Petit Louis Bistro (Le Comptoir) - Columbia, Maryland

We've followed all the hype about Petit Louis Bistro, celebrity chef Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman's new restaurant in Columbia. Authentic French cuisine and a lake front location makes it the right combination for the title of new Howard County sensation.  Since our travels to Quebec, Montreal and Paris, we have developed an appreciation for french foods. Therefore, we were eager to try this new restaurant.

On a recent Saturday morning, my family arrived at the restaurant close to 10 a.m. where we learned the restaurant doesn't open until 10:30 a.m.. So we wandered around the lakefront for 30 minutes. It was really cold outside and we did consider eating at Clyde's since it was open and didn't look busy, but we held out and returned to Petit Louis at 10:30 am - where we waited another 5 minutes in the cold for them to open the doors.

We ate in the little cafe called Le Comptoir that is attached to the main restaurant. It has huge glass windows that makes it easy for people to see in and employees to see out of.  We weren't happy that the employees could see us freezing outside and didn't bother to let us in until 10:35 am. It would have been nice if they let us in, even if they weren't exactly ready for us.



We didn't get a warm welcome once we were inside either. It was like attending a funeral. The place was dead silent. If you made one sound it resonated throughout the whole place which is tiny to begin with. It would have been nice to have french music playing.


Equally as awkward, Charles and I weren't sure how to order our food. Should we sit down and wait to be served or order at the counter?  We had to ask the people behind the counter who were busy preparing things. We learned we order at the counter, find a seat and then come back to the counter to get our food and drinks when it's ready.

Croissants 

Brioche a la Cannelle and Pain Au Chocolate 

So, what to order? We were hoping to see a huge display of French pastries like the ones we remembered from our trip to France or Quebec or even at french pastry shops in Washington, DC like Paul's. Although there was a small
  selection, they were nicely displayed.

Quiche Lorraine and Quiche Aux Legumes 

Macarons

Charles and I each ordered one chocolate croissant ($3.25 each) and shared a brioche ($3.75). No drinks, just water. Both pastries were small portions, yet good but not outstanding.

My mom ordered a Cafe Au Lait ($5.50) and a Quiche Lorraine ($9.50) to share with my dad. He ordered a regular American coffee. She loved the Cafe Au Lait but said it was a small portion. Alternatively, the quiche was on the larger side. When ordering it, the counter person told my mom that she could not make the quiche hot "or it would ruin the consistency of the object."

But she would warm the quiche slightly in a microwave, but only upon request, which she requested. Unfortunately, it was a very thick quiche so the middle was cold while the outside was a little warm.  Although it was tasty, she probably wouldn't order it again. My dad's American coffee wasn't very strong, but the counter person did warn him about this.

We were still hungry after our pastries so we each ordered a Jambon ($8.75 each) - a buttered baguette with ham and cornichons (pickles). Again, the portion was small. Then, if that wasn't enough the baguette was very chewy. We had to tug with our teeth several times to take bites out of this sandwich.

So, here's our summary. We wanted to LOVE this place, really LOVE it, but we couldn't. Everything was small in this cafe - the tables, the selection, the portions, the service. The only thing that was large was the quiche and the prices. After spending about $47 for breakfast, we went home still hungry. Our parents were not happy about that.

To be fair, we will need to try the main restaurant for a better assessment. However, our initial outing to the cafe doesn't make us want to run back. For now, sadly, au revoir Petit Louis.

- Thomas
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