A madame for the Mrs.

I'm already breaking my blogging rules. In my first post, I said that I hated fine food served in small, dimly lit spaces and that I’d only be writing about cheap, fast foods. Problem is, I have a total weakness for French food. Good French food. So, when I feel like a nice sit down meal, that's usually my go-to cuisine. We had a serious lack of it Corvallis, so now I really have to feed the need. 

My all-time favorite sandwich is a croque-madame. Thick, chewy, grilled bread with thinly sliced ham, gruyere cheese and béchamel sauce all pressed together panini-style. That alone sounds good, but then it's topped with a layer of gruyere and put under the broiler AND finished off with a poached or fried egg on top. It's like an adult's grilled cheese. There's a nice lunch spot by my office, Dishes, that serves a to-go version, which is basically just a hot ham, cheese and béchamel sandwich. I had one yesterday, as it's great for a quick bite, but tonight I was craving the real deal. 

I spent a good portion of my lunch break Googleing the best croque-madames in the city and came up with A.O.C, a cute little French restaurant on Bleecker. I really dig the West Village. It’s such a sophisticated, low-key area with great boutiques, bars and eateries. And the apartments in the W. Village? Out of control cute. The neighborhood is packed with gorgeous townhouses on tree-lined, or better yet, cobblestone streets. I dream of the day when I can afford $12 million for a two-bed, one-bath fixer-upper in that neighborhood.

Our waitress was super friendly, and very Parisian. I don’t know if I liked my food or her better. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having a total girl crush on her. She was so cute in such an effortless way, French girls are so lucky.

Back to the point of this post, the croque-madame. It was a thing of beauty. And for $17, I’m glad it didn’t disappoint. The egg was perfectly fried, which provided a nice yokey sauce for the ham and cheese heaven on my plate. The bread was so chewy that I had to request a steak knife because my flatware wasn’t doing the trick. 

My only complaint is about the side dish. According to the menu you could either get a side of fries or a tossed salad served on a baquette. Since Troy was getting fries, I went with the salad. Don’t kid yourself, it wasn’t because I was choosing a healthier option, it was all for the promise of that baquette. I love carbs, especially perfectly baked French breads. Apparently the restaurant staff assumes if you’re ordering a sandwich, that you probably don’t want/need the salad served atop a warm baquette. How wrong they were.

More carbs please.   

Even though they were Troy's, I feel the need to review those fries. Best fries ever! True French fries, as in, made in France or by a French chef, are so different than American fries. So light, thin and crunchy and not at all greasy. These were no exception. 

Don’t worry, I’m not turning into a snobby New Yorker who only eats at restaurants with names they can’t pronounce. I generally avoid places that ask if you want flat or bubbly water. I promise that my next post will have a grease stain in the corner and cost no more than $5. But for this sandwich, I’ll definitely head back to A.O.C.