As part of our year long, 60th Anniversary celebration I’ve decided to open the restaurant on Monday, June 16 for the first of our special Garden to Table Dinner events. L’Auberge Chez François is typically closed for business on Mondays, but I received so much positive feedback from our patrons when I suggested the idea of hosting these dinners that I’ve decided to open that Monday to hold this event. I hope to make the Garden to Table Dinners monthly events as long as we’re getting fresh produce from the gardens. The special dinner, which requires advance-purchase tickets, will be hosted on the terrace (weather permitting) and will feature produce grown using organic methods, just steps away in our kitchen garden. For your enjoyment, there will be musical accompaniment, and our sommelier has selected unique wines to go with each of the five courses. Vegetable gardening is a particular passion of mine, and I can’t think of a more satisfying process for any chef than starting with seeds and ending up with a meal that delights customers. I hope to see you on the 16th.
Garden to Table Dinner
Reserve your seat for our first Garden to Table Dinner on Monday, June 16 at 6:30PM. This monthly event, during our garden harvest season, will begin overlooking our gardens with herb cocktails and wine. We will then have dinner on our beautiful outdoor terrace, (weather permitting) featuring a five-course menu specially created by Chef Jacques, using the very freshest produce directly from our garden to your plate, and paired with exceptional wines by our sommelier.
We are delighted to provide the jazz sounds of the Steve Herberman Trio to accompany our first Garden to Table Dinner on Monday, June 16. Over the past decade this DC guitarist has earned the respect of his fellow musicians and students of jazz guitar alike with his work as an educator and performer. Steve and his trio will play sets of favorite modern jazz classics and originals ranging in styles, meters and moods.
Please join us on Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30PM for an extraordinary tasting event with guest Geoffrey Loisel of Billecart-Salmon. Founded in 1818 by Nicolas François Billecart and his spouse, Elisabeth Salmon, Billecart-Salmon offers distinctive and elegant Champagnes from one of the few remaining family-owned wineries in France. You will taste five distinctive Champagnes from Billecart-Salmon, each paired with a dish created especially for the event by Chef Jacques. Menu items for this decadent dinner include Roasted Wild Copper River Salmon with Caviar Sauce and a Gratin of Fresh Raspberries with Champagne Sabayon.
There are only a few cabins left on Chef Jacques’ River Cruise through the Rhône Valley. The seven-night Tauck cruise begins September 22, 2015, and Chef Jacques will be aboard to host special events and wine tastings. The trip offers private dinners for Chef Jacques’ group in Paris and Avignon.
If you’re looking for the perfect present for Father’s Day, might I suggest tickets to a wine dinner, cooking demonstration or our first Garden to Table Dinner on Monday, June 16th. Cookbooks, DVD sets, and gift certificates are also available for purchase online and at the restaurant.
Prosciutto Wrapped Rockfish with Asparagus and Garden Herb Beurre Blanc is one of the dishes we’ll be enjoying at this month’s Garden to Table Dinner on Monday, June 16. If you can’t make it out for the dinner, you can try making this dish at home. Local rockfish and asparagus, both in season, are perfect together with salty prosciutto and fresh garden herbs.
The Elyse Winery in California showcases several grape varieties typical of the Rhône Valley in their Elyse 2011 L’Ingénue from the Naggiar Vineyard. L’Ingénue displays aromas of white peach and honeysuckle, along with flavors of pear and stone fruit. An excellent replacement for chardonnay, this wine pairs especially well with this month’s recipe for Prosciutto Wrapped Rockfish with Asparagus and Garden Herb Beurre Blanc.
Our terraces are open for outdoor dining on a first-come, first-serve basis at L’Auberge Chez François and Jacques’ Brasserie. We invite you to celebrate summer with a meal outside and a tour of the gardens. A perfect time of year to dine al fresco, the perennials, annuals and flowering shrubs are in full bloom, and in Alsatian tradition, flowers adorn our rooftop window boxes and window sills.
I want to congratulate Mike K. of Fairfax, VA for winning the May Monsieur François’ Profile Embellishment Competition. Mike will receive a $200 gift certificate to L’Auberge Chez François.
Voted Best French Restaurant
We’re proud that L’Auberge Chez François was named the Best French Restaurant by readers of Northern Virginia Magazine. Thank you to all our NoVA Magazine readers and all our loyal diners for your continued support and patronage. Merci Beaucoup!
We continue to post new episodes of Chef Jacques’ acclaimed television show Two for Tonight on Chef Jacques’ TV at our website’s home page. Jacques’ next three episodes have been posted, After Midnight, Loves’ Renewal and Alsatian Feast, and remember, love begins in the kitchen.
Be sure to follow L’Auberge Chez François on Facebook and Twitter to get updates on our nightly specials, events and recipes!
At press time, the Billecart-Salmon Champagne Dinner has sold out. We are accepting names for a wait list for this event. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
Save the date for the 2nd in our special Garden to Table Series, the Bastille Day Garden to Table Dinner on Monday, July 14, with music by the Lena Seikaly Trio and a five-course menu with wine pairings to be announced. Watch for the announcement in our July newsletter.
A special cheers this month to all the Dads out there! Happy Father’s Day!
