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L’Auberge Chez François – Closed for Dinner – Saturday May 14, 2022

L’Auberge Chez François will be closed for dinner service on Saturday, May 14, 2022, for a private event. Jacques’ Brasserie will be open for regular dining. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you!

Holiday Gift Ideas

Stay warm and get your shopping done inside the comfort of your home. Browse Jacques’ Store and choose from a variety of gifts for those special people on your list.

November 2015 Newsletter

Greetings from Chef Jacques and Paul   We’re ready for the holidays here at L’Auberge Chez Franҫois and Jacques’ Brasserie and looking forward to seeing you during the holiday season. We have many regular patrons who come for Thanksgiving every year. We’re happy that so many of you choose to spend your holidays with us. Our holiday schedule and hours of operation are located here.   In honor of Thanksgiving, we’ve added my pumpkin mousse cake to the dessert menu this month. With many of the same flavors as the traditional pumpkin pie, this dessert is always our most popular this time of year. Just a few weeks ago, as many of you may know, I escaped from the kitchen to lead our first Rhône River Cruise with Tauck River Cruising.  We had a wonderful week of wine tasting, cooking classes, fabulous meals, and culinary excursions. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful group of fun-loving gourmands who made the trip a success. Thanks to all who came along on this adventure and I hope to be offering even more special trips like this to our patrons. In fact, just this past Friday, our cruisers and guests met again at L’Auberge Chez François for a reunion dinner with wines featured from Domaine Grand Veneur in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one of our favorites that we sampled on the Swiss Emerald. We have added three new Chef Jacques’ very popular holiday cooking demonstrations and luncheons – click here to view. Our cooking demonstrations and luncheons are a great way to get you into the holiday spirit and celebratory mood!   Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. All of us at L’Auberge Chez François hope to see you during the upcoming holiday season.  Best Culinary Wishes, Chef Jacques

September 2015 Newsletter

Greetings from Chef Jacques and Paul   Throughout the year there are local, seasonal delicacies that I eagerly await. There are morels and shad roe in the spring, heirloom tomatoes and softshell crabs in summer; and, in September, there are fabulous local plums for our famous plum tart. Popular in Alsace, my father put plum tart on the menu at the original Chez Franҫois in Washington D.C. when he first opened. Sixty years later, it is still one of our best-selling desserts. Although I’m able to import excellent plums throughout the year, in late August and September our plums come from local growers in Virginia and Maryland who grow varieties for us that are similar to the quetsches grown in Alsace. The local plum season is short, so join us in September to try a slice of local plum tart, served as always, with our cinnamon ice cream.  Also this month, is our next installment in the Garden to Table series. This month’s event, Harvest to Table, will feature lots of home-grown fall vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes, haricot verts, and garden herbs. We will also have another in our Musique et Cuisine series. This month features the versatile and talented pianist and chanteuse, Jennifer Scott. Come enjoy the beginning of fall with us.  Chef Jacques, Paul and the L’Auberge Chez François team

August 2015 Newsletter

Summer Greetings from Chef Jacques and Paul   In mid-September, I’m leading a group of foodies and wine enthusiasts on a ten-night Rhône River cruise with Tauk River Cruising. The itinerary is packed with cooking lessons, wine tastings, and delicious meals. Tauk just opened up three more cabins to our ever-growing group, so there are now a few spaces available for those interested in joining this culinary adventure. I’ve just put the finishing touches on the menu for a special dinner I’m hosting in Paris the night before we depart on the cruise. For more cruise details and registration, please click here; registration closes on September 1st.  The tomatoes in the garden are ripening as fast as we can use them. All of the tomatoes in our tomato salads are coming directly from the garden and we never harvest the tomatoes more than a few hours before they arrive on your table. I’ve been asked by several diners about my secret for growing such vigorous plants. Here are two tips: First, mix your coffee grounds into the soil. The coffee grounds add minerals and acidity to the soil, which tomatoes love, and the grounds attract beneficial earth worms to aerate the soil and create nutritious compost. Second, when you first put your seedlings into the ground, put ½ teaspoon of Epsom salts around the base of the plant. The salts also add minerals and discourage fungal growth. We have a lot of the booming tomato plants, as well as a video explaining how to make our simple but ever popular tomato salad. A fresh, vine-ripened tomato and a good vinaigrette are key to making a good tomato salad. We continue to have a full slate of special, summer events here at L’Auberge Chez François. In August we’re hosting the next installments of our popular Musique et Cuisine and Garden to Table dinner series, in addition to a wine dinner and cooking demonstration hosted by me. You can view the latest schedule of special events here. Stayed tuned for more events coming this Fall, including a Grand Cru wine series and Latour Wines!

New York Social Diary

This is an excerpt from New York Social Diary – Read the full article here

L’Auberge Chez Francois for Saturday lunch. This is one of the area’s most enduring restaurants and please let it be there for years to come. A half hour drive from the city, out near Great Falls in Virginia, it is reminiscent of the charming country French restaurants up the Merritt Parkway (La Cremaillere in Banksville comes to mind). It is charming, the food is delicious, and it is the perfect reward after a challenging hike along the trails of Great Falls Park.  The 4-course prix fixe at $42 is a deal. The menu is extensive. I like to start with the trio of salmons, followed by steak frites, salad, and chocolate soufflé. The wine list is well priced and smartly edited.

September 2014 Newsletter

In Celebration of Our 60th Year   Allow me to propose a toast to you, our loyal patrons, and to the staff of L’Auberge Chez François for sharing in 60 years of delicious food and magical celebrations. We’ve been celebrating the 60th Anniversary of our opening all year, but September 15 marks the actual day we opened our doors at the original Chez François in Washington D.C.  A week of anniversary celebrations will be kicked off at our sold-out Garden to Table Dinner on September 15, which will feature a special dessert by former White House pastry chef and friend, Roland Mesnier, with music by the Nancy Scimone Trio. Then, I’m reprising my two most popular cooking demonstrations, The Seafood Lovers’ Feast on September 19 and the Carnivore Lovers’ Feast on September 20. In addition to these special events, those who dine with us between September 16 and September 21 will receive a complimentary Champagne toast with their meal as a thank you for celebrating with us. I’m proud and humbled that our simple philosophy, bien manger, c’est bien vivre, has carried us through 60 years in the Washington D.C. area. Merci to all our customers for your loyal patronage over the years and here’s to many more years of eating well and living well.

August 2014 Newsletter

Jacques’ Greeting   September will mark the 60th Anniversary of the founding of Chez François in Washington D.C. I don’t think that my father, François, could have imagined then that we would still be going strong 60 years later. Many of Dad’s loyal patrons followed when we moved the restaurant to Great Falls and become an auberge. I’m amazed at how often guests will stop to tell me their memories of eating with us in Washington D.C. and now in Great Falls. The painting above, gifted to my parents by Washington artist Lily Spandorf shows the sidewalk cafe tables of the original Chez François on Connecticut Avenue in the early 1960s.

L’Auberge Through a Lens

Olivia Rae James has brought a new behind-the-lens perspective to Chef Jacques’ Bastille Day Garden to Table Celebration. Fostered by time spent in the French countryside as well as an inherent sense of eternal optimism, Olivia seeks out beauty in the everyday, creating everlasting images of L’Auberge Chez François. View Olivia’s L’Auberge:

February 2014 Newsletter

Romantic Wishes from Chef Jacques and Paul   A natural and wondrous relationship exists between love and food; between the heart and palate. Life’s memorable moments are not complete without a festive meal. Romantic celebrations are a tradition at L’Auberge Chez François. The ambiance, the presentation, and anticipation of delightful tastes all merge together to help create the complete romantic experience, you just add the magic. We are honored to host your Valentine’s Day romantic celebration. The Haeringer family and all the staff at L’Auberge Chez François and Jacques’ Brasserie wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day.