Dimly glowing light climbs the high walls of the main dining room and settles over a modestly tiled floor that does little to absorb the low hum of patrons and the celebratory clinking of wine glasses.

Bistro Vendome may be just across the street from its sister restaurant, Rioja, in historic Larimer Square, but it is a vast expanse of food genres away from their eclectic menu. Bistro Vendome invites guests to feast on updated classical French fare in décor that pays homage to traditional French bistros. Large mirrors line the high walls, leaning forward just slightly to view diners enjoying an unpretentious and intimate meal. To add to the façade that you are dining in a bistro in the center of Place Vendome in Paris, for which the downtown Denver restaurant is named, selected dinner options are affixed to the windows in French in bold black.

I spent time in Paris last summer and I greatly appreciate an American restaurant that so accurately tipped its hat to the French bistro. However, certain dishes were altered that should have been left in their quintessential forms.

There is nothing more decadent than an order of escargot immersed in almost overwhelming garlic and steaming oil and butter, but I was served lukewarm escargot floating miserably in a Pernod butter sauce. That is to say, I consumed licorice flavored snails. The snails looked as hesitant on the plate as I was to eat them as they sat atop potatoes in fear of drowning in the green Pernod swamp beneath them.

Another chance to redeem my French food-loving palate came in the form of their special that evening: frog legs! I was so pleasantly surprised to hear of frog legs being on a Denver menu.

This delicacy was sure to be a treat that would catapult me back to walking through Tivoli Gardens, and down the noisy living museum of the Champs Elysees as I see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. And then the fantasy is muted.

The dish placed in front of me rudely interrupted my Parisian daydream as it mimicked a plate of Kentucky Fried Chicken, minus The Colonel’s red cardboard bucket. The fried frog legs in a roasted red pepper and blue cheese sauce appeared to be a mean spirited play on Buffalo wings. Biting into them got me a mouthful of batter, followed by a small piece of fishy tasting meat. The absence of savory lollipops delicately fried or sautéed in garlic and butter made the lack of traditional French cuisine quite palpable.

Bistro Vendome redeemed itself with dessert. Their strawberry-rhubarb crepe made my taste buds forget the offensive tinge of licorice mollusks and salty amphibians. This dessert special was perfect for summer. The distinct sweetness of the strawberry and tanginess of the rhubarb played together through fine layers of crepe, as freshly whipped cream regulated the two palatable and opposing flavors.

Enjoy this year’s Indian summer with a glass of Sauvignon Sancerre Centre as you sit in the humble presence of a traditional Parisian establishment. If you are embracing memories of gastronomic mainstays that keep traditional French fare timeless, your time is not here and now at Bistro Vendome. Be adventurous, but be wary that the interior is a deception as some of the food takes a severe turn away from classical French cuisine. The flavors of old Paris will just have to be retired to my memory for now.

Bistro Vendôme
1424 Larimer St # H
Denver, CO 80202
Tel: (303) 825-3232
http://www.bistrovendome.com

-Review by Carly Brown (carly.s.brown@gmail.com)

Ms. Brown is a recent graduate from the culinary arts program at Johnson & Wales University in Denver. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Miami in Exercise Physiology with a minor in English. She is enthusiastic and eager to learn everything about journalism, communication, and media.