Cognac Bistro - French Bistro in Brookline

Working in the Brookline Area allows me to explore some restaurants that I would probably not otherwise visit.  One of these is Cognac Bistro, an inspired French Bistro helmed by Chef Nelson Cognac from Harvest.

The menu offers lots of traditional French fare that has plenty to tempt.  I decided to order an appetizer as my main course: the mussels "escargot" were served with toasted garlic and parsley butter.  Normally "swimming in butter" is a bit too much, but this was exactly how these should be served!  There was so much flavor from the butter and parsley - delicious!

Mussel's "Escargot"

In addition to the mussels, I added a bit of green with the Hericot Verts.  These were a bit too oily for me, but still crisp and bright.  Maybe if I didn't have a buttery dish to go with these french beans, they would not have seemed as greasy.

Hericot Vert

Others at the table got the Croque Madame, which was well grilled and toasted.  The cheese - gruyere - was delicious with a bit of a bite to it that worked.  The ham added more flavor and texture to this sandwich.  The sum of good parts make for a delicious sandwich!

Croque Madame

Of course, we had to order a side of the Pomme Frites!  Perfectly dark golden brown, it was hard to keep my hand from reaching out for more.

Frites!

A popular dish was the Warm Frisee salad served with golden beets, roasted garlic, bacon and goat cheese.  This salad had so many delicious aspects to it, and all of these parts worked so well together.  Each bite was delicious!  The warm creamy goat cheese gave just the right amount to tang.

Warm Frisee

When the onion soup came out to our table, we all kind of stared at it in awe.  With its gruyere gratin on country toasts, it looked amazing.  Gruyere makes everything better if you ask me!  Good quality ingredients made for a delicious soup.

Onion Soup

As a cap to our meal, we had some cappuccinos, complete with the perfect amount of foam on top - so well made!

Cappuccino

The server overheard us discussing the fact that is was a co-worker's birthday and they surprised us with a a candle in some chocolate that was perfect for dipping some shortbread cookies in!  We thought the espressos were the perfect cap, but this really was perfect!

Surprise Dessert!

Congac Bistro is a great little restaurant in Brookline with friendly service and delicious food.  All the dishes were rich and delicious!  If you find yourself in the Brookline area, I would recommend stopping by - the dinner menu has even more options than the lunch!