By far, the best of 7 restaurants I tried during KC Restaurant Week: Le Fou Frog in River Market

I made it, in the ice storm, to Le Fou Frog for KC Restaurant, and it was worth risking the highways and streets for their generous and delicious dinner.  Out of seven restaurants I have visited this week for KC Restaurant, Le Fou Frog was by far my #1 choice.  Food and ambiance.  Value.

Think of it as a trip to Paris, without ISIS.  And very affordable.

I didn't want to be all tourist or foodie, so I did not keep whipping out my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge to photograph each dish.  I figured they would be online.  Alas.  Ironically, out of 105 photos on line, the dishes I just tasted and loved were not there.  Use your imagination, or go and take your own pics.

In addition to the great food, the restaurant exudes a unique charm through the pink brick exterior, the chalkboard menus and the single-room dining area.  Le Fou Frog is kind of funky, there with its eternal Christmas lights, (hey, Paris is the City of Lights) at 400 E. 5th in the River Market.

An online photo of the dining room shows daytime lighting.  That's not what you want.  Go at night. imagine a scene out of my favorite date movie, "Midnight in Paris" with Owen Wilson, time travelling into a magical bistro with perfectly dimmed lights, where he hangs out with the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.  At Le Fou Frog, somehow everyone in the room just seems more interesting and full of joie de vivre.

Now a great French restaurant serves an amuse bouche, a little unannounced appetizer, meant to be one bite that amuses your mouth.  Le Fou Frog does not disappoint.  Mine was a liver pate with a tiny crouton.  Served in the little square two inch dish, shown below with a different mouth teaser.

For starters, I needed something warm.  I chose gratin with smoked chicken, potatotes, leeks, Gruyere cheese and cream.  Or you might try smoked duck salade with raspberry vinaigrette.

And for dessert, there is no way to show this perfect dish.  Pot de creme, which is a coffee pudding with Frangelica, (hazelnut liqueur).  So here it is:

SCRATCH AND SNIFF:

POT DE CREME AU CAFE

Now the whole point of KC Restaurant Week is sampling new places.  It's also a charity event, tho I'm not sure how they manage that.  Selfishly, choose the best, go for $33 dinners.  The couple next to us had scored a last minute reservation when someone else cancelled.  Be unstoppable.  And it's fine to take and post your photos.  Tho you'll never get it right to capture the candlelight...and if anyone needs to know what to do re Valentine's week, birthday, anniversary or Better Nookie Night:

  book now.