on the weekends. For special days like Valentines, Christmas Eve, & New Years Eve they have special holiday menus for which reservations are highly recommended if not required.

Website:
www.leftbank.com